The 1.3 acres of land adjacent to the Moody Mansion has supported both residential and business infrastructure since the 1800s. After Friday’s sale to the Mary Moody Northern Foundation, it will soon assume the weight of community education efforts.
The foundation’s board of directors, Bill Ryder, Bobby Moody Jr., and Laura Plotz, immediately began looking into acquiring land to curb nearby development.
Foundation director Betty Massey said all three board members knew Nosen before his death in 1986.
“They understand what her will said about this house,” Massey said of the house. “She wanted to use her family home to educate the people of Galveston and those visiting the area.
The Galveston Children’s Museum was located on the first floor of the Moody Mansion because she wanted it to be a gathering place for Galvestonians of all kinds. ”
Moody declined to say how much the endowment paid for the land.
Before Massey joined the endowment 24 years ago, officials purchased the land behind the mansion and then entered into a long-term lease with the International Oleander Society to create the Betty Head Oleander Garden Park.
Additionally, the donor organization worked with the city to design Galveston Fire Station No. 1, 823 26th St., to match the historic aesthetic of the area.
“What happens in the neighborhoods surrounding Moody Mansion is important to us,” Massey said. “Our board of directors was concerned to protect the integrity of Moody Mansion and its surrounding area.
“But I know there was also concern about one of Galveston’s major intersections, which has the Texas Heroes Memorial, the Open Gates Conference Center, the Moody Mansion across the block, and unfortunately It is an iconic intersection with a pawn shop across the street.
“That intersection deserves better, and if buying that land makes it easier to get there, that’s important.”
Several years ago, officials with endowments fought over the development of a drive-through liquor store planned for the site. They won because of its proximity to the Children’s Museum and the then-Satori School, Massey said.
As officials considered options for the property, researcher Sharon Gillins traced its history back to the late 1880s.
“I wanted to take the time to find out what was out there,” Gillins says. “In the late 1880s, it was all residential, with small houses in the back and large houses in the front. By 1947, the area began to change and you saw more commercial Now.”
According to Gillins’ research, the corner of the property was previously known to have housed a Dairy Queen, which was built in 1963. Previous businesses included a day care in 1932, a food market in 1936, and a dentist in 1951.
Cleanup will begin today on the south side of the property adjacent to Seeley Street. Half of that land includes parking for 36 cars behind a hurricane fence. Endowment officials plan to maintain the grounds to serve visitors to the mansion and children’s museum.
“On busy summer days, you’ll be parking two or three blocks away,” Massey said. “We don’t have staff park on-site, so we end up with a lot of cars from people visiting the Children’s Museum, Moody Mansion, Oleander Park, or all three.”
What will be done to the front section adjacent to Broadway has not yet been determined.
“It could be a community green space,” Massey said. “It might strengthen the educational mission of Moody Mansion. I don’t know.
“I would say it’s not a pawn shop. It’s not a drive-through liquor store. It’s not going to be a vape shop. It’s not going to be a car wash. And it’s not going to be a gas station. It’s not something you think it should be.”