New ways sought to keep Bishop’s Palace alive

Bishop’s Palace, otherwise known as the Walter and Josephine Gresham House (1888-92), is among the most notable examples of residential Victorian architecture in the U.S. and is the most visited historic attraction in Galveston.

Nicholas Clayton, Galveston’s most renowned architect, completed this chateauesque masterpiece less than a decade before the 1900 Storm. His patrons, the Greshams, spared no expense.

Today, Bishop’s Palace captures the attention of visitors from around the world and defines Galveston’s heyday as a port city and place of power and prestige. Just as it would be hard to imagine Asheville, N.C., without the Biltmore as a museum, it is hard to imagine Galveston without Bishop’s Palace being open to our many visitors.

Since 2007, Galveston Historical Foundation has operated Bishop’s Palace as a house museum in a management agreement with the Galveston-Houston Archdiocese. Before the historical foundation’s taking over management of the property, the archdiocese had operated Bishop’s Palace as a house museum for decades.

When a study of the building’s restoration needs showed that at least $5 million in repairs would be necessary to keep the building going, the archdiocese began a series of talks with the historical foundation that led to our taking over all management responsibilities for Bishop’s Palace, most importantly fundraising aimed at the building’s extensive need for restoration.

The foundation is now faced with the dilemma of exercising our option to purchase Bishop’s Palace. Under our management agreement, the archdiocese offered the foundation an opportunity to purchase the property through January 2013. This is a negotiation between private entities. The foundation is now considering how and if it should proceed with the purchase.

We believe the house is the linchpin of Galveston’s heritage tourism program and recognize that making the house available to tourists is paramount. Because of this, the urgency of the sale is obvious as the city rebounds from Hurricane Ike.

Bishop’s Palace has international appeal and is second only to Moody Gardens as a tourist attraction for the island. It has a vital role in our island’s ongoing economic development.

The leadership of Galveston Historical Foundation will consider options within the organization in the next few months. Until we make a decision, the following question and answer exchange may help to broaden local discussion on the value of Bishop’s Palace to the future of our city.

Q: Has the historical foundation requested any public or private funding for the purchase of the house?

A: No. We have had discussions with some key individuals regarding various options for GHF’s purchase, but no requests have been initiated.

Q: What would the archdiocese do if the foundation does not buy the property?

A: Leaders of the archdiocese are clear they do not see their mission to maintain or own a house museum.

Since Hurricane Ike, the church leadership has expressed a desire to reduce the number of buildings on the island and focus its ministry.

It likely is that Bishop’s Palace would be available for a private entity to purchase at some point if the historical foundation does not exercise its option by 2013.

Q: It was stated in an earlier article the palace needs $5 million in repairs; is that an accurate assessment of the building’s needs?

A: There is an estimate that to fully restore the house to its 19th-century grandeur that as much as $5 million is needed. With that said, the Gresham House is extremely well built and relatively inexpensive to operate as a museum.

If you have not visited lately, we remind you it has no central air or heat, no working kitchen, no off-street parking or storage, and limited toilets. These factors reduce overhead costs. The house is, however, more than 100 years old and needs continual maintenance and restoration work as any property will require.

The historical foundation competed for a federal National Park Service grant to assist with the roof and committed to the archdiocese to raise funds for restoration.

The foundation managed the reclamation work on the house following Hurricane Ike and raised private funds to put it back into working order.

We still are raising funds to match the federal grant.

The archdiocese has not expended any funds on the house since we began management.

Q: If the historical foundation owned the property, how would it maintain it and would it need public assistance?

A: Galveston Historical Foundation is a private nonprofit, and we have a long history of maintaining and caring for the island’s historic buildings and vessels.

We have raised funds to restore and maintain the Williams House since the 1950s, St. Joseph’s Church since the 1960s, Ashton Villa since the 1970s, and the 1861 US Custom House since 1999. None of these properties receives any public funding.

Elissa also is a major tourist attraction for the island, and it receives no assistance from any public entity. For example, the historical foundation pays a monthly rental to the Port of Galveston for its slip and is responsible for the pier and facilities where she is berthed.

If the board of the foundation decides to purchase Bishop’s Palace, then the organization is responsible for raising funds and keeping it as an attraction for our visitors. We take that responsibility seriously and would seek to establish an endowment for the building and an annual maintenance fund.

Our record suggests that we are highly capable of being responsible stewards.

Dwayne Jones is executive director of Galveston Historical Foundation.