Customer Reviews

The Galveston That Was (Sara and John Lindsey Series in the Arts and Humanities)

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The city of Galveston, Texas was a vibrant, prosperous port at the start of the 20th century, outstripping even New Orleans. Fine Victorian homes were built by prosperous merchants, many in grand style. The deadly hurricane of 1900 dealt the city a blow from which it never entirely recovered. But Galveston's economic slump had a silver lining -- as shown in "The Galveston That Was." There was no economic incentive to tear the old homes down; so scores of these remarkable Victorian homes survived, though many fell into disrepair. Howard Barnstone secured two superb photographers and wrote text for this beautiful book, which displays the faded glory of Galveston's Victorian architecture. The book's first edition inspired Galvestonians to restore many of these homes, and sparked a preservation revival there that lasts to this day. Always a beach destination, Galveston now draws visitors to the Texas coast for beautifully restored Victorian homes and historic business district, the Strand. The book's photographs are simply beautiful and the concise history of Galveston is intriguing.

She endures soaring ups and crashing downs; she is sometimes called "Oleander City;" she was the third largest port in the nation in the late 1800s - she is Galveston, undaunted and enjoying a renaissance that began in the 1970s.

"The Galveston That Was," containing numerous updates and corrections, is a republication of the 1966 edition. With photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson and Ezra Stoller, this handsome volume not only pays visual tribute to the architectural glories of Galveston, but also captures its indomitable spirit. In the mansions and public buildings built during the city's heyday is found an astounding display of Victorian architecture.

The Heidenheimer Castle boasts a tower and wall construction of poured cement and oyster shell. An attached porch may have been built as a "ruin" because "The Victorians adored buildings in a half-ruined state; they called it `pleasing decay.'"

The Customs House, a study in Greek Revival, is awash in cast-iron balustrades, window frames, columns, cornices and dentils. Undoubtedly, it was once one of the city's most significant buildings. These and countless more examples of mid 19th century architecture are presented from various angles in stunning photographs.

The text is a valuable lesson in Texas history as well as a fascinating story of the lives of many who had an impact on the Queen City.

- Gail Cooke

The book is an easy read. It was written just after the "big demolition" of the 60's so some of the historical homes shown were destroyed. Addresses of the homes are included so you can actually visit them and live history today. I am going to use the book to document what impact Hurricane Ike had on these homes. Being a Galveston Islander, I am still dealing with the devestating impact of Hurricane Ike. This book will be another history lesson to pass down through my family. 4/3/09

That you Mrs. De Menil for financing this book and Mr. Barnstone for having the vision. The story behind this book is as facinating as the book itself. It is just amazing to get two of the greatest photographers of the 20th century to collaborate of any book, much less one of such an obsure subject. This book is a treasure and I urge anyone who loves photography to buy it whether you care about Galveston or not. I do care about Galveston and I love the fact that this book galvanized the city to save its unique history. As you look at the pictures in this book remember this is the Galveston that WAS, not that IS. Many of these dacaying building have been saved and restored. Galveston is a testament to what perservation and generous philanthropy can do for a city. The city is experiencing a renaissance and this book had a great deal to do with it, it makes me so proud for this American treasure.

We are currently on a road trip and stopped by Galveston, TX after visiting Houston. Initially, we were only going to stop by for about half a day because we did not think there was anything much to see (and we were going to spend time in South Padre for the beautiful beaches). Well, our half day stay extended to 2 full days as we discovered the rich cultural heritage in Galveston as evidenced by the beautifully restored Victorian era homes. I purchased this book in one of the gift shops and found it to be a wonderful and informative read.

The city of Galveston was once a prosperous city port at the turn of the 20th century, and drew many prosperous merchants who set up imposing Victorian structures which served as their homes and places in which to entertain guests. Some of these homes were the Moody Mansion and Gresham Palace (now known as Bishop's Palace). These homes are truly beautiful and my family and I spent a good part of our visit exploring the wonders of these homes on well-conducted guided tours. "The Galveston That Was" captures the waning beauty of Galveston's Victorian buildings, many of which fell into disrepair or were obliterated after the great hurricane of 1900 which devastated the city and claimed thousands of lives (estimates range between 6,000 and 12,000). This is an important book because its first printing served as a catalyst that mobilized native Galvestonians to save some of these homes, resulting in some fine restored Victorian structures such as the Moody Mansion and Bishop's Palace. I am happy that we stopped by this city and am determined to make many more trips in the future to explore the other treasures that Galveston has to offer.

