Bishops Palace

Bishops Palace

The Bishop's Palace, also known as Gresham's Castle, is an ornate Victorian house located on Broadway and 14th Street in the East End Historic District of Galveston, Texas. The American Institute of Architects has listed the home as one of the 100 most significant buildings in the United States, and the Library of Congress has classified it as one of the fourteen most representative Victorian structures in the nation.

Bishops Palace

The house was built between 1887 and 1893 by Galveston architect Nicholas J. Clayton for lawyer and politician Walter Gresham. In 1923 the Roman Catholic Diocese of Galveston purchased the house, and, situated across the street from the Sacred Heart Church, it served as a bishop's residence. After the diocesan offices were moved to Houston, the diocese opened the mansion to the public in 1963, with proceeds from tours being used to help fund the Newman Center, operating in the basement, serving Catholic students at the nearby University of Texas Medical Branch.

Sacred Heart Church, across from Bishops

Gustave Heye House, 1226 (Post Office) Avenue E

Two-story frame residence with shingled corner tower with candle snuffer roof and inset double gallery, ell-shaped with large early addition at the side. Carpentry ranges from Renaissance forms to Eastlake with considerable use of dentils and carving.

Gustave Heye was a Galveston cotton factor and commission merchant in the 1880s. He was born in Germany and during the Civil War worked in Mexico where he dealt in Texas Cotton shipments. Following the war, in 1869, he came to Galveston and worked with Focke-Wilkens in the cotton business. In 1875, he established Gustave Heye and Company. Frederick Kastan was an early partner, later Morris Stern. The firm later developed a wholesale grocery business along with their cotton activities. Heye erected this house sometime during the 1880s. He resided there in 1882. The building is a two-story frame with a double gallery and polygonal tower at the west front corner. The metal tower roof is notable. The building in general is an early Victorian style.

Gustave Heye House, built in 1880 

Galveston native Chip Hosek admiring his brickwork

Texas Historic Commission:

https://www.thc.texas.gov/preserve/projects-and-programs/national-register-historic-places

 By Robert Alexander Boyle