Will Wright of the Galveston Historical Foundation is “completely unable to pick a favorite” home on this year’s Galveston Historic Homes Tour. The nine turn-of-the-20th-century structures, which date from between 1870 and 1915, are that good.
Wright says one of homes that folks are particularly stoked about is the James and Violet Waters House at 1116 Church Street.
“Galveston County Treasurer James Stephen Waters hired architect Henry Collier Cooke of the Nebraska architecture firm Bourgeois Nitchner & Cooke to design this grand Victorian residence in 1893,” says Wright. “The most prominent building on the block, the Waters family sold the house in 2012 to new owners, who are rehabilitating the property. The new owners are the first owners outside of the original family to own the home, and it’s the first time it’s been on tour.”
Other homes include the 1905 Marschner Building, former home of Texas Bottling Works; the 1887 Mather House in the East End Historical District; and a Galveston Historical Foundation rehabilitation-in-progress that Wright says was “a ready-made kit house that was shipped to Galveston.”
Along with the historic homes tour, five mid-century modern homes will be on display from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 7, and Beachtown will open three homes to the public during both weekends of the tour.
The Galveston Historic Homes Tour is scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 30, Saturday, May 1, Saturday, May 7, and Sunday, May 8. Tours are given between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Tickets cost $20 to $30. Call 409-765-7834 or check out galvestonhistory.org.
This article appears in Apr 14-20, 2016.
