Galveston's Historic Mansions

Galveston has dozens of historic mansions - the oldest dates back to 1838; however, the following mansions from Galveston's golden era between the civil war and the great hurricane of 1900 are my favorites.

Bishop's Palace 1895
Galveston's grandest and best-known building, the Bishop's Palace is an ornate delight of Texas limestone accented with gray granite, pink granite, and red sandstone. Inside it has intricately carved ornaments, rare woods, stained-glass windows, bronze dragons and other sculptures, luxury materials and furnishings, and impressive fireplaces from around the world. It was built by Walter Gresham, a politician-turned-lobbyist during the mansion-building boom of the late-1800's. The mansion's solid stone construction, combined with steel framing, helped it weather the 1900 Storm and all hurricanes that have occurred since. Hurricane Ike caused only minor water damage to the basement and lower floor. In 1923 it was purchased by the Catholic Diocese of Galveston to become the official residence of the bishop. But only one ever lived there. Reverend Christopher Byrne stayed there until his death in 1950. In 1963 the Catholic Church opened it to the public, making it the first of the Galveston mansions to be turned into a museum.

Sealy Mansion 1889

After George Sealy used some of the money from the sale of his Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railway to build this mansion he called "Open Gates", it inspired other Galveston businessmen to demonstrate their wealth through architecture. The style is known as Neo-Renaissance.

Rosenberg Home for Aged Women 1895

Henry Rosenberg, a prominent Galveston business leader and philanthropist, bequeathed a gift of $30,000 for the building and furnishing of this home for elderly women. This enormous Renaissance Revival mansiion designed by architect Alfred Muller has 47 bedrooms.

Ashton Villa 1859

Ashton Villa was built for hardware wholesaler, banking and railroad tycoon J. M. Brown. This Italianate home was the first of a series of mansions built along Broadway during the height of Galveston's social and economic prominence. It was also the first brick house to be built in Texas. When the Villa was almost razed in 1970, the Galveston Historical Foundation led a campaign to save it, and now manages it as a house museum. The Galveston Visitor's Center is on the grounds of this mansion.