One of the many tragedies to come out of Hurricane Ike was the hammering of storm waters on the Flagship Hotel Over the Water, resulting in its closure. The hotel is situated on a pier off Seawall Boulevard and literally weathered the front line of the storm. Unlike its neighbor, the Balinese Room, the Flagship survived the storm remaining structurally intact, but it suffered quite a bit of surface damage.
Two years later, it remains an empty shell of a once-great icon looming over the water. Access to the hotel has been barricaded off. Onlookers can see into a corner suite facing inland that's been completely exposed. Of the pair of grand mermaids flanking the Flagship emblem, one has partially crumbled away with the wall.
While Galveston and Houston all too often lose historic buildings due to neglect or lack of patronage to fund restoration, the Flagship was fortunate enough to be acquired by the gulf coast's favorite entrepreneur, Tilman Fertitta, from the city of Galveston in 2004, for an estimated $500,000.
Fertitta's Landry's Restaurants Inc. initiated plans earlier this summer to begin restoration to the hotel. Crews have torn down the deteriorating ramp connecting the hotel to the Seawall and are replacing it with a new one.
