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The port also serves as a passenger cruise ship terminal for cruise ships operating in the Caribbean . The terminal is home port to two Carnival Cruise Lines vessels , the Carnival Conquest and the Carnival Ecstasy . In November 2011 the company made Galveston home port to its 3 @,@ 960 @-@ passenger mega @-@ ships Carnival Magic and Carnival Triumph , as well . Carnival Magic sails a seven @-@ day Caribbean cruise from Galveston , and it is the largest cruise ship based at the Port year @-@ round . Galveston is the home port to Royal Caribbean International 's , MS Libertty of the Seas , which is the largest cruise ship ever based here and one of the largest ships in the world . In September 2012 Disney Cruise Line 's Disney Magic also became based in Galveston , offering four- , six- , seven- , and eight @-@ day cruises to the Caribbean and the Bahamas .
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= = = Finance = = =
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American National Insurance Company , one of the largest life insurance companies in the United States , is based in Galveston . The company and its subsidiaries operate in all 50 U.S. states , the District of Columbia , Puerto Rico , and American Samoa . Through its subsidiary , American National de México , Compañía de Seguros de Vida , it provides products and services in Mexico . Moody National Bank , with headquarters in downtown Galveston , is one of the largest privately owned Texas @-@ based banks . Its trust department , established in 1927 , administers over 12 billion dollars in assets , one of the largest in the state . In addition , the regional headquarters of Iowa @-@ based United Fire & Casualty Company are located in the city .
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= = = Health care = = =
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Galveston is the home of several of the largest teaching hospitals in the state , located on the campus of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston . Prior to Hurricane Ike , the University employed more than 12 @,@ 000 people . Its significant growth in the 1970s and 1980s was attributable to a uniquely qualified management and medical faculty including : Mr. John Thompson ; Dr. William James McGanity , Dr. William Levin , Dr. David Daeschner and many more .
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Ike severely damaged the 550 @-@ bed John Sealy Hospital causing the University of Texas System Board of Regents to cut nearly one @-@ third of the hospital staff . Since the storm , the regents have committed to spending $ 713 million to restore the campus , construct new medical towers , and return John Sealy Hospital to its 550 bed pre @-@ storm capacity .
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In 2011 , the UT Board of Regents approved the construction of a new 13 story hospital that will be located next to John Sealy Hospital . Construction will begin in the fall of 2011 , with the demolition of the old Jennie Sealy and Shriners hospitals , and continue until completion in 2016 . The facility will have 250 room , 20 operating suites and 54 intensive care beds . When the new hospital is complete , along with the renovations at John Sealy , both complexes will have around 600 beds .
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The university reopened their Level I Trauma Center on August 1 , 2009 which had been closed for eleven months after the hurricane and , as of September 2009 , had reopened 370 hospital beds .
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The city is also home to a 30 @-@ bed acute burns hospital for children , the Shriners Burns Hospital at Galveston . The Galveston hospital is one of only four in the chain of 22 non @-@ profit Shriners hospitals , that provides acute burns care . Although the Galveston Hospital was damaged by Hurricane Ike , the Shriners national convention held in July 2009 voted to repair and reopen the hospital .
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= = = Tourism = = =
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In the late 1800s Galveston was known as the " Playground of the South " Today , it still retains a shared claim to the title among major cities along the Gulf Coast states . Galveston is a popular tourist destination which in 2007 brought $ 808 million to the local economy and attracted 5 @.@ 4 million visitors . The city features an array of lodging options , including hotels such as the historic Hotel Galvez and Tremont House , vintage bed and breakfast inns , beachfront condominiums , and resort rentals . The city 's tourist attractions include the Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier , Galveston Schlitterbahn waterpark , Moody Gardens botanical park , the Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig & Museum , the Lone Star Flight Museum , Galveston Railroad Museum , a downtown neighborhood of historic buildings known as The Strand , many historical museums and mansions , and miles of beach front from the East End 's Porretto Beach , Stewart Beach to the West End pocket parks .
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The Strand plays host to a yearly Mardi Gras festival , Galveston Island Jazz & Blues Festival and a Victorian @-@ themed Christmas festival called Dickens on the Strand ( honoring the works of novelist Charles Dickens , especially A Christmas Carol ) in early December . Galveston is home to several historic ships : the tall ship Elissa ( the official Tall Ship of Texas ) at the Texas Seaport Museum and USS Cavalla and USS Stewart , both berthed at Seawolf Park on nearby Pelican Island . Galveston is ranked the number one cruise port on the Gulf Coast and fourth in the United States .
