Galveston Seawall Information & Galveston Seawall Links at HealthHaven.com

Galveston Seawall during construction

Galveston Seawall paintings

The Galveston Seawall is a seawall in Galveston, Texas, USA that was built after the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 for protection from future hurricanes. Construction began in September, 1902, and the initial segment was completed on July 29, 1904. From 1904 to 1963, the seawall was extended from 3.3 miles (5.3 km) to over 10 miles (16 km) long.^[1] Reporting in the aftermath of the 1983 Hurricane Alicia, the Corps of Engineers estimated that $100 million in damage was avoided because of the seawall.^[2] On September 12, 2008 Hurricane Ike forced waves to go over the top of the seawall.^[3]

Texas F.M. 3005, otherwise known as Seawall Boulevard along the wall, runs along the seawall.

The seawall is presently 10 miles (16 km) long. It is approximately 17 feet (5.2 m) high, and 16 feet (4.9 m) thick at its base. The seawall was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and designated a National Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in 2001.^[4]

Many miles of the seawall are painted with murals called "wall art". These huge murals are painted by children and depict underwater life. The art is meant to make the seawall more interesting to visitors.

[edit] Further reading

Austin, A. (March 1905). "Galveston, The City Reclaimed: Marvelous Recuperation Of A Town Wiped Out Four Years Ago". Pearson's Magazine XIII (3): 211–219. http://books.google.com/books?id=Q_kaAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA211. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
Gillette, Halbert P.; Charles S. Hill (1908). Concrete Construction: Methods and Cost. New York: The Myron C. Clark Publishing Co.. pp. 269. http://books.google.com/books?id=zWA0AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA268. Retrieved 2009-07-15. Diagrams of the movable concrete mixer plant used for construction of the seawall
Putnam, Frank (June 1907). "Galveston, An Epitome Of American Pluck". The New England Magazine XXXVI (4): 387–403. http://books.google.com/books?id=YbEVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA387. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
Slosson, W. B. (June 16 1904). "The New Galveston". The Independent LVI (2898): 1382–1387. http://books.google.com/books?id=2icPAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA1382. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
Williams, Clement Clarence (1922). The Design Of Masonry Structures And Foundations. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company. p. 248. http://books.google.com/books?id=9cgUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA248. Retrieved 2009-07-15. Diagram and description of the geometry of the seawall to dissipate wave energy
"Galveston's Great Sea Wall". The American Monthly Review of Reviews XXVIII: 574–576. November 1903. 5. http://books.google.com/books?id=MMcGAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA574. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
"Raising the Grade of Galveston". Locomotive Firemen's Magazine XXXVI (5): 643–647. May 1904. http://books.google.com/books?id=iKeRAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA643. Retrieved 2009-07-15.

[edit] References

^ SEAWALL Accessed 2008-09-17.
^ http://www.usatoday.com/weather/huricane/history/walicia.htm
^ Ben Casselman (2008-09-12). "As Waters Rise, Many Decline To Leave Galveston Island". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122125933796630189.html?mod=googlenews_wsj. Retrieved 2008-09-13. "By 4 p.m., waves were overtopping the city's 17-foot-tall seawall and parts of...island were unreachable even by rescue crews."
^ City has raised storm preparedness to a fine art, HoustonChronicle.com

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Galveston Seawall

[0] SEAWALL Accessed 2008-09-17.

[1] ttp://www.usatoday.com/weather/huricane/history/walicia.htm

[2] Ben Casselman (2008-09-12). "As Waters Rise, Many Decline To Leave Galveston Island". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122125933796630189.html?mod=googlenews_wsj. Retrieved 2008-09-13. "By 4 p.m., waves were overtopping the city's 17-foot-tall seawall and parts of...island were unreachable even by rescue crews."

[3] City has raised storm preparedness to a fine art, HoustonChronicle.com

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