Submitted by a reader (and we love our readers!), a new website is available to see just what popular attractions and sites on the island of Galveston are open! Check out Galveston Now Open! to see just what sites you can visit that have recovered from Hurricane Ike.
Much like the determination and rigor that New Orleans demonstrated in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the site features the emerging “Now Open” signs across the Texas island and the optimism this demonstrates for the Gulf Coast region.
A snippet from the site describing the rebuilding efforts:
But soon the landscape changed. Bright, colorful signs were popping up all over the island, shouting “Now Open.” Galveston businesses were telling residents and recovery workers that they were open to serve them.
But who was telling the rest of the world that Galveston is Now Open? Well, I thought, that’s what the Internet is for! Because of the work I do to create web sites and market them, I wanted to put the Internet to work for Galveston.
I started taking the photos on January 3, when my son and I attend the grand re-opening of the Grand Opera House. The Press Box next door had their hand-drawn “open” sign on a white board propped up against the front wall. I had been toying with the idea for several weeks, because the signs, although temporary, were such a welcome sight against the piles of debris and destruction.
So since then I’ve been driving around with my camera and snapping pictures of the ever-growing number of “Now Open” signs on the Island. I really like the photos that show the juxtaposition of the storm damage to the resilient statement that a “Now Open” sign makes.
If for nothing else, the site is worth a look just to see the rebuilding effort and determination being demonstrated in the wake of the sheer destruction Hurricane Ike caused. The best of luck to the citizens of Galveston in their rebuilding effort and thanks to Veronica for the heads up.
Again, the link to the site is available here (http://sites.google.com/site/gnowopen/Home).