Walk to the beach from this majestic Victorian at 1704 31st Street!
This house, now known as Sweethaven, was built on three lots touching on the “Millionaire’s Row” part of Avenue O in the Kempner Park area of Galveston. Sweethaven is as close to the beach (just under half a mile) as a Great Storm survivor can be, as anything closer was destroyed by the Great Storm of 1900 (still the most cataclysmic natural disaster in U.S. history, with a death toll estimated between 8,000-12,000). She also made it through the 1911 and 1915 hurricanes; Carla (1961); and Ike (2008), among many others.
She has been remodeled repeatedly over time, but her bones go back 135+ years, to 1885. The house features original wood floors in most of the main rooms, with those of the foyer and middle floor rooms being particularly intricate.
Sweethaven is set up to welcome family reunions or similar large parties: the main house sleeps approximately 19 in beds with quality mattresses and bedlinens.
There are two bathrooms and four bedrooms on the top floor (Master’s Retreat with a king; Juliet’s Library with a single queen; The Overlook with two queens; and The Landing, with a queen and a twin). There are no TVs in any of the bedrooms in the house, only in the common rooms: you come to the beach to be with people, and if you need to hide in the bedroom, a book attracts less attention. However, there is high-speed wifi all through the house.
The middle floor is for wider gatherings, with multiple living and dining areas. The gourmet’s kitchen is big enough to prepare meals to feed all your guests, and equipped to delight any chef with double convection ovens, double microwaves, double dishwashers, double refrigerators, an ice maker, and a wine fridge.
The ground floor – the Torpedo Deck— is the sacrificial level, located in the flood plain; new building at this elevation is prohibited by city code. Originally open storage or servants’ quarters, it was converted to flex/office space decades ago when the property was owned by the Galveston ISD. This floor has a more modern industrial vibe: check out the massive concrete piers that support the house above, and the steam pipes and conduits that serve as the arteries and veins that conduct the fluids and forces that power the building. We use this area as the young persons’ retreat, with a Wardroom for fun and games, including a tournament-quality foosball table; a ping pong table; a real pinball machine; and a big TV for movies. Three bedrooms (the Bridge, with a queen; the Interrogation Room, with a queen and a twin; and the Forecastle, with three twins) and a modest bathroom with shower are also located on this level. Bedrooms at ground level are rare in Galveston, so this is a nice option for people with difficulty navigating stairs.
The carriage house apartment, available separately AFTER May 2022, is configured as an efficiency, with a small kitchen and bathroom, and a king bed. The carriage house itself features an outdoor shower, two water closets, a sink, and is large enough to host a small crowd if rain interferes with an outdoor gathering.
Sweethaven has two sets of washers and dryers if you need them.
There are a half-dozen beach cruiser bikes with locks that you are welcome to tool around on, but please keep them secure as they will otherwise disappear and you will have to pay for replacements. There is also a supply of beach toys so you don’t have to drag your own from home. And some beach chairs, and umbrellas, and so forth so all you have to do is show up and use them.
There are also various gas grills and barbeques for feeding your friends and family.
Parking: there is off street parking for ~3-4 vehicles. There is on-street parking for perhaps another dozen vehicles along both Avenue O and 31st Street. PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN FRONT OF OUR NEIGHBOR'S GREY HOUSE TO THE SOUTH!
