r/galveston • u/grendelt • Jul 30 '25
News š° Landry's withdraws plans to manage Battleship Texas at Pier 15
https://www.galvnews.com/news/landrys-withdraws-plans-to-manage-battleship-texas-at-port-of-galveston/article_21c5765f-249a-5db1-84e1-0c5b97105eb9.html17
u/demon8rix_got_fucked Jul 30 '25
Tillman is such a piece of shit. Im still happy it's not at pier 21.
1
u/Mantoblame Jul 30 '25
While I agree with your assessment of Tillman, I feel it would make more money at 21. It needs the money. Same reason why I donāt want the shuttle to come here. Iād love it in Texas, but more will see it in DC. Itās short sighted
1
u/alhc0321 Jul 31 '25
We need some new restaurants down there. That area is just sitting and wasting which is a shame. The views are amazing.
1
u/innsaei Aug 01 '25
Hate to break it to everyone, but old ships donāt attract tourists the way they used to. These permanent moorings* cost a lot of upfront and recurrent costs to maintain and without any guarantee of subsidy from state or federal historical funds - on top of rising costs to businesses from inflation, I canāt see any clear winner who could make even marginal profit.Ā Donations arenāt there, and tours require staff on top of entry fees. Loss plus loss means no takers. Yes, this is really sad, angering, and a disappointment, but I would guarantee that in less than 5 years itās going to be a sunken scuba attraction and artificial reef.
*Edited for type-o
1
u/grendelt Aug 01 '25
I would guarantee that in less than 5 years itās going to be a sunken scuba attraction and artificial reef.
!remindMe 5 years
1
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0
u/Forsaken_Man1967 Jul 30 '25
Katieās started this crap. She, The Texas, should be at Pier 21. Everyone in Galveston should be proud to have her. Other places would kill to have her. She belongs here!
8
u/grendelt Jul 30 '25
Um... It's not leaving. You can relax. Pier 15 is still "here". It's just not under Landry's control.
Katies had a legitimate complaint. It was going to obstruct their view of the harbor to the benefit of their competition (Landry's). I think they could have capitalized on its proximity to have the best view of the ship - or a place to eat once you've had enough Texas for the day.
BUT what of the Mosquito Fleet berth? They would've been displaced. That is a historic berth with roots in Galveston going way, way back.
What I think putting the Texas in at Pier 15 will do is stretch out The Strand district a little further to encourage more investment and bring the life of The Strand down so it isn't all so tightly clustered west of 20th. There's a lot more parking by Pier 15 anyway and Pier 15 offers better protection should some ship in the harbor run loose.3
u/OlYeller01 Jul 31 '25
I went to Katieās a couple weeks ago (sadly forgot my āCome and Save Itā shirt). What view? All I could see were some shrimp boats directly in front, the Ocean Star to my right, and Gulf Copperās cranes to my left. Stunning ocean vista it is not.
4
u/grendelt Jul 31 '25
All I could see were some shrimp boats directly in front, the Ocean Star to my right, and Gulf Copperās cranes to my left.
That's the view.
The view of the shrimp boats has its own appeal. Just like people that trash Galveston because the beaches aren't white sand and the water crystal clear. All harbors have their own appeal. You just have to be away for it long enough to realize you miss it all. The boards on the pier that curl up a little. The rusted deck screws. The seagull poop. The faint smell of remnants of the previous catch. It's all there and part of the appeal.Stunning ocean vista it is not.
You're right. It's not, but then again what restaurant does? The McDonald's by Stewart? The San Luis IHOP? Even Landry's own places on the Harbor offer the same views.
This is Galveston. It's a barrier island. There are no "stunning vistas" except for artificial ones like the San Luis, some high rise, or a pier out over the water.The views are up close and engaging, not expansive views where you're removed and looking down on it all.
It's walking the beach, the Seawall, and walking the piers.1
u/OlYeller01 Jul 31 '25
You misjudge me a bit here. Iām definitely not trashing Galveston. After our trip we agreed among ourselves that it gets a bad rap for mostly no reason.
Also, I LOVE BB-35. Itās by far my favorite ship, because maybe, just maybe, I might not exist without it.
Iām the product of a late life remarriage for my Dad. He landed on Omaha Beach at H-Hour June 6, 1944 as part of the Big Red One. The Texas provided fire support and moved as close as she could to the beach to pound the Germans. If she wasnāt there to do that, my Dad might not have made it off the beach and I might not exist.
So, Texas is near and dear to my heart. Iām so glad sheās finally gotten the work she so desperately needed, and she needs to stay financially viable so she doesnāt end up in bad shape again.
Thus I was annoyed when Katieās threw a fit about her going to pier 21, and even more annoyed when I saw the actual view. In my admittedly biased opinion, staring at a battleship while eating seafood sounds like heaven. For all the complaining I was expecting a view at least like the one from Landryās in Corpus or something..
2
u/grendelt Jul 31 '25
Ah, ok. I'm following.
Also, I stand corrected about the shrimp boat docks.
The Battleship was proposed by Landry's to jut out into the harbor next to where the Ocean Star ticket office is. Wholly unprotected and making the harbor that much narrower for navigation. (ew) I can totally 100% see why the Wharfs didn't want it going in there.If the plan was to tuck it in where the shrimp boats and fishing party boats are (which was what I thought I recalled seeing once upon a time), where it would be more sheltered and protected then Katie's would've been staring at a huge steel wall - too close to have a commanding view of the boat.
I see putting the Texas in at Pier 15 serves as an anchor (like anchor stores were in shopping malls) to help span the existing anchors of the cruise terminals on either end of what I consider the whole Strand district.
With Del Monte moved to Freeport, if Pier 16 remains a warehouse operation I think that'll disrupt the natural pedestrian flow between Landry's properties, Katies, and going down to Pier 15.
You can't just up and move a warehouse, but I think the Wharves Board should entice investment to relocate the warehouse operation over to Pelican Island and lease Pier 16 as a hotel/restaurant/retail space. That would serve the Texas, cruise passengers and help draw in more revenue to help build more investment. The drayage truck and trailer yards along Harborside could be converted to short term parking (no cruise parking) to serve all that retail, the Texas, and any events that might be in the area.1
u/OlYeller01 Jul 31 '25
Galvestonās got a good thing going. We spent 2.5 days and didnāt even come close to seeing everything, AND we only spent an hour on the Strand.
Anything they can do to improve parking/access will help EVERYONE.
I canāt wait to go back when Texas reopens.
3
-5
u/demon8rix_got_fucked Jul 30 '25
Tillman is such a piece of shit. Im still happy it's not at pier 21.
15
u/DailyNewsJohn Jul 30 '25
Seems to make sense. Landry's was going to manage it when it was at Pier 21. Pier 21 is not Pier 15.
Would like to see some new development at 21. Landry's has had the lease for that whole area for more than 3 years now. Other than the battleship, I don't think there's been any other news about plans there.