Ten years after Hurricane Ike in 2008, there is still no progress on site along Seawall Blvd across…read morefrom Hotel Galvez ... my heart aches looking out from my hotel room window to the empty space that once held one of the most amazing historic and haunted buildings that I ever stepped into. I was lucky enough to make my way to the Balinese twice. I happened to be at Mardi Gras 2003 with the band Thin Lizzy. I walked around The Strand and picked up a local paper. I saw an ad for the Balinese and got way excited. I told my partner in crime that we "HAD TO GO"... so after TL hit the road, we headed over there till closing time. OMG! No words can actually describe how I felt being there as I am a sensitive person. I felt the pure awesomeness of this building. I remember taking trips to Galveston in the past as a child to young adult and it was always closed... so to be able to walk into those doors, it was like stepping into a time capsule from the 40s. I spent so much time just walking along the walls snooping into every room and every corner that I could. There were pictures of the Balinese heyday with all the celebrities that crossed that very same threshold that I did. The gambling tables were in the back room hanging on the wall as decoration. The paintings and palm trees in the grand ballroom were all original to the building. Right then and there I swore if I ever won the lottery... I'm hosting a party with ZZ Top @ Balinese Room! I found myself back at the Balinese two years later doing the exact same thing... just walking around in awe. I haven't returned to Galveston since a cruise in Dec 2005, so this trip is so bittersweet. I came to visit the Tall Ships Galveston festival but I knew that meant that I would need to face my broken heart head on. I took a walk over and sat on the bench that holds up the arches on the Seawall of what is all that is left of the Balinese Room. I opened up a spirit box app. If ghosts still walk through house doors that are no longer there, they are probably still walking in the space they previously occupied along the pier that was no longer there. I should have read Ryan M. reviews more closely before I did this to plan to sit on the Seawall for at least an hour or more, which I did not. Although the short time I did sit there this is what I heard: "born" "from", so I asked "where are you born from?"... after a few minutes I get "slightly" while at the same time I was thinking how windy it was out there. They were joking with me as it was way more than slightly. Lol. Originally opened as Chop Suey about a hundred years ago, the Balinese Room history is a perfect story for the movies and songs... please take some time to read the links for more info... http://balineseroom.net/ https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Balinese-Room-resurrection-is-in-the-works-5332958.php?cmpid=btfpm&t=9b4692aa2ac3f0c8a9#photo-4961006 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balinese_Room "The Balinese Room was a famous nightclub in Galveston, Texas, built on a pier stretching 600 feet from the Galveston Seawall over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. For decades a dance hall and illegal casino, (sat empty for nearly 20 years), Balinese Room was remodeled and reopened in 2001. Operated by Sicilian immigrant barbers-turned-bootleggers Sam and Rosario Maceo, the Balinese Room was an elite spot in the 1940-50s, featuring entertainment by Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, George Burns, The Marx Brothers and other top acts of the day. Patrons of the private club included Howard Hughes, Sophie Tucker and wealthy oil barons from nearby Houston. In 1997, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. During the early morning hours of September 13, 2008, the structure was completely destroyed by Hurricane Ike. The Balinese is featured in pop culture; Rock group ZZ Top wrote and performed a song about the club called, "Balinese."" Hit the play button: Deep in the South of Texas Not so long ago, There on a crowded island In the Gulf of Mexico It didn't take too much money, Man, but it sure was nice. You could dance all night if you felt all right, Drinking whiskey and throwing dice. And everybody knows It was hard to leave. And everybody knows It was down at the Balinese. There are as many stories of who created the Margarita. I like the version I learned on my first visit... Santos Cruz, the head bartender at the legendary Balinese Room in Galveston, concocted the Margarita in 1948 in honor of singer Peggy Lee. He named it after the Spanish version of Peggy, which is Margarita. A true Margarita is equal parts tequila, orange liqueur, fresh lime juice. Attorney Scott Arnold has "The Balinese Room Pier", a restaurant, club and retail complex formerly located on historic pier for sale. Although it was completely destroyed by Ike, there is the remaining land lease (50 year term), which includes the right to rebuild, the Balinese Room brand name and trade dress. Review #400

