Podcast: Galveston's Street Name Series: East End North & South Streets

Welcome back to another episode in the Galveston Street Names series! This time around, we'll be exploring Galveston's East End, North, and South running streets.

One can learn about the city's growth and development over time when exploring the historical streets of Galveston. In 1838, the Galveston City Company laid out the city in a grid-like fashion, with the north-to-south running streets assigned numbers. Funnily enough, back in 1838, these numbered streets didn't start at 1st Street. At the extreme east end of the city limits of Galveston, the first north-to-south running Street was 6th Street. These numerical streets continued all the way to 56th Street. As the city expanded, both east and west, over the next century, numerical streets were added as the city grew. Working our way east to west, let's take a look at a few of the prominent north-to-south running streets and how they've been renamed over time.

8th Street, also known as St. Mary's Boulevard.

St. Mary's Boulevard is named after the first private hospital in Texas, right here on Galveston Island. St. Mary's Hospital, founded in 1866 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, was Texas' first private hospital. Initially called St. Mary's Infirmary, it adopted the name St. Mary's Hospital in 1965. In 1907, this hospital established a school for nursing, which operated until 1968. After serving the Galveston community for over a century, St. Mary's Hospital closed in 1996 and was acquired by the nearby University of Texas Medical Branch. Although St. Mary's Hospital no longer stands, St. Mary's Boulevard holds fast to the legacy of the first private hospital in Texas.

Next up is 14th Street, also known as Christopher Columbus Boulevard.

Around many major cities throughout the United States, you may just find a roadway named after Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer best known for his 1492 Atlantic voyage, funded by Spain, which led to his landing in the Bahamas, though he set out to find a sea route to Asia. His journey marked the beginning of European exploration and colonization of the Americas, connecting the old and new worlds.

Moving westward towards 21st Street.

At one time, 21st Street was known as Centre Street. Today, it's known as Moody Avenue. 21st Street adopted the name Centre Street as it was the relative center of the urbanized portion of Galveston during the early years. However, it was renamed to Moody Avenue.

The Moody family has played a significant role in shaping Galveston for over a century through their continuous contributions to the city's economy, diverse business ventures, and philanthropic efforts. The Moody family's influence in Galveston began with Colonel W. L. Moody. Born in Virginia, he moved to Galveston just after the Civil War in 1866.

Post-civil war, Galveston was ripe with economic opportunity. Colonel Moody built a cotton, wool, and mercantile business and later expanded into banking and railroads, making Galveston a key hub in the cotton trade. Colonel Moody's son, W. L. Moody Jr., grew the family's ventures into a broad enterprise and founded the Moody Foundation. Mary Moody Northen, W. L. Moody Jr.'s daughter, later led the family business, guiding the Moody Foundation and advancing historic preservation throughout Texas and in Galveston.

Moving on to 22nd Street, also known as Kempner Avenue.

Kempner Avenue honors the Kempner family for their contributions to Galveston Island. Similar to the Moody story, Harris Kempner founded a mercantile enterprise on Galveston Island in 1868, and his descendants have carried on his legacy of benevolence. Members of the Kempner family continue to live in Galveston and are active throughout the community through their philanthropic work.

Next up is 23rd Street, also known as Tremont Street.

This name is derived from the original incarnation of the Tremont Hotel, an iconic hotel built in Galveston in 1839. On the corner of Post Office Street and 23rd Street, each incarnation of the three Tremont hotels that have existed on Galveston Island all hold a legacy unto themselves. The first Tremont Hotel existed from 1839 to 1865 and is famous for being one of Galveston's first luxury hotels. Famously, in 1861, one of the former presidents of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston, gave a speech from the second-story balcony. He urged Galvestonians and Texans alike to not get involved with the Civil War. His plea to the people was not successful.

The second Tremont House Hotel was built in 1872 and survived until 1928. This hotel, also built on Tremont Street, was designed by Galveston's famous architect, Nicholas Clayton. Considering this hotel existed during Galveston's economic heyday, it attracted dignitaries and high-end clientele from around the world.

The third rendition of the Tremont House Hotel exists today on Mechanic Street, and you guessed it, Tremont Street. Inspired by historic preservation efforts around the country, After decades of economic decline in Galveston, husband and wife philanthropists Cynthia and George Mitchell purchased the historic Leon and H. Bloom building and transformed it into the third Tremont Hotel. It opened in 1985. And today, the Tremont Hotel and Tremont Street tie us back to one of Galveston's first luxury hotels in 1839.

Moving on to 24th Street, also known as Mitchell Avenue.

As I mentioned previously, Cynthia and George Mitchell were inspired by preservation efforts around the country. Mitchell Avenue honors George Mitchell for his contributions to Galveston Island.

Son of Greek immigrants to Galveston, George was a successful businessman in his early life and donated millions of dollars to philanthropic efforts around the world, but his true love was Galveston Island. He and his wife Cynthia developed real estate and attractions on Galveston Island, along with rejuvenating festivities like Mardi Gras and Dickens on the Strand, in order to boost the island's tourism economy.

George and Cynthia Mitchell are responsible for pushing the envelope to bring downtown Galveston out of its mid-21st century economic slump.

Moving on to our last street name in this episode, 25th Street.

Known today as Rosenberg Avenue, 25th Street was originally named Bath Avenue, as it was a direct thoroughfare to the bathhouses on the beach. The Street carried the name Bath Avenue from the city's founding until the death of Swiss immigrant and Galveston mogul Henry Rosenberg in 1893. 25th Street was renamed in his honor. Henry Rosenberg is the namesake of Rosenberg, Texas, as he developed a majority of the railroad running through that area of Texas. His business ventures and investments were good to him. Like many early successful Galveston businessmen, they gave back to their community. Henry Rosenberg Just so happened to give every bit of wealth he had accumulated.

Henry Rosenberg had no children and no wife or family member to leave his money to, and upon his death, In his will, he left hundreds of thousands of dollars to public services in Galveston, including Freshwater Fountains, a free public library, which exists today. He donated the money to construct a monument honoring the heroes of the Texas Revolution. Erected in 1900, the Texas Heroes Monument stands at Rosenberg Avenue and Broadway.

That's it for this episode. In the next episode of this series, we will pick up right where we left off, working our way westward from Rosenberg Avenue.

If you haven't yet, go check out the previous episodes in this street name series, Galveston's East to West Running Streets. Thanks for listening in, and we'll catch you on the next one!