A rich source of information about the history and architecture of some of the outstanding buildings of Galveston, a few of which no longer exist, this is also a source of fairly extensive information about the history of Galveston itself. It tells, for instance, why the city ceased to be a leading, great, wealthy seaport--and the answer was not because of the dredging of a ship channel to Houston. The book also includes descriptions of early citizens of Galveston, some drawn from old letters. Along with the photographs, original plans and drawings of buildings and homes are reproduced here.

While I agree to a certain extent with reviewers of the book who say they were disappointed in the photography and expected better things from such greats as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Ezra Stoller, I find memorable and enjoyable some of the photos which are evocative of that intriguingly decadent quality that used to be typical of the pre-restoration Galveston of the early 1960s. Cartier-Bresson seemingly loved and enjoyed Galveston but spent only a small amount of time--10 days--walking about the town and photographing it, and sometimes the sun was not right for pictures that he might have liked to take. Cartier-Bresson's work is supposed to be characterized by his studied attempts to capture "essences" in his photos, and I think he did sometimes capture the old city's essence, as of an exquisitely beautiful thing in a state of decay. He called Galveston a "strange and ephemeral butterfly of the 19th century."

A quote from no lesser light than Edna Ferber serves as a literary "gateway" to the book. (Who would ever have thought that the great novelist knew anything about Galveston?):

"Here in Galveston the humidity was like a clammy hand held over your face. Yet the city had a ghostly charm. The scent of the tangled gardens hung heavy on the muggy air. The houses, pockmarked by the salt mist and the sun and heat and mildew, seemed built of ashes. Here was a remnant of haunted beauty--gray, shrouded, crumbling. What did they resemble? Of what did this city remind me? Miss Havisham, of course. That was it. Miss Havisham the spectral bride in Great Expectations." ---From A Kind of Magic

Everyone notices a certain similarity between Galveston and the Old Quarter of New Orleans. I think that both cities, especially when both were havens of decay that made for cheap rental quarters, partake of the atmosphere that one finds in some of Tennessee Williams' plays set in perhaps the 1940s and 1950s. Cartier-Bresson's photos of the old lady in the hallway of the Washington Hotel, pictures of the Vernacular Greek Houses on Avenue I, the Voelcker Residence, and the bordello on Post Office Street, all of these remind me of places that one might expect to find in a Williams' play.

I like this book because I find the appearance of the old buildings of Galveston in decay to be somehow more interesting and affecting than the same buildings restored and nicely painted, a preference that I suppose could be labeled "romantic."

The text informs us that: "In Galveston, as everywhere else, cast iron was, by 1856, an approved material for everything from steam engines to customhouses. Its predominance as a building material in the nineteenth century was founded on its fire-resistant qualities, comparative cheapness, simplicity of manufacture and tensile strength. It did not decline in use until the 1880s, when the steel frame was developed in Chicago."

One can gaze upon some particularly beautiful exterior details of cast iron-work in this book. I especially love the pictures of the Block-Oppenheimer building, the Trueheart-Adriance building, the J. E. Wallis residence, and the Landes house. For me personally, some of these represent more beautiful examples of iron-work than one finds in New Orleans and there seems to be in Galveston a greater variety of iron-work creativity.

Another great plus is that this book offers the opportunity to study photos of some of the work by the outstanding architect Nicholas J. Clayton.

This is a high quality production of nearly 250 pages printed on glossy paper, footnoted and indexed.

Despite some minimal disappointments, if you take time with it, the book proves to be exciting and excellent, a source of knowledge and beautiful things to study and enjoy. A book collector's treasure, I'd say.

Stoller, one of the great architectural photographers of all time, is shown here in what must arguably be his weakest offering. And Cartier Bresson, the hero of The Decisive Moment, contributed the most embarrassing production of his career. Too bad, because those old Galveston properties are really quite remarkable and unique.

I expected to see pictures of Galveston as it was . This is a bunch of pictures of Galveston decayed.