Silk Stocking Historic District - Galveston, Texas
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English - August 22, 2021 23:00 - 2 minutes - 1.78 MBHistory Society & Culture Places & Travel galveston texas history audio tour free island education texas history historic Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
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Interested in information covered in this episode? Dive deeper into the links below! :
Silk Stocking Historic District: https://www.galvestontx.gov/648/Silk-Stocking
Ursuline Academy at Galveston:
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/ursuline-academy-galveston#:~:text=The%20Ursuline%20Academy%20at%20Galveston,had%20arrived%20on%20January%2016.&text=Clayton%20along%20with%20the%20convent,the%20Galveston%20hurricane%20of%201900.
The Silk Stocking District is one of the city's most intact historic residential areas, with most of the homes dating back to the late 18 hundreds.
The name of the district refers to the wealth of the early residents. They were affluent and could afford to build large, ornate homes, many of which still stand today. Like the East End Historic District, the architecture reflects a variety of styles and periods, including Greek revival and Victorian-style homes with beautiful stained glass and wraparound porches.
Rosenberg Avenue is the main thoroughfare through the district, stretching from Broadway to Seawall, then from 23rd to 26th Street. This entire area was historically recognized in 1975 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Silk Stocking District was initially developed in the early 1870s and had a mix of single-family working-class homes, a small corner store, large vacant blocks, and industrial sites.
The Texas Cotton Press was the core of the Silk Stocking District until the 1890s. After the Texas Cotton Press went bankrupt and was demolished, the area was subdivided, and the lot was sold at auction in 1898. Many of the homes built in those lots are the ones you see today. Big, beautiful, and standing strong.
This district was also home to the Ursuline Academy between Avenue N, and Avenue O. The Ursuline Academy was built between 1881 and 1885. The building was designed by prominent Galveston architect Nicholas Clayton. The Ursuline Academy was the first Catholic school for girls in the state and was a place of refuge for Galvestonians during the storm of 1900.
The Ursuline Academy was an architectural masterpiece. After 80 years of standing strong, it was finally destroyed by Hurricane Carla in 1961. The Silk Stocking District is now one of the most prominent Galveston neighborho