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= = Arts and culture = =
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= = = Museums = = =
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Galveston Arts Center
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Incorporated in 1986 , Galveston Arts Center ( GAC ) is a non @-@ profit , non @-@ collecting arts organization . The center exhibits contemporary art , often by Texas @-@ based artists , and offers educational and outreach programs . Notably , GAC organizes and produces Galveston ArtWalk . Museum entry is free to the public , although cash donations are welcomed . Tiered membership options and a range of volunteer opportunities are also available .
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In October 2015 , Galveston Arts Center will celebrate relocation to its original home , the historic 1878 First National Bank Building on the Strand . This Italianate @-@ style 1900 Storm survivor was extensively damaged during Hurricane Ike in 2008 . Fortunately , just weeks before Ike made landfall , scaffolding was installed to support the entire structural load of the building for repairs , likely preventing collapse under heavy winds and storm surge . After a lengthy fundraising campaign , restoration is nearing completion .
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= = = Events = = =
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Galveston ArtWalk
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ArtWalk takes place approximately every six weeks on Saturday evenings throughout the year . ArtWalk is organized by Galveston Arts Center , which releases an ArtWalk brochure featuring a map of participating venues as well as descriptions of shows and exhibits . Venues include GAC , Galveston Artist Residency and artist ’ s studios and galleries . Additionally , art is shown in “ other walls ” — for example MOD Coffeehouse or Mosquito Cafe — or outdoors at Art Market on Market Street . Musicians perform outdoors and at venues such as the Proletariat Gallery & Public House or Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe . While most ArtWalk events are concentrated downtown , there are a number or participants elsewhere on the island .
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= = = Music and Performing Arts = = =
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Galveston Symphony Orchestra
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Galveston is home to the Galveston Symphony Orchestra , an ensemble of amateur and professional musicians formed in 1979 under the direction of Richard W. Pickar , Musical Director @-@ Conductor .
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Galveston Ballet
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The Galveston Ballet is a regional pre @-@ professional ballet company and academy serving Galveston county . The company presents one full @-@ length classical ballet in the spring of each year and one mixed repertory program in the fall , both presented at the Grand 1894 Opera House .
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= = = Artist Residency & Artist Housing = = =
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Galveston Artist Residency
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Galveston Artist Residency ( GAR ) grants studio space , living space and a stipend to three visual artists each year . Resident artists work in a variety of mediums and exhibit their work in the GAR Gallery and Courtyards . Located in renovated industrial structures on the west side of downtown , GAR also hosts performances and other public events .
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The National Hotel Artist Lofts
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The National Hotel Artist Lofts ( NHAL ) is an Artspace @-@ developed property featuring twenty @-@ seven live / work units designated as affordable housing for artists . The project brought new life to the historic E.S. Levy Building , which was left abandoned for twenty years . Originally built as the Tremont Opera House in 1870 , the structure was extensively renovated to serve various functions , from offices and stores to the National Hotel . The building also housed the U.S. National Weather Bureau 's Galveston office under Isaac Cline during the 1900 Storm .
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Under Property Manager / Creative Director Becky Major , the unused retail space in the front of the building found a new purpose as a DIY art and music venue , despite its gutted and undeveloped state . In May 2015 , the newly renovated space reopened as the Proletariat Gallery & Public House . This unique bar and gallery provides a common area for NHAL and neighborhood residents and a cultural hub for the broader community . Visual art , events and live music are regularly hosted in the space .
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= = = Architecture = = =
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Galveston contains one of the largest and historically significant collections of 19th @-@ century buildings in the United States . Galveston 's architectural preservation and revitalization efforts over several decades have earned national recognition .
