i just come back from New Orleans not to long ago and was thinking...that i wish galveston strand was as cool as the french quarter. i'm not talking about all the drinking and partying but all the awesome shops and restaurant. they have tons of different streets with all sorts of different shops. something else at every turn.

i just wish the strand wasn't just one street and like five blocks. i love galveston and i want it to be so much better.

 You are soooooooooooo right about that!!  The city really needs to build the Strand area up!!!

 I agree, but considering where it was 20 years ago we are headed in the right direction. There are available properties on the eastern end of the Strand ripe for rehab. I would love to see it head that way.

The city can only do so much. It will take private $. Mitchell was the one that got the ball rolling to begin with. I also believe better marketing would help. New Orleans belongs to America. It was always heavily promoted even more so following Katrina.   Galveston is primarily visited by Texans with a large portion of that group coming from Houston. Every time I have out of state visitors they fall in love with the place. We need to get the word out!

 What type of business would you like to see open on the Strand?

My #1 choice would be a really good Mexican Restaurant. Even better if they made a good margarita! Speaking of such I am not big on Chains, but a Margaritaville would be nice.

How about an Apple Store? IPods and accessories are hot and show no signs of slowing down. Santa Monica has one on the promenade that seems to do well.

 i guess i would like to see more art galleries (to make artwalk way cooler), unique stores, and i guess a Margaritaville would be awesome.

i LOVE that they are turn old buildings to lofts but how many more lofts do we really need.

LOL...an Apple store...that would be the day.

 Bourbon St. it ain't, but I remember back in the early 80's when there was nothing on the Strand but a bunch of no-goods and sleezy type bars.  That goes for Postoffice St. as well.  Many thanks to George Mitchell for reviving the Strand to what it is today and what is has the possibility to become. 

 I think the Strand will have a hard time developing much more personality than it has now . from what I hear , it isn't very easy to be an artist of any kind "on the street". Many talented folk cruise through places like Nola  , LACA , and such.living off of their talents & enjoying life as a bohemian. They will never pay a permit fee for services rendered..... . I know that those artist  do pay THE MAN usually get kicked to the curb for big holidays , unless the pay another huge permit fee. It seems to me to be a city that

TALKS THE ART TALK .. BUT DON'T WALK THE ART WALK

I am so sad to see T.F.Hippies is going to be closing it's doors soon.

That type of store would be a  great asset to the Strand.

Instead we have shops that are a bit too anteseptic for my corrupted soul.

Am I wrong to think it's already darn near perfect?

it's really sad that T.F. Hippies is closing...i really like that store. i'm always in there every artwalk. it was bum with it was closed and that there was a sign posted that they will be closing.

i understand that they strand is still somewhat new and that it's going to take some time. i'm just saying that i wish that they would do more stuff to it and not just turn every place into lofts. i think so of the store owners are CRAZY and they need to come down on their prices. plus all the stores are pretty much the same.

on now the artwalk...Dexie i'm so on board with you on "talk the art talk...not walk the art walk". i see myself getting upset when i go the these things now. thought i would go to everyone even so....when people walk in the galleries they go straight for the free wine. me being an "artist" (i really dislike that term) i enjoy all forms of art and taking a look at what people are putting out. it kills me when i so trashy people walking into galleries. *sigh*

 I love TF Hippies, but must admit I never bought anything there. I don't have problems with the lofts since most seem to be on the upper floors leaving street level for business. The more people that live in the area the more retail they will attract.

I think an Apple Store could do well, with all the tourist, cruise ship traffic, college and med students.  The outlet stores seem to do okay.

 If you build it, they will come.Up here in kansas city we always had our Plaza shopping district, with high end stores like Saks and a bunch of other stores i can't afford to shop at. but lately all kinds of other surrounding cities stared putting up mega shopping districts also and people go and spend money there too. One of our latest districts is by our new Kansas Speedway nascar track called the legends and that's where they are going to build the new Schlitterbahn. It's supposed to be "The Waterpark" to go to when it's complete. And if you want more retailers on the strand just do what we up in kansas do, give new business' BIG tax breaks and let the tax payers pick up the slack, 'cause really i was'nt paying enough taxes already and who really needs the city to fix the roads and sewers when they can give that money to a private business!!!!!  Sorry about the rant, but my city(Mission, Ks) is building a new shopping district also just 10 blocks away so i have to put up with all the inconvience until they are done.

