The Pecan Park Eagle

Pleasure Pier, Galveston, 1948-61, Seawall @ 25th. Tilman Fertitta is bringing it back, bigger and better, in May 2012.

In the years following World War II, trips to Galveston always brought to mind the enormous Pleasure Pier at Seawall and 25th. Built in 1948 as a recreational facility for the military stationed on Galveston Island, the place converted into a commercial fun spot to go that really didn’t die until Galveston got whacked by Hurricane Carla in 1961. After Carla, the site pretty much rested in shambles until the Flagship Hotel was built on the site in 1965. Then, already well beyond its better days, the Flagship took its own hurricane hit from Ike in 2008 and went into waiting for its current resurrection in new form.

Tilman Fertitta to the commercial rescue.

Restaurant magnate and Galveston native Tilman Fertitta is now in the process of restoring the seawall site to a state beyond its former glory. A 1100 foot long extension from the beach into the Gulf of Mexico is under rapid construction to bring back the glorious Pleasure Pier in a form it never knew the first time. For $60 million dollars, the new Pleasure Pier will feature modern incarnations of the old carnival rides, places to buy souvenirs, do more serious shopping, dine, and be entertained in ways that Fertitta hopes will help Galveston continue to sell itself as something more than a day trip destination of local tourists.

In spite of the murky gray Gulf waters, Fertitta and Galveston want international tourists to eventually see Galveston Island as the Texas version of Florida’s South Beach. They have some ground to cover to reach that goal, if ever, but that’s another story for another day. Big dreams have to start somewhere – and they seem to require the presence of dynamos like Tilman Fertitta to even have a chance. For now, I’m sure that Fertitta and Galveston will settle for delivery on their planned May 2012 Grand Opening and an overflowing crowd that books 90% of the best hotel rooms on the Island.

Channel 13 did a nice tight story on the new “Pier” recently and it is available at the following link.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8523095

Have a nice week everybody and, if you live in Houston, watch out for the frog-strangler rain that we are supposed to get on Tuesday.