The once proud and historic Balinese Room is no more but according to the owners - they will…read morerebuild. As I am sure you know, the Balinese Room Pier was completely destroyed by Hurricane Ike on Saturday, September 13, 2008. Her remains were located mostly on Seawall Boulevard, mixed with the wreckage of the neighboring Murdoch's and Hooter's piers, in a pile of debris as wide as the Seawall and stretching for several blocks. I have received dozens of emails, texts and phone calls expressing heartfelt condolences. So many people have taken this as a personal loss, as of course, it is. Thank all of you for your kind thoughts and wishes. One particularly eloquent email was received from Casey Smith, and I think it expresses so well what I have heard from so many of you: I am so sorry for what has happened. I have been to the Balinese Room many, many times and you have always made me feel welcome. I went to the Balinese Room right after you opened and have watched you rebuild and make it a beautiful place. Only those who walked the Balinese Room will ever know what it was like and how it made us feel, as if we were in a different time and as if we were in the presence of all those who have entertained and visited years ago. My heart goes out to you for believing in the Balinese Room. We will never forget the Balinese Room. Sincerely, Casey Smith Gun Barrel City, Texas Thanks to Casey and each of you. Luckily, there is some insurance in place which will help mitigate the financial loss. Of course, we remain at the mercy of the insurance companies and hopefully they will be fair. I do retain the rights to rebuild at the site. Economically, that is impossible but I will entertain realistic proposals from serious investors. Luckily, I have retained copies of many of the photos and other framed artifacts formerly located at the Balinese. A Texas Historical Commission representative is currently sifting the wreckage for any remaining architectural salvage. I am contemplating re-creating a much smaller Balinese Room themed club and "museum" at a building I own on Market Street near the Strand, or at some other location. Our email is balineseroom@sbcglobal.net. Please feel free to email us personal pictures, stories, etc from the Balinese. I want to continue to archive the history of the Balinese, and help preserve the legend for the future. I would particularly like to hear from any eyewitnesses to the actual slide into the ocean. My phone is 713 227 6653. We have heard that there was some removal of artifacts from the debris. If you know of anything that was recovered, please let us know. The City of Galveston has been helpful in protecting these items. You may also contact Lori Schwarz with the City at shwarzlor@cityof galveston if you know of any such removal. Googling "balinese room ike" will yield many links to national, international and local news coverage about the Pier and its destruction. There is a nice story by National Public Radio at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94729672 CNN, Geraldo Rivera and others have shared the Balinese Room story with the whole country. As Casey Smith reminds us "we will never forget the Balinese Room" Please be assured that , with your help, the story of the Balinese will live on. Sincerely, Scott Arnold Owner Balinese Room

Sept 16th, 2022 My…read morefirst time here. I came for an appreciation dinner for the volunteers of the historical foundation It's a nice BIG open space with pretty landscaping.

One of my absolute favorite pieces of Galveston architecture, of which there are many. Garten…read moreVerein and the surrounding old city neighborhood is joyous driving, biking or strolling.

Our guide, Matthew was friendly, knowledgeable and patient. This is the best way to see Galveston-…read moreyou can cover more ground than walking, but get a better view than any street vehicle tour. If you really want to see a place, go on a Segway- we try one every new city we go to.

First time on a Segway, and thanks to the good people and Segcity Galveston, I will definitely do…read morethis again. Galveston is an island and a city. It's flat so no hills to worry about. And being an island, that means you can go all over the island on a Segway. This city has so many awesome parts, the fishery, the industrial seaside (oil rigs and humungous ocean ships with their containers of who knows what), the Strand, other cool downtown areas (check out Post Office street), fantastic historic mansions, funky architecture, interesting neighborhoods and also the beaches. And you can see it all on a Segway, with a helpful and knowledgeable local guide. We met D and she was great. This is a fantastic way to see Galveston. We also liked the Duck Boat tour, but this is so much closer and more personal on a Segway tour. I will do this again next time I'm in Galveston, and I will seek out Segway tours in other cities where I travel. Including my own city this coming summer. Much fun.

