The Galveston Seawall

The famed Galveston Seawall was built after the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900 which claimed between 6,000 and 8,000 lives.  It has been extended many times and is presently 10 miles long. Prior to 1900 Galveston had only sand dunes to protect it from the sea and the highest point on the island was only 8 feet above sea level.  After the hurricane the seawall was built and the land behind it was raised to 20 feet.  The Galveston Seawall is considered an astonishing fete for that era, not to mention for a city that was all but destroyed by a hurricane. The seawall is presently 17 feet tall and 10 miles long and is topped by Seawall Boulevard. It is considered by many to be the longest continuous sidewalk in the world and in the summer of 1996 a mural was painted on the seawall, which is also considered to be the longest in the world.