Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 409-740-0771;
http://clarysgalveston.com
; 8509 Teichman Rd; mains $18-30; 4:30-10pm Tue-Sat)
On Of-
fatts Bayou, this nondescript building has serene water views in the rear. Clary's has been
serving fresher-than-fresh seafood dishes for years, though lately service has been a little
hit-or-miss. It's just as you enter the island off I-45 at Harborside Dr
Gaido's
( 409-762-9625;
www.gaidos.com
; 3800 Seawall Blvd; mains $20-35; 11am-9pm)
Run by the same
family since 1911, Gaido's is easily the best-known and best-loved restaurant in Galve-
ston. Expect vast platters of no-compromise seafood (oh, the oysters…) served on white
tablecloths and with hushed tones. They have a more casual sister restaurant,
Nick's Kitchen
& Beach Bar
(
SEAFOOD
$$$
409-762-9625;
http://nicksgalveston.com
;
3800 Seawall Blvd; dishes $13-22;
11am-9pm Sun-
Thu, to 10pm Fri-Sat)
, next door.
A TALE OF TWO HURRICANES
During the night of September 8, 1900, the
Great Storm
- a hurricane with winds of 120mph - drove a surge
that submerged much of the island under 20ft of water. Where Galveston had been, there were now only the wa-
ters of the Gulf of Mexico. Back then there was no weather tracking, and no warning. Of the town's 37,000
people, it's estimated that as many as 8000 died, but no one will ever know the exact toll. The storm struck in the
dead of night and survivors recounted the horrifying screams and dying out of lights. To this day it is still the na-
tion's deadliest natural disaster. Learn more at the Great Storm film at Pier 21 Theatre (
Click here
), which uses
actual photos and survivor diary entries to recount the tale.
To prevent another such a catastrope, in the 1900s the city constructed a 10-mile-long, 17ft-high seawall. At
the same time they raised the grade of the land - from a few inches to seawall height - in a roughly 500 sq block
area. Private property owners had to pay to have their own buildings jacked up to the required height. You'll no-
tice the difference at Ashton Villa, one of the few buildings that was allowed to be partially buried.
Both the seawall and technological weather-watching advances likely saved many lives when
Hurricane Ike
made landfall September 13, 2008. Roughly 110mph winds and a 13ft storm surge caused $29 billion in damage,
making Ike the third costliest hurricane in the nation's history. More than 125 lives were lost locally.
Reconstruction has taken time - beaches were swept out to sea and much of the downtown area was not only
flooded but deluged by sludge as sewage lines burst. (This author's sister-in-law waited two years to get back into
her affected offices.) Beach restoration projects have pumped sand from the gulf back onto the shore, and rebuild-
ing will continue indefinitely. Not all the previous businesses reopened, but new restaurants and shops have come
in. Some of the BOI ('born on islanders') think the mix is better than it ever was.
Drinking
The walkable Strand District provides bar-hopping potential with a couple of great old
boozers, plus one or two trendy clubs, along both Postoffice St and the Strand. Several
classic beach bars stretch out along Seawall Blvd.
