In the Words of G.L. Norrman: On a Sea Wall for Galveston, Texas (1900)

The Background

Following the 1900 Galveston hurricane, which became the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history, G.L. Norrman opined that the Texas port city should build a seawall, his comments appearing in Wallace Putnam Reed‘s column for The Macon Telegraph on September 20, 1900.

If it sounds like Norrman was familiar with Galveston, there’s a reason: he likely emigrated to the United States through the Port of Galveston in 1874,¹ and it’s possible that he worked in the city or elsewhere in Texas as a draftsman before starting his practice in South Carolina.²

As a result of the hurricane, Galveston did indeed build a seawall.

Norrman’s remarks:

“Galveston should have a sea wall. Holland is below the ocean, and yet it is efficiently protected by dykes. Galveston is six feet above the sea, and a wall is feasible.

“Then the buildings should be of a substantial, storm-proof character. People should prepare proper safeguards and not charge every disaster to Providence.”³

References

1. “An Educated Architect”. The Atlanta Journal, December 17, 1892, p. 9. ↩︎
2. Withey, Henry F. and Withey, Elsie Rathburn. Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased). Los Angeles: New Age Publishing Co. (1956), p. 448. ↩︎
3. Reed, Wallace Putnam. “Atlanta Street Talk.” The Macon Telegraph (Macon, Georgia), September 20, 1900 ↩︎