Buildings and Bridges
Galveston's Flagship Hotel getting the Landry's treatment
Landry's, owners of the historic Flagship Hotel in Galveston since 2004, has announced plans to restore the structure and add an amusement area to the pier with a featured Ferris wheel and double decker carousel, renaming it the Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier and Resort. The Flagship took a particularly hard hit during Hurricane Ike, with some exterior walls and the concrete driveway between the hotel and Seawall Blvd. completely ripped away.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Landry's has pledged at least $15 million for the renovation and expansion, which will include a a pool and sundeck area and Landry's Chart House restaurant in the hotel, and is scheduled to be completed by the 2011 tourist season. The announcement comes after several cited plans to tear down or sell the structure, with city officials sending notice to Landry's in July for leaving debris on the site and the rooms open to the elements.
Unlike other Landry's amusement ride additions in Kemah and downtown Houston, these won't be anything new for the Galveston pier: The 'pleasure pier' had several rides when it was first built in 1940.