Are you a fan of historic hotels? 10 Quick Facts on Galveston's Centenarian Hotel Galvez

[Christine Hopkins]

1. Hotel Galvez opened on June 10, 1911 and was built at a cost of $1 million as a symbol of recovery following the nation’s deadliest natural disaster, the Great Storm of 1900.
2. Hotel Galvez and the City of Galveston are both named for Bernardo de Galvez. De Galvez, who never set foot on the island, was a Spanish hero of the American Revolution.
3. When the Hotel Galvez opened in 1911 it offered 275 rooms but the necessity of in-room bathrooms has reduced the current number of rooms to 224.
4. According to local legend, during the 1915 hurricane guests at the Hotel Galvez drank champagne and danced the night away while a woman gave birth to a baby boy in Room 231.
5. The Pageant of Pulchritude, which began in 1920 and ended during the Great Depression, was held in front of the Hotel Galvez and later evolved into the Miss Universe contest. The event has been revived as the Galveston Island Beach Revue.
6. The U.S. Coast Guard commandeered the Hotel Galvez for use as its wartime headquarters from 1942 until 1944.
7. Presidential guests of the Hotel Galvez include President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1937); Dwight D. Eisenhower as a general (1949); Richard Nixon as vice president (1955); and Lyndon B. Johnson as a senator (1959).
8. Noted celebrity guests rumored to have stayed at Hotel Galvez include Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan, Sammy Davis Jr., Jimmy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Phil Harris and Alice Faye, Jack Benny, Howard Hughes, Peggy Lee, Jerry Lewis, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Dean Martin, Freddy Martin, Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Stewart.
9. The hotel’s lobby features a hand-carved bar purchased from the Old Galveston Club and added in the mid-1990s. The Old Galveston Club was known as the Island’s last speakeasy.
10. Hotel Galvez is the only historic beachfront hotel on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Hotel Galvez & Spa is commemorating its 100-year reign as “Queen of the Gulf” with monthly events. Visit www.HotelGalvez100.com for details for follow Hotel Galvez on Facebook at www.facebook.com/hotelgalvez

 

About Hotel Galvez

When Hotel Galvez opened in 1911, Galveston had just finished building its 17-foot seawall to protect the island from storm surges; the town had also completed its grade-raising project which raised the grade of land as well as hundreds of buildings from 11 to 14 feet to help protect them from flooding in the event of future storms. The Causeway, connecting Galveston Island to the mainland, had also been completed. These accomplishments were part of the island’s recovery efforts following the Great Storm of 1900.

Hotel Galvez, A Wyndham^® Grand Hotel and a National Trust Historic Hotel of America, is rated four diamonds by AAA and is part of Mitchell Historic Properties. The hotel is hosting year-long monthly centennial celebrations in 2011. For reservations, call (800) WYNDHAM -- [phone] -- or visit www.WyndhamHotelGalvez.com.

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, LLC, a subsidiary of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: WYN), offers upscale hotel and resort accommodations throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, China and the Caribbean. All Wyndham® hotels are either franchised by the company or managed by Wyndham Hotel Management, Inc., one of its affiliates or through a joint-venture partner. Additional information and reservations for all Wyndham hotels are available by calling (800) WYNDHAM – [phone] – or visiting www.wyndham.com.

 

 

About Galveston Island

Galveston Island is the No. 2 tourism attraction in Texas for in-state and out-of-state travelers. Galveston is a historic beach town located just 50 miles south from Houston, Texas – the fourth largest city in the U.S. A diverse cultural town, Galveston Island is a unique destination offering 32 miles of beaches, a variety of family attractions and resorts, one of the largest and well-preserved concentrations of Victorian architecture in the country and Texas’ premiere cruise port.