I have passed by this monument so many times which is located on 25th St. (Rosenberg St.) and…read moreGalveston's busiest road, Broadway St. This monument depicts three battles of Texas' history, the Alamo, San Jacinto, and Goliad. The paragraph below, I lifted from a different source which I found to be informative. The Texas Heroes Monument is located in Galveston, Texas, and was commissioned by Henry Rosenberg to commemorate the brave people who fought during the Texas Revolution. The monument was built by New England Granite Works using Concord, New Hampshire, granite and bronze. The total cost was $50,000, and it was shipped before June 4, 1899. The sculptor of the monument was Louis Amateis. It is located at the intersection of Broadway and Rosenberg Avenue. It was unveiled on April 22, 1900.

With my dad being a well known barber in the Southbelt community, lots of cool interesting people…read morecome into his shop. This particularly moment, my dad's friend, who works for NASA invited my dad and his family on a tour through NASA, an area that isn't open to the general public. So right there, I knew this experience would be memorable and well worth it. Truly, this has been one of the best top experiences: my dad's friend was so knowledgeable about the whole tour. However, before we got to tour we had to put on special badges according to the guards to make sure other personnel know that we were going to look around. I learned a lot about NASA with all the shuttles, that they actually build some of the things in the facility, sometimes engineering students work in the lab and build robots, all the controls in the shuttles and how space life is. We even had the opportunity to tour and walk through a few of the shuttles which was super cool.

The Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) is an astronaut training facility located at the Sonny Carter…read moreTraining Facility near NASA's Johnson Space Center. The NBL consists of a large indoor pool of water (40 feet deep, 202 feet long, and 102 feet wide. In other words, this is a big ass pool, of which I recently spent parts of 2 days learning boat- and helicopter-related survival training. And yes, I can honestly say that I trained with (or at least near) the astronauts! We also had the chance (via a special visor) to see 2 astronauts perform simulated task in preparation for upcoming missions. Deep down in the pool are full-sized mock-ups of the International Space Station (ISS) modules and payloads, and visiting vehicles from other National programs. The principle of neutral buoyancy is used to simulate the weightless environment of space. What we say was the astronauts (in 300# space suits) lowered and raised in and out of the pool using an overhead crane. Once in the water, the suited astronauts are weighted in the water by support divers so that they experience minimal buoyant force and minimal rotational moment about their center of mass. Multiple divers surround the astronauts during their entire training exercise. It was a very cool thing to watch and appreciate. Postscript - Who was Sonny Carter? M. L. "Sonny" Carter, was instrumental in developing many of the current space-walking techniques used by the astronauts. Carter was selected into the astronaut program in 1984 and flew into space STS-33 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. He was training as a crew member aboard STS-42 when on April 5, 1991, he died in a commuter plane crash near New Brunswick, Georgia. Before he became an astronaut, Carter was a Navy doctor and aviator, and a soccer player for the North American Soccer league.

The tour guide Steve was very good. He told us some hidden insight, about things to do such as free…read moreferry and the moody mansion. Cool artificers from the 1900 flood.

I've been to several GHF events; Bishops Palace midnight tour, their warehouse, dang, I can't…read moreremember them all since 2013 when I moved here. So tomorrow April 7th, 2018 I'm going to the Plank-owners Captain Dinner and walking aboard on the 6 ships

Sitting in the middle of Broadway at the intersection of 23rd St. also known as Tremont Street…read moreyou'll find this World War II memorial. It basically lists those who lived in the Galveston County area who lost their lives during the war. Also accompanying this memorial are two benches that sit out front dedicated to those who lost their lives in the Korean conflict. Located directly across the street is a monument to the 10 Commandments that was constructed in 1957.

Carrying Interstate 45 across Galveston Bay and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, this is the NEW…read morecauseway that was built in 1939 and replaces the old one (it's to the east and is now used by railroad) that was built in 1912. The bridges were replaced/updated between 2006 and 2008. This is the only way (other than the Galveston/Point Bolivar Ferry) to reach Galveston. There is no toll to cross the Causeway. There is no pedestrian lane. Bicycles are both allowed and not allowed depending on who you ask. [Review 868 of 2024 - 623 in Texas - 21898 overall]