George Mitchell is pretty much the guy who saved Downtown Galveston and the Strand area as it was slowly deteriorating into oblivion; now he's leading the efforts to bring it back from Ike.Today he issued an upbeat assessment of where things stand and where they'll be going.The 24 historical buildings owned by Mitchell Historic Properties sustained about $24 million in damages; the first floors of most of them will have to be completely redone.But things are slowly getting back on track, and mom
The historic Lone Star Saloon in Richmond is about to be demolished.Heavily damaged by a fire in November, the remains of the 120-year-old building will be taken down by the end of the month, owner Bill Lundquist tells Fort Bend Now.The good news: He's planning to build a replacement. That's not really "good news," for lovers of historic building, but it's better than nothing, we guess.The new saloon will be a large one-room nightclub with a bar and dancing floor (No need to reinvent the wheel i
Photo courtesy Galveston Historical FoundationThe Strand, downtown Galveston's most historic district, is getting a little help today in its efforts to preserve itself.The National Trust for Historic Preservation has named "The Cast-Iron Architecture of Galveston" as one of its 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.Even before Ike there were worries about the buildings which had been constructed back when Galveston was Texas's main port. But the storm did some major damage, a Trust V-P report
Photos courtesy of Galveston IslandLast year, after the all-round drenching and destruction that the Strand Historic Landmark District in Galveston took on in Hurricane Ike, the annual presentation of the Dickens on the Strand was a shadow of its former self.
Three months wasn't nearly enough time to recover from all the wind and water, but local residents rallied anyhow whether for love of tradition or tourist dollars (or both) and put on a show anyhow to keep the string alive.
This ye
