The Seawall in Galveston is an 18 foot wall that was constructed after the 1900 hurricane that devastated the city and killed at least 6,000 people in what was at that time Texas' largest city. Behind the wall the grade of the entire city was raised, an amazing engineering fete for the first decade of the 20th century. Up until today, the seawall has done its job protecting the city from storm surges.
Along the seawall one finds condos, hotels, restaurants and dozens of tee shirt and souvenir shops. On this particular trip we saw two new hotels on the Seawall, a Comfort Inn and a Holiday Inn Sunspree.
In the early part of the 20th century Galveston served as the location of a U.S. fortress that today serves as a type of basement in the San Luis Hotel. During hurricane Rita, officials of the Galveston city government took refuge in the underground bunker under the hotel.
A few of the old officers' quarters are still standing along the Seawall, but the majority have been torn down so that hotels and condos could be built on the land.
