USS Texas: The U.S. Navy's Homeless Battleship Has a Problem
The Problem: The USS Texas, a historic battleship that served throughout the 20th century, will not be staying at the Port of Galveston. The Galveston Wharves Board of Trustees unanimously voted to end negotiations to berth the ship at Pier 19 after objections from Katie's Seafood Restaurant, which cited concerns about blocked waterfront views and hindered hurricane evacuation routes.
A Solution? Additionally, the board expressed doubts about the financial stability of the Battleship Texas Foundation, responsible for the ship's maintenance. Despite the setback, the foundation remains optimistic about finding a new home port to preserve the battleship as a museum and allow public interaction with this piece of history.
The Homeless USS Texas
The USS Texas, a storied battleship that served through much off the 20th century, will not be staying at the Port of Galveston. On Tuesday, the Galveston Wharves Board of Trustees, the governing body who oversees the Port of Galveston, functionally evicted the Texas, ending the prospect of the historic ship remaining in her namesake state, at Galveston.
Last year, the Galveston Wharves Board of Trustees entertained a motion to park the Texas at Pier 19, “along the Galveston Channel and Harborside Drive, near the island’s cruise terminals, Historic Seaport and several restaurants,” the Houston Chronicle reported. Had the board approved the motion, the battleship would have been maintained, in Galveston, as a museum in the hopes of attracting tourism traffic. But the deal fell apart when one of the local restaurants objected.
Local restaurant objects to USS Texas
The Texas survived through two world wars, but may have met its match earlier this week in the form of a local seafood restaurant.
Katie’s Seafood Restaurant, which is located at Pier 19 where the Texas would have resided, objected to the prospective arrangement. The reason for the objection? The 573-foot battleship would have blocked the restaurant’s view of the water and would have blocked the channel, complicating hurricane escape procedures. Fair enough.
During the Galveston Wharves meeting on Tuesday, Trustee Jim Yarborough “cited irreconcilable differences between supporters and detractors and introduced a motion to kill the deal.” Yarborough’s motion was passed unanimously.
Derrick Gutierrez, a manager at Katie’s, said during public comment that the Texas would exacerbate concerns relating to Galveston’s economic recovery.
“As you know, we’ve had a bunch of hurricanes rolling through the Gulf, and it’s really messed us up economically here in Galveston; a lot of restaurants are closing.” Guiterrez continued, emphasizing problems that the port city has had with flooding and with an economic decline. “You’re really going to put us in a bad spot.”
Aside from pressure from local businesses, the Galveston Wharves were concerned with the financial condition of the Battleship Texas Foundation, one of the parties that would be responsible for overseeing the Texas.
“We’ve never been satisfied with [the] financial status of the foundation,” Yarbrough said in reference to the Battleship Texas Foundation.
The Battleship Texas Foundation, for their part, expressed surprise, and optimism, over the Galveston Wharves decision. “We are surprised and disappointed by the Wharves board’s decision to terminate negotiations with us regarding the battleship. We will continue to pursue alternate locations that we have been actively exploring along the way. The future of the Battleship remains bright and we look forward to finding her forever home.”
Hopefully, the Texas can find a home port, so that a piece of 20th century history may be preserved and so the public can interact with a relic from the quickly receding battleship era.
About the Author: Harrison Kass
Harrison Kass is a defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
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