The Hotel Galvez was built as a symbol of Galveston’s resilience following the Great Storm of 1900. A group of businessmen pulled their resources and raised $1 million to open the hotel on June 10, 1911 at 6 p.m. This elegant beachfront hotel was immediately proclaimed “Queen of the Gulf.”
The hotel has a colorful history from serving as a temporary White House for President Teddy Roosevelt to serving as a working facility for the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II and as a headquarters for the Pageants of Pulchritude, the beauty pageants that were predecessors to the Miss America Pageant. The Hotel Galvez is now one of the most popular choices for brides, hosting an average of 120 weddings every year.
In 1937, President Teddy Roosevelt spent ten days at the hotel and held a meeting with newly elected Congressman and future president, Lyndon B. Johnson. In the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, the Hotel Galvez was the social hub of Galveston then known as the “Playground of the Southwest.” Bandleader Phil Harris and actress Alice Faye married at Hotel Galvez and hundreds of celebrities including Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Stewart stayed at the hotel.
Like many historic hotels, the Hotel Galvez has a resident ghost. Legend has it that the fiancée of a seaman checked in to Room 501 while her love was away at sea. She discovered that his ship had sunk and she took her own life in desperation. Her spirit haunts Hotel Galvez to this day.
The Hotel Galvez remains the only historic beachfront hotel in Galveston. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a member of Historic Hotels of America. The Hotel Galvez, a Wyndham Historic Hotel, is owned by Galveston preservationists Cynthia and George Mitchell and is part of Mitchell Historic Properties.
For additional information about Hotel Galvez, call (409) 765-7721, 800-WYNDHAM, or visit http://www.wyndhamhotelgalvez.com.
Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, a subsidiary of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: WYN), offers upscale hotel and resort accommodations throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. All hotels are either franchised or managed by Wyndham Hotels and Resorts or an affiliate. For more information, visit http://www.wyndham.com.
Editorial Note: The original release cited that Teddy Roosevelt was a guest at the hotel in 1937; it was actually Franklin Roosevelt.
