'Dickens on The Strand'
relives Victorian times
By TRICIA PARKER
Staff Writer
In the eerie gaslight of a
December night, it's easy to imagine
great whaling ships moored
sleeping in Galveston Bay. The
quays alongside the once-busy port
teem with squint-eyed bakers
hawking hot cross buns, with
streetwise urchins pinching purses
and picking pockets. Ladies and
gentlemen elbow through the
throng, buying sweetmeats and
listening to Christmas carols all
around.
If you're quick, you might catch
the Artful Dodger with his hand in
your pocket. Or see crusty old Fagin
training his army of thieves and
junior miscreants.
But when the mist disappears and
the gaslights go out, the world of
Victorian England won't vanish
forever. It exists for two days each
December, courtesy of the
Galveston Historical Foundation
and its production of "Dickens on
The Strand."
The festival, a re-creation of the
Victorian England immortalized by
Charles Dickens, Will be Dec. 7-8 in
downtown Galveston. Five blocks of
restored Victorian buildings facing
the wharves will become the
London of Dickens and create a
world where Oliver Twist, Scrooge
and Tiny Tim can come to life again.
Tim Kingsbury, marketing director
for the festival, says the Strand lends
itself to a make-believe Victoran era
because most of the buildings along
the street were built between 1859
and 1890, when Galveston was
known as "the Wall Street of the
South."
The port was a bustling center of
commerce and cotton for 50 years
until deeper harbors replaced
Galveston as a financial center and
sapped the town's vitality. With their
hey-day past, the quay-side
warehouses remained as a legacy
of Galveston's prosperous history.
The buildings themselves are
relics of history and hardship. They
housed Union occupation forces
during the Civil War, and survived
an extensive fire in the 1880’s and at
least two hurricanes. Most amazing
of all they survived the death of the
Galveston economy during the first
half of the century. But it may have
been the death of Galveston that
saved the life of the historic
buildings along The Strand,
Kingsbury says.
"The city just died," he says. "In
San Antonio, Dallas and Houston,
the cities grew and they tore all their
old building down to build new
ones. Ours weren't tom down, only
abandoned."
So the area lay fallow for most of
the first half of the century, until the
1960s, when a renewed interest in
historical conservation spurred the
restoration of the area. What began
on a small scale, with a few private
residences and a few hundred
volunteers, grew to include the
Strand and involve over 3,000
foundation members..
This renaissance of the downtown
area included not only returning the
buildings to their Victorian
respectability but also returning the
district to its former glory as a busy
commercial district. The old
warehouses and storefronts were
turned into watering holes and
shops, creating over 60 restaurants,
pubs and boutiques in all. If the
camera-toting tourists strolling the
streets were Victorian merchants or
sailors, the restoration would be
complete.
The festival will be held in the
middle of the old financial district.
Merchants and entertainers
costumed in the cut-aways and
cravats from Victorian England will
join with visitors in re-creating the
spirit of a Victorian Christmas.
"About 150 booths will be set up,"
Kingsbury says, "selling everything
from mistletoe to handmade
Christmas ornaments, flowers and
baskets. But whatever is sold inside
has to be handmade. We don't have
anything from Japan."
Food sold inside the gates will
also be authentic Old English.
Visitors will be able to sample plum
pudding, cakes and pasties, and
authentic Scotch eggs. They can
quench their thirst with ale, cider or
beer.
Kingsbury says he expects nearly
200 merchants to sell their wares
during the weekend. Everything
sold must be like something made in