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Galveston breaks world record for longest walkway in world
Saturday morning, residents in and around the Galveston area gathered together to celebrate and honor the Great Storm of 1900.
GALVESTON, Texas - Saturday morning, residents in and around the Galveston area gathered together to celebrate and honor the Great Storm of 1900.
Galveston Sea Wall
Big picture view:
The Great Storm of 1900 was a large hurricane that hit the coast of Texas, greatly impacting Galveston.
Residents in the area were not given proper warning for the storm, and since there was no seawall at the time, thousands of civilians died in the floodwaters.
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Learning about the Great Storm of 1900
The 1900 Galveston hurricane is known as the Great Storm of 1900, one of the deadliest storms in the United States, killing nearly 10,000 people and nearly wiping away the island. 122 years after the storm, Photojournalist Darlene Janik Faires shows us how the storm changed the way the county would rebuild.
Why you should care:
The celebration marks the 125th anniversary of the storm, which hit September 8th.
During the event, residents were able to learn more about the storm's impact and how it affected everything in Galveston, from the framework of the town to the economy of Texas as a whole.
Local perspective:
Residents from all over Galveston and surrounding areas came to the ceremony Saturday morning.
"It stands for not only an engineering excellence that took place, but it stands for the resilience and the innovative quality, the patience, the fortitude and the strength of Galveston," Galveston Mayor Craig Brown said.
"I think the moment where we all turned around and looked, and it kind of hit me that this was 125 years ago today," Galveston Resident Eli Bivens said. "Then knowing the history of what it was like here and that there wasn’t a seawall and just the devastation experienced."
"The seawall saves people," Galveston Resident Elijah Nwisnewski said. "We’re gonna be on the Guinness book and we’re celebrating Galveston."
Galveston wins a World Record:
On Saturday morning, the record-breaking announcement was made.
"The seawall that was built after the great storm that protects Galveston today, has this morning been certified as the longest walkway in the world at 10.3 miles," Visit Galveston Executive Director Tony Lyle said.
The previous record was held by the 4.5-mile long Bayshore Boulevard in Tampa, FL.
The Source: Visit Galveston, Guiness Book of World Records