Time Bandit:

 Bourbon St. it ain't, but I remember back in the early 80's when there was nothing on the Strand but a bunch of no-goods and sleezy type bars.  That goes for Postoffice St. as well.  Many thanks to George Mitchell for reviving the Strand to what it is today and what is has the possibility to become. 

 The Strand was great in the late 70s & early 80s. Or maybe I was one of those no-goods you mentioned. The 2000 block of Postoffice was the sleazy neighborhood.

Georgy boy was a johnny come lately to the strand. More credit is due to Emily Whiteside, executive director of the Galveston County Cultural Arts Council, and Peter Brink of the Galveston Historical Foundation. Chuck Lawrence of the Chamber of Commerce was also a friend of the strand.

Mitchell invested a lot of money. Emily and Peter invested so much more.

 Everything could be better, but I like it plenty as it is! I walk that street and thru those stores every chance I get.

 Same here, at least I have my favorites that I hit every time I'm on the Island, even if I just spend half and hour on the Strand.

Chevy, I must say you are a loyal and model citizen of the Island.

 oh don't get me wrong...i love the strand!!

i'm just saying that i wish it was bigger and better....and yes i know it's not been there for long but it's time to make galveston nicer.

Art galleries  ...  Cell phone shops  .. come on, this place needs a good Cabaret!!!

ok, maybe not.  But a casino would be cool.

 I agree that an apple store would probably do fairly well.  It sounds strange, but I got to know a lot of people that worked on the Voyager and they were all trying to buy laptops before the ship went back to Europe because they were so much cheaper here.  Unfortunately, the ship is only here on Sundays and they get so little time to actually shop.

Speaking of which, a store that sells general goods at a decent price near the cruise terminal area would make a fortune.  Although there is a shuttle for employees, many of them get only an hour or so of time off while in port and don't have a lot of time to shuttle to wal-mart.  They wait until they are in Grand Cayman or Mexico to buy their goods because there are shops that sell things like detergent, soap, shampoo etc. right on the pier.  I know from speaking with them that they would rather buy their stuff while they are here in Galveston.

Bottle Rocket:

Art galleries  ...  Cell phone shops  .. come on, this place needs a good Cabaret!!!

ok, maybe not.  But a casino would be cool.

 Bottle Rocket,

Trust me on this, you do not want a casino on galveston.  the traffic would be a major nightmare, Hubby used to work for a company who owned a major casino and the problems they encounter you would not believe.  galveston has enough going for it without those casinos. crime and killings in the parkinig lots around them, the trash, legal issues everything is yuck.  my idea is put casino out in the middle of nowhere build around it, but galveston is just too small land wise to have to put up the all the extra problems.

 I LOVE IT DOWNTOWN!!!!

Get off The Strand and explore some of the other places.  You might find places like Maceo's Spices, Art Galleries, Funky shops like Hippie's (RIP).  There is something interesting around every corner.  No, it's not packed together and marketed, but, that just makes your discoveries more fun.

 I love Galveston just the way she is, and always have. It seems like the more she changes the more she stays the same. I loved her in 1950s, 60s,  70s and the first four years of the 80s. I'm certain that I would have loved her in the mid 80s and the 90s if I had been here.

I think the Strand could use a gourmet store / Market  that caters to it neighbors.

Decent wine ,stinky cheese ,  a cool deli selection , or pre-made dinners that are restaurant quality , with realistic prices so you can go home , pop it in the oven , and enjoy a nice evening , without having to dine out.

Just a thought

 sounds really good!~!!!!   let see if we can get some major millionaire mogul to back us and let us do it......think it would be fun.....i could walk the streets hahahaa promoting the goods hahahahahahahahahahaha with a sandwich board ad and samples...

yes, i realize everyone is gonna have soemthing cute to say about it. hhahahahahah i need a good laugh....