The Galveston County Daily News

GALVESTON — When storm surge and wind from Hurricane Ike pounded some of the island’s most iconic shops, bars and restaurants into jagged heaps piled in the traffic lanes on Seawall Boulevard, many were certain a historic part of Galveston was forever lost.

But some owners of those businesses on piers over the Gulf of Mexico, including souvenir shop Murdoch’s Pier, 2215 Seawall Blvd., promise to build again, shattering long-held convictions that state regulators would never allow it.

Most of the structures were built long before regulators began restricting development that might impede public access to beaches. Conventional wisdom was that under current state laws, once a structure over a pier was gone, it was gone for good.

Vested Interest

But the Texas General Land Office has a vested interest in seeing those businesses rebuilt, said Jim Suydam, a spokesman for the state agency that enforces laws that keep the beaches open to the public.

Lease agreements between six seawall businesses on piers generate $38,550 a year for the Permanent School Fund, the state’s endowment for public schools. Business with land office leases include Murdoch’s, the historic Balinese Room — which was smashed to pieces by huge, wind-driven waves — Hooters, Galveston Fishing Pier and the Flagship Hotel.

Owners of all those businesses, some who could not be reached for comment, have told the land office they intend to rebuild, said Rene Truan, deputy commissioner of professional services for the agency.

‘Childhood Memories’

Whether those businesses would return depends on the will and financial ability of their owners, language in their leases and whether they comply with city ordinances, state officials say.

Jim Little, who, with wife Suzanne and relatives, owns the famous Murdoch’s Pier, built in the 1800s for beach visitors to rent bathing suits and take showers, said he intended to rebuild.

Little, whose lease with the state allows him to rebuild within the structure’s original footprint, said he was happy the land office wanted to work with business owners.

Hurricane Ike, which struck Sept. 13, left only a gutted shell of the world-renowned Murdoch’s. Island residents and visitors mourned online on blogs.

“So many people have said, ‘Please rebuild;’ they have so many childhood memories from Murdoch’s,” Little said.

Looters Strike

Days after the storm, looters made off with much of the store’s merchandise, some of which landed on rock jetties extending from the beach into the Gulf.

Thieves also treated themselves to five of the eight Gigas clam shells — about 36 inches wide and each weighing about 200 pounds — for which the shop was known. The shells had been in the family for about 30 years, Little said.

“They’re priceless,” he said.

With TV news and other media stationed at the San Luis Hotel on the seawall to cover the storm, some of the earliest images of destruction were of Murdoch’s and the nearby Balinese Room, a bar 600 feet into the Gulf of Mexico on a pier at 21st Street. Hurricane Ike pulverized the Balinese Room, an infamous gambling hall where Frank Sinatra and other notables performed.

‘All Of A Sudden, It’s Gone’

Little usually stays during hurricanes. But at about 9 a.m. Sept. 12, when the wind picked up and waves, some 15 feet high, began crashing over the seawall, he decided to leave, he said.

The family got its first look at what Ike had done to Murdoch’s via the Internet.

“We just started crying,” Little said. “You work for something all your life, and all of a sudden, it’s gone.”

When it was first built, Murdoch’s was directly on the beach, without the seawall’s protection. The 1900 Storm, which killed 6,000 islanders, destroyed the bathhouse, which owners rebuilt a year later, according to online resources and the Little family. Hurricanes in 1909 and 1915 both destroyed Murdoch’s, and each time owners rebuilt.

In 1910, William J. Guyette Sr. opened Guyette Gift Shop inside Murdoch’s. His son, William J. Guyette Jr., took over the business. His son-in-law, Jim Little, took over the business in 1974.

Just four years ago, the Little family spent more than $500,000 to link Murdoch’s with the Mermaid Pier between 22nd and 23rd streets over the Gulf of Mexico, adding a breezeway and concession area selling cold drinks and beer. The structures had been linked until Hurricane Carla in 1961, which also destroyed the bathhouse.

When the family rebuilt after Hurricane Carla, it replaced the bathhouse with two oblong wooden structures, built several steps above the seawall and over the Gulf of Mexico.

‘Prettier Than Ever’

The owners are awaiting payment for wind and flood insurance claims before rebuilding, Little said. Rebuilding Murdoch’s could cost about $3.2 million. But that’s an early estimate, he said.

This time, the family would build to city codes that didn’t exist years ago, raising the structure about 5 feet higher, he said.

“Someday, down the road, it’s going to be prettier than ever,” Little said.