Discover downtown Galveston, TX, and its historic architecture, family attractions, local restaurants, art galleries, performance venues, and more.
Home to official designations including the Strand Historic District, the Downtown Cultural Arts District and the Historic Strand Seaport area, the area contains historic architecture, family attractions, locally-owned restaurants, boutiques, art galleries, performance venues and more.
The Galveston Strand, in the late 1880s, was dubbed “The Wall Street of the South.” It was a street of opulent Victorian buildings, with five banks, wholesale houses, grocers, liquor and cigar dealers, cotton factors, commission merchants, insurance companies, printers and eight newspapers, dry goods companies, steam and sail ship agencies, auction houses, saloons, and sailor boarding houses.
At that time, Galveston was one of the richest cities in the world per capita. It boasted being the “third richest city in the United States in proportion to population” and efforts were being made to increase its seaport value. All major railroads served Galveston and 60% of the state’s cotton crop was exported through its port. Before the end of the century, The Galveston Strand was not only the financial center of Galveston and Texas but much of the South, as well.
