The Bishop's Palace
Galveston, Galveston County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Built, 1886-1893, by Col. Walter Gresham, civic leader and U. S. Congressman. Nicholas J. Clayton was architect. One of the most lavish and massive homes in U. S., house is a Victorian adaptation of renaissance style. Silver and onyx mantel in music room won first prize, 1886, at New Orleans Exposition. Mrs. Gresham painted murals, ceilings. Catholic Diocese bought home, 1923, and one room into chapel with stained glass windows. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built between 1886 and 1893 for Colonel Walter Gresham, a Galveston civic leader and U.S. congressman, the Bishop's Palace is one of the most lavish Victorian homes in America, designed by architect Nicholas J. Clayton in an ornate Renaissance style. Its treasures include a prize-winning silver-and-onyx mantel and murals painted by Mrs. Gresham. The Catholic Diocese bought the mansion in 1923 — giving it its familiar name — and converted a room into a stained-glass chapel.
Why it matters
The Bishop's Palace stands as Galveston's grandest monument to Gilded Age wealth and craftsmanship, a survivor of the island's boom years before the 1900 storm redirected the city's fortunes.
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Related people
- · Walter Gresham
- · Nicholas J. Clayton
Themes & tags
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