Playing To Win

By Beth Yarbrough

When Walter and Josephine Gresham decided to build a new house in Galveston, Texas in 1886, they didn't just come to play. They came to win. The result was first known as a castle but later settled in as a palace. Either way, it won the game, hands down. Still today, the American Institute of Architects includes it on the list of the 100 most important buildings in the nation.

Gresham had a financial hand in everything from railroads to politics - translation - enough money to build 19,000+ square feet of opulence inside and out, providing ample bedrooms, bathrooms, sitting rooms and servants quarters to house a family of nine children, not to mention one fireplace that is reportedly lined with silver. And his wife, Josephine, was no slouch either. An accomplished artist and famed hostess who reportedly furnished the grand staircase of her home with an abundance of pillows during parties in case any of her guests needed a break and wished to take a nap, she hand painted a mural on the ornately coffered dining room ceiling featuring a series of cherubs with distinctive individual faces, said to have been patterned from the faces of each of her children.

Humor me for a second right here and let's get a visual of Josephine Gresham on her back, not unlike Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, painting the dining room ceiling of her home with likenesses of her offspring. Mothering nine children, even with abundant staff to help, is no walk in the park - much less the successful tackling of this little trick - so let's give this girl a standing ovation.

And then came the hurricane. On the night of September 8, 1900, the Gulf of Mexico decided to come inland to the tune of 15 feet of water and 145mph winds, completely immersing and destroying Galveston as its waters barreled toward the Texas mainland. Killing somewhere between 6000 and 12000 people, it was the deadliest natural disaster in United States history. Gresham's Castle and a few surrounding houses were the only things left standing. The Greshams sheltered hundreds of the homeless under their roof in the aftermath.

And Walter Gresham went to work, lobbying for and finally securing the funding for Galveston's famed sea wall, which remains today.

Following Gresham's death in 1923, the Catholic Church stepped in and purchased the house, using it as the home of Bishop Christopher Byrne for many years. Therefore, in its second act, the castle became Bishop's Palace - a name that remains today.

In 2007 the house was again purchased, this time by the Galveston Historical Foundation, which has opened it to the public for tours. Proceeds from ticket sales help to fund the ongoing maintenance of this spectacular residence, which is said to still be inhabited by Walter and Josephine Gresham on occasion - a full century after their deaths. I don't much blame them. If this had been my house, I'd be reluctant to leave it, too.

Photo by Beth Yarbrough.