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FEATURE STORY
GM
“O
Other Great
Representative
Deco Structures
Include:
Stephen F. Austin
Junior High School
1514 Avenue N 1/2
Completed: 1939
pictured on page 19
Alamo Elementary
School
5200 Avenue N 1/2
Completed: 1935
Pennington Buick
Co. Building
23rd Street and
Avenue M
Completed: 1950
Texas State Optical
Building
515 22nd Street,
circa 1940s
House at 1317
Broadway, circa
1946
House at 15 Cedar
Lawn Circle, circa
1949
A few Art Deco
buildings on the
Island have been
remodeled to
reflect a more
modern look
and function
such as the circa
1940 Hill’s Cafe,
now a Saltgrass
Steakhouse at 1502
Seawall.
bviously, Galveston is
known for its Victorian
architecture, but I think
that’s in large part because,
when preservation began here,
a lot of those mid-century art
deco buildings were only 30 or 40
years old,” said Matt Pelz, director
of preservation at the Galveston
Historical Foundation.
“Now,” he said, “art deco structures
are nearing 70 years old, and interest
in preserving buildings from that
time period is picking up. Fifty
years old is kind of the benchmark
nationally for a building to be
considered historic. If it is 50 years
old and retains most of its original
historic materials and character,
it’s considered to have historical
significance.”
The building that houses the
Galveston Railroad Museum at the
corner of 25th and Strand, once
the Union Passenger Depot in the
old Santa Fe Railroad station, is
a perfect example of an art deco
structure that was saved from
demolition and restored. “The
United States Post Office and
Courthouse on 25th Street also are
wonderful examples of the art deco
style,” Pelz said. “Born at the Exposition
Internationale des Arts Décoratifs
et Industriels Modernes held in
Paris in 1925, the art deco style
offered a refreshing change from the
sensibilities that preceded it,” said
Galveston architect David Mullican.
“The deco period is my favorite
historic modern style,” continued
Mullican, who studied art deco and
art moderne in the U.S. and abroad.
“It was created to make you happy
and raise your spirits in a period of
war and depression.”
Mullican, whose office is at 1622
Market St., said one of the best and
most obvious examples of deco on
the island is the 1940 Sears Building
on Broadway that is now the
Galveston Historical Foundation’s
Salvage Warehouse, “which is a
blend of deco and moderne - a
cousin of the deco style only less
decorative. In Galveston, the terms
20 | GALVESTON MONTHLY | NOVEMBER 2014
can be used interchangeably.” He considers the Scottish Rite
Cathedral, circa 1929 and located
at 2128 Church St., to be “the best”
example of art deco on the island.
“It’s beautiful inside and out, and has
Egyptian revival interiors. This is my
favorite deco structure.”
Sadly, he said, “in Galveston the
concern for preserving the Victorian
homes did not extend to the art
deco structures. The style is greatly
underappreciated, mostly because
they are commercial buildings. At
best, there is still some standing.
Most have been destroyed and many
‘remuddled’ beyond recognition.
Our 23rd Street was a deco district
at one time, with several deco
buildings remaining.”
One example of a true art deco
structure is the Martini Theater, a
1,100-seat movie house located
at the 522 21st Street, which was
designed by W. Scott Dunne and
built in 1937 by Attillo Martini.
“The Martini Theater is on GHF’s
“Heritage At Risk” list, and it has no
protections on it at all, which means
it could be torn down at any time,”
Pelz said.
“That really would be a tremendous
loss, because it is definitely
worth saving. It represents a
type of architecture, particularly in
our central downtown business
district, that isn’t very well
represented. The architectural
details associated with art deco
are those that we don’t otherwise
have downtown. It sits on a corner
at Church and 22nd Street, and
corner lots are always important for
preservationists, because if you lose
the building, the lot is likely to be
turned into something that doesn’t
represent the character of the
district, or worse, a parking lot.”
Martini’s great-grandson, Michael
Martini, said the building is “my
heart and soul,” and he’s been
trying for years to find a way to
repurpose the building and restore
it to its original grandeur. “I think
of that building every day of my
life,” Martini, 67, said of the family
theater, which closed in 1975 due to
Clockwise From Top Left:
Galveston Cotton Exchange
and Board of Trade
Building
2102 Mechanic
Completed: 1940
Former Graugnard’s
Bakery Building, also G &
G Bakery
1227 Avenue L
Completed: 1940
Galveston U.S. Post
Office, Custom House and
Courthouse
601 25th Street
Completed: 1937
Former Waples Lumber
Company Building, now
Wynn Funeral Home
602 32nd Street
Completed: 1948
Martini Theater
522 21st Street
Completed: 1937
Windsor Court Apartments
1705 35th Street
Completed: 1937
Former Kirwin Hign School,
now O’Connell College
Preparatory School
1320 Tremont
Completed: 1942
Former Sears and Roebuck
Building, now GHF at the
1940 Sears Building
23rd Street and Broadway
Completed: 1940