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Located in the Strand District , the Grand 1894 Opera House is a restored historic Romanesque Revival style Opera House that is currently operated as a not @-@ for @-@ profit performing arts theater . The Bishop 's Palace , also known as Gresham 's Castle , is an ornate Victorian house located on Broadway and 14th Street in the East End Historic District of Galveston , Texas . The American Institute of Architects listed Bishop 's Palace as one of the 100 most significant buildings in the United States , and the Library of Congress has classified it as one of the fourteen most representative Victorian structures in the nation . The Galvez Hotel is a historic hotel that opened in 1911 . The building was named the Galvez , honoring Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid , Count of Gálvez , for whom the city was named . The hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 4 , 1979 . The Michel B. Menard House , built in 1838 and oldest in Galveston , is designed in the Greek revival style . In 1880 , the house was bought by Edwin N. Ketchum who was police chief of the city during the 1900 Storm . The Ketchum family owned the home until the 1970s . The red @-@ brick Victorian Italianate home , Ashton Villa , was constructed in 1859 by James Moreau Brown . One of the first brick structures in Texas , it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a recorded Texas Historic Landmark . The structure is also the site of what was to become the holiday known as Juneteenth . Where On June 19 , 1865 , Union General Gordon Granger , standing on its balcony , read the contents of “ General Order No. 3 ” , thereby emancipating all slaves in the state of Texas . St. Joseph ’ s Church was built by German immigrants in 1859 @-@ 60 and is the oldest wooden church building in Galveston and the oldest German Catholic Church in Texas . The church was dedicated in April 1860 , to St. Joseph , the patron saint of laborers . The building is a wooden gothic revival structure , rectangular with a square bell tower with trefoil window . The U.S. Custom House began construction in 1860 and was completed in 1861 . The Confederate Army occupied the building during the American Civil War , In 1865 , the Custom House was the site of the ceremony officially ending the Civil War .
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Galveston 's modern architecture include the American National Insurance Company Tower ( One Moody Plaza ) , San Luis Resort South and North Towers , The Breakers Condominiums , The Galvestonian Resort and Condos , One Shearn Moody Plaza , US National Bank Building , the Rainforest Pyramid at Moody Gardens , John Sealy Hospital Towers at UTMB and Medical Arts Building ( also known as Two Moody Plaza ) .
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= = = Media = = =
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The Galveston County Daily News , founded in 1842 , is the city 's primary newspaper and the oldest continuously printed newspaper in Texas . It currently serves as the newspaper of record for the city and the Texas City Post serves as the newspaper of record for the County . Radio station KGBC , on air from 1947 @-@ 2010 , has previously served as a local media outlet . Television station KHOU signed on the air as KGUL @-@ TV on March 23 , 1953 . Originally licensed in Galveston , KGUL was the second television station to launch in the Houston area after KPRC @-@ TV . One of the original investors in the station was actor James Stewart , along with a small group of other Galveston investors . In June 1959 , KGUL changed its call sign to KHOU and moved their main office to Houston . The local hip hop name for Galveston is " G @-@ town . "
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= = = Sculpture = = =
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Many statues and sculptures can be found around the city . Here are a few well @-@ known sculptures .
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1900 Storm Memorial by David W. Moore
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Birth by Arthur Williams
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Dignified Resignation by Louis Amateis
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Dolphins by David W. Moore
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High Tide by Charles Parks
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Jack Johnson by Adrienne Isom
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Pink Dolphin Monument by Joe Joe Orangias
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Texas Heroes Monument by Louis Amateis
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= = = Notable people = = =
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Galveston has been home to many important figures in Texas and U.S. history . During the island 's earliest history it became the domain of Jean Lafitte , the famed pirate and American hero of the War of 1812 . Richard Bache , Jr. who represented Galveston in the Senate of the Second Texas Legislature in 1847 and assisted in drawing up the Constitution of 1845 . He was also the grandson of Benjamin Franklin , one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America and Deborah Read . In 1886 , the African @-@ American Galveston civil rights leader Norris Wright Cuney rose to become the head of the Texas Republican Party and one of the most important Southern black leaders of the century . Noted portrait and landscape artist Verner Moore White moved from Galveston the day before the 1900 hurricane . While he survived , his studio and much of his portfolio were destroyed . A survivor of the hurricane was the Hollywood director King Vidor , who made his directing debut in 1913 with the film Hurricane in Galveston . Later Jack Johnson , nicknamed the “ Galveston Giant ” , became the first black world heavyweight boxing champion .
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During the first half of the 20th century , William L. Moody Jr. established a business empire , which includes American National Insurance Company , a major national insurer , and founded the Moody Foundation , one of the largest charitable organizations in the United States . Sam Maceo , a nationally known organized crime boss , with the help of his family , was largely responsible for making Galveston a major U.S. tourist destination from the 1920s to the 1940s . John H. Murphy , a Texas newspaperman for seventy @-@ four years , was the longtime executive vice president of the Texas Daily Newspaper Association . Douglas Corrigan became one of the early transatlantic aviators , and was given the nickname " Wrong Way " for claiming to have mistakenly made the ocean crossing after being refused permission to make the flight . Grammy @-@ award winning singer @-@ songwriter Barry White was born on the island and later moved to Los Angeles .
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George P. Mitchell , pioneer of hydraulic fracturing technology and developer of The Woodlands , Texas , was born and raised in Galveston .
