Former Battleship Texas berth to undergo $40M restoration
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The berth dredged to house Battleship Texas, seen here in 2013, will be restored to its original landscape. Photo: Smiley N. Pool/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images
Now that Battleship Texas will finally dock in Galveston after years of negotiations, its former home at the San Jacinto battleground will undergo a $40 million transformation.
Why it matters: The work is part of a larger $142 million makeover that aims to enhance the visitor experience of the historic site east of Houston.
Catch up quick: The battleship — at the time considered the most powerful weapon in the world — was commissioned in 1914 and retired in 1948 when it was docked at the San Jacinto site as a museum. Today, it is the only surviving U.S. naval ship that served in both world wars, including both theaters in World War II.
- In 2023, Battleship Texas Foundation officials announced their intention to move the ship's berth to Galveston. Last week, the Galveston Wharves Board of Trustees approved an agreement allowing the foundation to permanently dock the ship at Pier 15.
Driving the news: An artificial cove dredged to house the massive ship at the San Jacinto site will be infilled, and the area will be returned to what researchers believe it looked like in 1836, at the time of the final and decisive battle of the Texas Revolution.
- The effort is crucial to providing visitors a historically accurate depiction of the site during the battle, Amy Rogers, executive director of the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site and Museum, tells Axios.
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What they're saying: "You do get a lot of people who would be confused by (the battleship's placement at San Jacinto)," Rogers said. "I wish I could say it was only schoolchildren, but they would say, 'No wonder they won the battle, look at the big ship they had.'"
- "We've been going through the historical records and everything that we can find," Rogers said of the meticulous work determining the 19th century landscape.
What they found: Rogers said historians and researchers discovered that area of the battleground was likely marshy wetlands and that the restoration will also provide habitat for the region's wildlife.
By the numbers: State lawmakers approved the money for the effort in 2023 along with another $102.7 million for enhancements to the 1,200-acre battleground, which will include a new visitor's center and improvements to the battleground monument.
The bottom line: "Being able to restore that portion of the grounds … is going to add significantly to the interpretation," Rogers said of the battleship's former berth. "It definitely played a part in the story."