Disaster Archive
Hurricanes 2005
Damage and Response Reports – Texas
April 5 Mid County Chronicle article: Museum to host reopening following hurricane repairs.
PORT ARTHUR After months of repairs and renovation from dedicated members, the Texas Artist's Museum (TAM) in Port Arthur is set to host its reopening reception this weekend.
The reception will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday and the public is invited.
Jayne Smith, board president said the museum has a new look, which members are eager for the public to see."'The phoenix Rises' is the theme and was chosen to dramatize our the building that was heavily damaged by Hurricane Rita to the renovated building. Those who were familiar with the way the museum looked like before will be surprised by what they see," Smith said. To read more, click here.
January 23 Houston Chronicle article: A collage of hope, despair and restoration
Along the Gulf Coast, artists and arts institutions continue to recover from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. A poll taken by the National Endowment for the Arts in September estimated damage to art institutions and performing-arts organizations to total at least $82 million—not including losses by individual artists.
Houston's Contemporary Arts Museum created the Katrina Artists Trust (KAT) to aid individual artists. Pleas for help came immediately—and continue to arrive.
"I lost everything," one application states, "including $50,000 in equipment, artwork, puppets, supplies, tools and lighting . . . my 1969 Ford Fairlaine, my home, my job with the New Orleans school district, and my cat."
Contributions arrived as soon as KAT's creation was announced Sept. 18. To read more, click here.
January 6 The Orange Leader article: Archives: Stark House still closed; no timetable on reopening
It appears the lingering effects of Hurricane Rita are still being felt at the Stark House in Orange, as originally planned re-opening of the museum for January has been delayed again.
The W.H. Stark House is celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2006, as the museum originally opened on Feb. 10, 1981.
"Things are moving very slowly," said curator Patsy Herrington. "We are still ordering materials needed for repairs and waiting on them to come in. We are still waiting on roofers as well. We are going through the same situations here that many people in Orange County are going through with their homes." To read more, click here.
November 21 Beaumont Enterprise article: A piece of black history sees its end
ORANGE—Eugene Woods points to crushed antique iron beds, spring mattresses and toy train sets while walking the perimeter of a recently-demolished building at the corner of Second and John streets.
This historic building, once home to several black businesses and a place where musicians like B.B. King stayed the night, was taken down by the city about a month ago. Hurricane Rita moved it several feet off its foundation, making it unsafe, said planning and community development director Jimmie Lewis.
It was one of the few buildings left that spoke of this neighborhood's hey-day, when the black community built clubs, restaurants and theaters here during segregation. To read more, click here.
November 20 Beaumont Enterprise article: Old buildings get new life post-Rita
The Gilbert Building at Pearl and Bowie streets survived Hurricane Rita.
Despite broken walls, shattered windows and torn-up roofs, plans are in the works to restore many of the historic buildings in downtown Beaumont in the wake of Hurricane Rita.
Some of the storm-damaged downtown landmarks, like the Julie Rogers Theatre for the Performing Arts and the Tyrrell Historical Library, are owned by the city and are on its to-do list. Others, including the Nathan Building and Star Store, are privately owned, and renovation plans are moving at a slower pace. To read more, click here.
November 7 Herald Democrat: State historical team assessing damage by Rita.
A team from the Texas Historical Commission has been fanning out across southeast corner of the state assessing the damage to historical structures caused by Hurricane Rita. To read more, click here.
October 5 Galveston Daily News article: Elissa makes it through Rita unscathed
The tall ship Elissa escaped Hurricane Rita without a shred of damage.
“There was literally not a scratch on her,” said Kurt Voss, the curator of the Texas Seaport Museum where the ship is anchored.
He said the museum staff and volunteers had battened down the hatches by 7:30 p.m. Sept. 20, the day before the city began its mandatory evacuation.
The ship was attached to two steel pilings driven 120 feet into the bottom of the harbor, Voss said. It was also anchored to a 6-foot by 15-foot piece of steel-reinforced concrete that is 3 feet thick.
Voss said the museum itself was built in the early 1990s with hurricanes in mind. To read more, click here.
September 29 e-mail from Ryan Smith of the Museum Assessment Program Advisory Committee:
The Texas Energy Museum appears fine with only minor water damage to wood floors in the en trance atrium.
The McFaddin Ward House appears fine; several large oaks were lost in the landscape but none fell on the house. One tree damaged the adjacent carriage house; collections area and offices are OK.
The Art Museum of SE Texas appears fine with some roof leakage.
No report yet from the Gladys City Spindletop Museum or the John Jay French Museum
I have no word on the Museum of the Gulf Coast in Port Arthur (the city flooded), nor the Stark Museum in Orange.
Beaumont remains closed; some power may be restored to the downtown area Friday, but it may be 2 or 3 weeks before the city residential areas are restored.
From all reports, museum employees of every institution are safe and evacuated; we've been able to get staff members in to assess general damage.
In September 30 e-mails the Matagorda County Museum in Bay City TX and the City of Nacogdoches, Historic Sites Department report that they did not sustain any damage from Rita.
September 29 Press Release from Texas Historical Commission: Texas Historical Commission Teams to Assess Hurricane Damage
Teams of experts with the Texas Historical Commission (THC) are traveling to hurricane-ravaged areas of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi to assess damage to historic structures in the wake of hurricanes Rita and Katrina.
Teams will travel to the East Texas counties of Polk, Jasper, Tyler and Newton as well as the Nacogdoches and Lufkin areas on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 29 and 30. An architectural team will also travel to Galveston to assess damage to historic buildings destroyed by fire during Hurricane Rita.
Beginning Monday, Oct. 3, a group of THC architects will travel to Mississippi at the request of Governor Haley Barbour to assist in historic site assessments. As areas become accessible, THC experts will visit stricken areas in Louisiana and particularly, New Orleans.
“It is imperative we ensure that people don’t simply start tearing down structures in their efforts to clean up and return to normal,” said THC Executive Director Larry Oaks. “Historic structures that can be saved must be identified and professional determinations made as to how best to restore them.” To read more, click here.
September 24 Minneapolis-St Paul Star Tribune article: Rita Strikes Close to Battlefield
A Civil War battleground and town are hurricane targets for second time: Hurricane Rita came ashore today just east of Sabine Pass, home to a Civil War battleground and a town that was nearly destroyed by a hurricane over a century ago. In 1886, a hurricane destroyed much of the town of Sabine Pass, killing 86 people. Major storms hit again in 1900 and 1915. To read more, click here.
September 20 Houston Chronicle article: HURRICANE RITA: Museums prepared for storm: Officials say works of art will be protected
As Hurricane Rita whips toward the Gulf Coast, museum personnel in Houston say they are prepared for the worst. Marti Mayo, director of the Contemporary Art Museum, is confident that her museum which was devastated by flooding in 1976 now stands ready. "We have gone through Alicia and through Allison, and the physical building is not really an issue," Mayo said. "We have a long-standing disaster plan that we've tested and rehearsed." To read more, click here.
