Formerly: The Gresham House Built: 1887-1892 Cost: $125,000 Designed by: N.J. Clayton and Company Type: Residential Location: 1402 Broadway, Galveston, United States
T he Bishop's Palace seems to fit in better with the secular mansions of Galveston's Broadway much better than Sacred Heart Church across the street it is actually associated with. There are two reasons for this. First, the Bishop's Palace matched the architecture of the original Sacred Heart Church which was swept away in the Great Storm. And secondly, the Bishop's Palace was originally a private residence known as the Gresham House. It was built for Walter Gresham, a politician-turned-lobbiest during the mansion-building boom of the late-1800's. He had it made of Texas limestone accented with gray granite, pink granite, and red sandstone. This, combined with steel framing, helped it weather the Storm when so many thousands of other buildings were swept into the Gulf of Mexico. In 1923 it was purchased by the Catholic Diocese of Galveston to become the official residence of the bishop. But only one ever lived there. Reverend Christopher Byrne stayed there until his death in 1950. In 1963, the Catholic Church opened it to the public, making it the first of the Galveston mansions to be turned into a museum.