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More recently Tilman J. Fertitta , part of the Maceo bloodline , established the Landry 's Restaurants corporation , which owns numerous restaurants and entertainment venues in Texas and Nevada . Kay Bailey Hutchison was the senior senator from Texas and the first female Texas senator .
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Gilbert Pena , incoming 2015 Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from Pasadena , was born in Galveston in 1949 and lived there in early childhood .
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Jonathan Pollard , who spied for Israel and was convicted in the US and sentenced to life in jail , was born in Galveston . The film and television actor Lee Patterson , a native of Vancouver , British Columbia , lived in Galveston and died there in 2007 .
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Other notable people include Matt Carpenter , second baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals , Mike Evans , wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , actress Katherine Helmond and Tina Knowles , fashion designer and creator of House of Deréon , mother of Beyoncé and Solange . Grammy award winning R & B and Jazz legend Esther Phillips was born in Galveston in 1935 .
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= = Government and infrastructure = =
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= = = Local government = = =
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After the hurricane of 1900 , the city originated the City Commission form of city government ( which became known as the " Galveston Plan " ) . The city has since adopted the council @-@ manager form of government . Galveston 's city council serves as the city 's legislative branch , while the city manager works as the chief executive officer , and the municipal court system serves as the city 's judicial branch . The city council and mayor promote ordinances to establish municipal policies . The Galveston City Council consists of six elected positions , each derived from a specified electoral district . Each city council member is elected to a two @-@ year term , while the mayor is elected to a two @-@ year term . The city council appoints the city manager , the city secretary , the city auditor , the city attorney , and the municipal judge . The city 's Tax Collector is determined by the city council and is outsourced to Galveston County . The city manager hires employees , promotes development , presents and administers the budget , and implements city council policies . Joe Jaworski is mayor , having replaced term @-@ limited Lyda Ann Thomas May 2010 . Jaworski is also the grandson of Leon Jaworski , United States Special Prosecutor during the Watergate Scandal in the 1970s .
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= = = City services = = =
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The Galveston Fire Department provides fire protection services through six fire stations and 17 pieces of apparatus . The Galveston Police Department has provided the city 's police protection for more than 165 years . Over 170 authorized officers serve in three divisions .
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The city is served by the Rosenberg Library , successor to the Galveston Mercantile Library , which was founded in 1871 . It is the oldest public library in the State of Texas . The library also serves as headquarters of the Galveston County Library System , and its librarian also functions as the Galveston County Librarian .
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= = = County , state , and federal government = = =
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Galveston is the seat and second @-@ largest city ( after League City , Texas ) of Galveston County in population . The Galveston County Justice Center , which houses all the county 's judicial functions as well as jail , is located on 59th street . The Galveston County Administrative Courthouse , the seat of civil and administrative functions , is located near the city 's downtown . Galveston is within the County Precinct 1 ; as of 2008 Patrick Doyle serves as the Commissioner of Precinct 1 . The Galveston County Sheriff 's Office operates its law enforcement headquarters and jail from the Justice Center . The Galveston County Department of Parks and Senior Services operates the Galveston Community Center . Galveston is located in District 23 of the Texas House of Representatives . As of 2008 , Craig Eiland represents the district . Most of Galveston is within District 17 of the Texas Senate ; as of 2008 Joan Huffman represents the district . A portion of Galveston is within District 11 of the Texas Senate ; as of 2008 Mike Jackson represents the district . Galveston is in Texas 's 14th congressional district and is represented by Republican Randy Weber as of 2012 .
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The Galveston Division of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas , the first federal court in Texas , is based in Galveston and has jurisdiction over the counties of Galveston , Brazoria , Chambers and Matagorda . It is housed in the United States Post Office , Customs House and Court House federal building in downtown Galveston . The United States Postal Service operates several post offices in Galveston , including the Galveston Main Post Office and the Bob Lyons Post Office Station . In addition the post office has a contract postal unit at the Medical Branch Unit on the campus of the University of Texas Medical Branch and the West Galveston Contract Postal Unit , located on the west end of Galveston Island in the beachside community of Jamaica Beach .
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= = = Transportation = = =
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Scholes International Airport at Galveston ( IATA : GLS , ICAO : KGLS ) is a two @-@ runway airport in Galveston ; the airport is primarily used for general aviation , offshore energy transportation , and some limited military operations . The nearest commercial airline service for the city is operated out of Houston through William P. Hobby Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport . The University of Texas Medical Branch has two heliports , one for Ewing Hall and one for its emergency room .
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Subsets and Splits