in 1959 it opened to the public. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. After finishing the restoration, the GHF worked to restore other historical buildings in Galveston. The GHF absorbed the Galveston Historical Society shortly after, becoming one of the largest locally based groups focused on historic preservation in the United States. Author Susan Wiley Hardwick wrote that "The initial work of the GHF, preservation of the Williams home, set the stage for the preservation and redevelopment of the Strand commercial district, located one block from the harbor." Museum Initially, the house was furnished with donated items. The GHF conducted extensive research in 1978 to determine the house's appearance during Williams' lifetime. The house was subsequently restored to its 1854 appearance, with a reconstructed cupola. It was reopened to the public for regular tours in 1984. In the 1980s, it received up to 25,000 visitors each year. For a time, the museum used innovative interpretive technology. As technology changed, however, the museum fell behind. New audiovisual systems and technology are expensive and, as with most historic house museums, a limited budget made it difficult to adapt. Jessica Foy Donnelly wrote in Interpreting historic house museums that "changing technology for audiovisual systems contributed to the failure [of the Williams house museum] to continue an exciting interpretive technique." In 2004, the house received new landscaping, donated from the Hotel Galvez. In preparation for adding a new outdoor pavilion, the Galvez uprooted hundreds of shrubs and perennials. Many of these, including oleanders, daylilies, hibiscus, plumbago, agapanthus, and bougainvillea, were relocated to the grounds around the Williams house. Attendance slowly dwindled, and in the first nine months of 2007 the museum received only 1,000 visitors, each of whom paid about $3 per ticket. These funds were not enough to cover maintenance on the house. The museum closed permanently at the end of September 2007. Post-museum After closing its doors to the public, the house was used by the Texas Gulf Coast Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers as a showcase. The home was redesigned at no cost to the GHF. Designers donated their time, and businesses and craftsmen donated an estimated $100,000 worth of materials and time. The redesigned house features wood floors, stenciling in the entryway, and faux crown molding in the dining room. The color palette is now blues, roses, soft yellow, and