Monthly Archives: May 2026

52nd Annual Galveston Historic Homes Tour Recap

Posted on by
Reply

Another Galveston Historic Homes Tour has come and gone, and I was quite happy with the result. We took a different approach to this year’s tour than we have in the past, for a few behind-the-scenes reasons I won’t get into. Normally, I take the full tour on the first Saturday and then volunteer on Sunday. I also usually rent a house for the first weekend to make things easier on the body. The less driving and waiting for the ferry, the better!

This year, however, I was unable to rent the house that weekend, so I knew travel time was going to be a factor. Fortunately, the ferry crews were awesome, and I do not associate them with TxDOT, because TxDOT is the devil—but I digress. Shoutout to the Ray Stoker Jr., Robert H. Dedman, and the Dewitt C. Greer. As Miss Rachel would say, “Good job!”

My drive on the first Saturday to volunteer was wonderful. Actually, the whole weekend was wonderful. Temperatures in the 50s in the mornings and beautiful weather both days? Yes, please!

I volunteered at the 1909 Frances Wiley House at 2922 Bernardo de Galvez (Avenue P). Of course, I was part of the volunteer crew with Bev Davis from Liberty County, as I have been since 2015. Since I usually volunteer on Sundays, I finally got to meet her Saturday crew, who are also from Liberty County. Most of these volunteers are with the Liberty County Historical Commission (LCHC). I’m the oddball of the bunch, being from Jefferson County, but they’re great people, and we all share the same goal: volunteering for Bev!

The house had a constant flow of visitors. It wasn’t overwhelming like some years, but it was definitely busier than other homes on the tour. We heard there was especially heavy traffic at the Cover House, the 1951 Sam and Edna Maceo House, which is to be expected on a tour like this. There was also a long wait at both the 1886 Fredrick and Mary Bessner House and the 1886 Adolph and Lena Nitsche House. I know this because those were the two houses that took the longest to tour on Sunday.

The 1909 Frances Wiley House itself was beautiful, and I toured it twice! Booties were required at every house this year, something I discovered firsthand on Sunday.

When we drove back to Galveston on Sunday to take the tour, we didn’t leave early enough to make it to the Cover House first. Instead, we headed to the 1886 Fredrick and Mary Bessner House and the 1886 Adolph and Lena Nitsche House, thinking the lines wouldn’t be too bad. Unfortunately, when you only allow six people inside at a time and add booties to the process, congestion happens quickly.

One thing I have to mention about the Bessner House: the neighbor used wine corks as mulch around their trees, which was absolutely hilarious. I want this person to be my neighbor.

We also toured the 1886 Mollie Walters House at 2528 Postoffice. This was the Bordello House featured on last year’s tour while it was still being restored. They did a wonderful job with the property and turned it into a bed-and-breakfast. I was originally supposed to volunteer there on Sunday, but after switching days, my only regret was not posting: “I’m with the Candy Lady at the Bordello. Come on by!”

Week two began with the usual question: “Is it going to rain or not?” We took the gamble and ended up having a great time finishing the tour. We started at the 1951 Sam and Edna Maceo House, and it was a treat. I’ll just call it the “Gangster House.”

The best part of the second weekend was the lack of lines. We had all of Saturday to tour the homes, and there was no pressure to rush through everything in a single day. Honestly, I kind of liked that approach.

The 1914 Charles J. Wolfer Tenant House, the 1911 German Methodist Parsonage, and the 1892 Carlos and Jane Hickenlooper House were all must-sees, but in general, every house on the tour was beautiful. We especially enjoyed spreading the tour across multiple weekends instead of cramming it all into one day.

I’ll always support the Galveston Historic Homes Tour, but I think I’ve officially become a fan of the multi-weekend approach. Until next time!

P.S. I’ve already rented the house for next year. I learned my lesson.

52nd Annual Galveston Historic Homes Tour

Posted on by

The 52st Annual Galveston Historic Homes Tours is here, and the Galveston Historical Foundation, along with its many volunteers, will be there to guide you, inform you, and hopefully educate you on these precious structures, but please note that there will be delays, long lines, and booties at some of the homes. Which ones, I have no idea, but I’ll definitely find out on Sunday when I take the tour.

People tend to take this tour in different ways, and I want to help you as much as possible so you can have a wonderful experience visiting these treasures. First off, buy your tickets online. Keep them on your phone and/or print them. This should make it easy for you to pick up your tour book/ticket when you are at your first house. It shouldn’t be a secret that credit card machines, and the many gremlins inside their wires, like to screw with this technology. Most of the time it works, but I’ve volunteered for 12 years, so… Also, cash for tickets will be taken, but I haven’t heard if there will be cash boxes. There wasn’t last year, so we couldn’t give change. Keep this in mind. This was a new arrangement last year, so any disgruntled persons should contact the Galveston Historical Foundation. As a volunteer, I will quote Sgt. Oddball on this: “Don’t hit me with them negative waves.” My animal spirit, Yukari Akiyama (秋山 優花里), backs me up on this.

When taking the Historic Homes Tour, you should have a plan.

1. Each ticket is valid for one visit to every house on either weekend. If you can go both weekends, taking the tour with family and friends is a great experience. However, if you only have one weekend or even only one day, then it is better to take the tour with no more than three people. Long lines can be an obstacle. One year, I took the opening-day tour solo, and there was a point when I passed in front of 14 people because they only had enough room for one more person in the group.

2. Some of the houses are in the same neighborhood, so have a plan to park centrally. You will be able to walk to multiple places without wasting time looking for a parking spot for the various destinations.

3. NO HEELS! I should have put this up top. This is the one thing I’ve never understood. Why would someone wear heels on a home tour that involves walking upstairs and on lovely restored floors? If you do wear heels, you’ll end up walking through some stranger’s house shoeless. There was an instance when a homeowner had their beautiful restored floor damaged by someone who chose not to wear comfortable shoes. The money raised by the tour paid for the floor to be restored again.

4. Booties! Speaking of shoes, it is always inevitable to have one house on the tour that doesn’t want you prancing around in heels or people walking on their newly restored floors. I get it, restoration is expensive! But then why have your home on the tour? Anyway, I digress. This will undoubtedly slow down the people taking the tour. So, you may have to wait some time.

5. It may be better to visit popular homes, such as the cover house, at the beginning of the day, during lunchtime, or close to the last tour (six in the afternoon). I’ve found that these times have fewer lines.

6. Volunteers. Most of the people who check your ticket, sell you the excellent wares that the Galveston Historical Foundation offers, and are stationed throughout the properties are volunteers. This means they are not getting paid. The white shirt–black pants army is there to keep the tour rolling and help you visit these beautiful homes. I say this because when you find yourself in a line, know that most of these people are doing the best they can to give you a great experience.

7. Visit the Old City Cemetery! The wildflowers are lovely and a great photo opportunity for photographers.

8. Make sure to look for the cemetery tours hosted by Kathleen Maca. They sell out fast! The reason is that she is a great storyteller and has written several books on Broadway’s prominent cemetery.

I’ll be at the 1909 Frances Wiley House 2922 Bernardo de Galvez (Ave. P) on Saturday. Hope you stop by!

See you on the tour!