The Texas Castle That Survived America’s Deadliest Hurricane While an Entire City Washed Away in the 1900s

The Bishop’s Palace

Most folks in 1890s Galveston thought Walter Gresham had lost his mind when he started building his castle by the sea. Good thing he built it strong because the 1900 hurricane proved his crazy dream could survive anything.

Here’s how one man’s palace became a Texas landmark.

Walter Gresham’s Vision

Walter Gresham moved to Galveston after the Civil War. Born in 1841, he opened a law office and married Josephine Mann in 1868.

By 1872, he became Galveston County District Attorney. His career grew when he founded the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railroad.

He ranked among Texas’s highest-paid attorneys. In 1887, while starting construction on his home, voters elected him to the Texas Legislature.

Walter and Josephine raised nine children in this Broadway mansion.

Nicholas Clayton’s Masterpiece

Nicholas Clayton arrived in Galveston in 1872 without formal architectural training. Born in Ireland in 1839, he learned by working as a stonecutter in Cincinnati.

His designs transformed Galveston during the “Clayton Era” of the 1870s-1890s. He created over 150 buildings throughout the city during this period.

The Gresham house became his finest residential work, blending European styles with Gulf Coast practicality.

Architectural Style and Exterior

Clayton designed the Bishop’s Palace in Châteauesque style, mimicking French Loire Valley castles. This French Revival form gained popularity among wealthy Americans in the late 1800s.

The building rises three stories above a raised basement. Steep roofs and long chimneys top the structure.

Four towers anchor the corners, while clustered chimneys create the illusion of a small village rather than one home.

Intricate Stone Carvings

The exterior combines Texas granite, white limestone, and red sandstone. Workers quarried the limestone and granite near Marble Falls, Texas.

John O’Brien, Clayton’s trusted stonemason, carved plants, animals, people, and mythical creatures into the façade from a workshop on the property.

Rounded Romanesque and flattened Tudor arches frame the windows. Stone gargoyles guard the main entrance, and Lion of St. Mark statues stand at the front gate.

Magnificent Interiors

Sienna marble columns flank the arched entrance, leading to rooms with 14-foot ceilings. The central feature, a 40-foot mahogany stairwell, rises to a skylight that brightens the interior.

Craftsmen carved rare woods throughout the house: rosewood, satinwood, white mahogany, American oak, and maple.

The sliding doors between rooms show different wood on each side, matching the rooms they face.

French stained glass windows filter colored light into the spaces.

Notable Rooms and Features

The bathroom features a tub with separate hot, cold, and rainwater spigots. People in the 1800s preferred soft rainwater for washing hair.

Josephine Gresham painted the dining room ceiling herself. SC Johnson and Co. created the library’s parquet floors with patterns matching the woodwork.

The coat closet contains a Pullman sink from railroad cars. Josephine painted in a turret studio with Gulf views.

One fireplace even comes lined with pure silver.

Surviving the 1900 Hurricane

The Great Hurricane of September 8, 1900, killed over 6,000 people and destroyed thousands of buildings across Galveston.

The Bishop’s Palace remained standing. Its 23-inch thick stone walls withstood winds that flattened wooden structures.

Over 200 Galvestonians sheltered inside during America’s deadliest natural disaster. Debris from destroyed buildings piled up nearby, forming a protective barrier.

Only the basement flooded while the main floors stayed intact.

From Gresham House to Bishop’s Palace

Walter Gresham died in 1920. Three years later, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Galveston bought the property.

Catholic parishes raised $37,000 for the purchase plus $12,000 for modernization. Bishop Christopher Edward Byrne moved in with his sisters, Ella and Mary.

Born in Missouri in 1867, Bishop Byrne lived there until his death in 1954. The “Bishop’s Palace” name came later, after it opened as a museum.

The Chapel Transformation

Bishop Byrne converted a bedroom into a chapel. New stained glass windows replaced the originals.

German craftsmen created windows showing four apostles, St. Peter, and St. Paul using a single-bristle brush technique. These colorful windows mark the chapel from outside.

Artists painted Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John on the ceiling. The bishop added an altar and six kneelers for Catholic services.

From Private Home to Public Museum

When the Catholic Diocese merged with Houston, the Galveston mansion became impractical as headquarters. Tours began in 1963.

Texas named it a Recorded Historic Landmark in 1967. The federal government added it to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

By 1975, it joined the East End Historic District National Landmark designation. The American Institute of Architects ranked it among America’s 100 most important buildings.

Visiting The Bishop’s Palace

The Bishop’s Palace stands at 1402 Broadway in Galveston, and it’s pen daily from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM for self-guided tours.

No photography allowed inside the building. The Galveston Historical Foundation offers group rates for parties of 10 or more with advance notice.

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