GALVESTON: THE pearl of the Caribbean
 

If Life was Fair, Galveston, Texas, would be the major port of the South.  If Life was Fair, Galveston would be bigger than Las Vegas. 

But whoever said Life is Fair?

Unlike the rest of Texas which suffers from unbearable heat, Galveston is an island paradise cooled by gentle ocean breezes.  Often referred to as the Pearl of the Caribbean, in the late 1800s, Galveston was the most advanced city in Texas.  Known as the first city in Texas to have electricity, Galveston had paved streets, a beautiful beach and stunning Victorian homes. 

Galveston was so busy it rivaled Hong Kong.  Well-positioned on a small island just off the coast of southeast Texas, Galveston connected Texas to other major ports such as New York, Baltimore, Miami and New Orleans.   

Galveston had the good fortune to possess a deep-water port easily accessible to the shipping industry.  As the leading port of the South, the city enjoyed great prosperity.  Indeed, Galveston was fast becoming one of the richest cities in the world.  In 1900 Galveston was ranked as the second wealthiest per capita city in the nation.   Grand houses were scattered throughout tree-lined neighborhoods.  Huge southern mansions lined Broadway.  Everyone benefitted from Galveston's bounty, not just the rich.  The middle class and working class enjoyed a very high standard of living.  

Meanwhile, 50 miles northwest of Galveston, Houston's economy was stagnant.  Houston was a very unpleasant place to live.  More swamp than land mass, the city was infested with mosquitoes.  Houston was plagued by floods, mud-filled unpaved streets, extreme heat and oppressive humidity.  Galveston had all the advantages and Houston was going nowhere.  

Then in 1900 something terrible happened, something so terrible that overnight the fortunes of Houston and Galveston were instantly reversed.

GALVESTON: THE great storm
 

It was September 8, 1900.

The people of Galveston never knew a hurricane was coming.  By the time they found out, it was too late.

There was no escape.  1 in 4 citizens died, 6,000 in all.

The Hurricane of 1900 was the defining event in Galveston history.  Completely blindsided, the citizens had no way to escape nor was there any refuge.  The city was defenseless.  With no seawall for protection, the highest point was only 9 feet tall.  Since there was no 'high land' for safety, once the 15-foot storm surge inundated Galveston, people drowned right and left.

At least 6,000 people lost their lives that day, possibly even more.  The ocean surge flattened every structure on the sea side of the island.  In all, 4,000 structures were demolished.  Only one-third of the city's buildings were still standing in the aftermath. 

Oddly enough, the worst natural disaster in American history was never even given a name.  They simply called it The Great Storm.

HOUSTON: BUFFALO BAYOU and white oak
 

Many cities have a major river that gives it an identity.  Take for example the Seine River in Paris, the Danube in Budapest, or the Thames in London.  Houston does not have a major river.  It is called the 'Bayou City' because it relies on a dozen sleepy bayous to channel its rainwater.  Of these various bayous, Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou stand out.  Downtown Houston was birthed at the exact spot where these two bayous merge.

Basically Houston serves as a drainage ditch for all of North Texas.  Is this a Curse or a Blessing?  It is both.  Houston owes its existence to Buffalo and White Oak.  However, at the same time these two bayous have caused huge headaches.  Of the two, Buffalo Bayou is the celebrity.  When the two streams got married, only one got to keep its name.  Which is kind of a joke because White Oak was by far the more powerful of the two.  No doubt there are married women who see the irony in this.

Although it is hard to believe, at one time herds of bison roamed the prairie west of Houston.  The headwaters of Buffalo Bayou were so shallow and slow-moving it was effortless for buffalo to cross the stream.  Meanwhile White Oak Bayou was the killer.  In the first 100 years of the city’s history, Houston suffered 16 major floods, some cresting at more than 40 feet.  Two particularly bad floods inundated downtown Houston in 1929 and 1935.  This menace finally galvanized a response.  Deciding it was time for a lobotomy, the US Army Corps of Engineers deepened and widened White Oak Bayou, then lined it with a layer of concrete in order to subdue the beast.

Ordinarily the bayous are about as dangerous as a wading pool.  However, whenever it rains with authority, that is when the problems begin.  Unlike arid West Texas, East Texas receives abundant yearly rainfall.  Even today it takes Houston's bayous forever to drain after a storm.  And when it rains really hard, uh oh, watch out.  Houston's bayous are not wide enough to quickly evacuate excessive downpour.  As a result Houston is vulnerable to extreme flooding.  It would help if Houston had a river with a swift current, but no such luck.  Instead the city is stuck with a dozen listless bayous which do a poor job moving water to its eventual destination in the Gulf. 

Houston has been susceptible to bad floods since its origin.  There is a good reason for that.  Houston is a delta.  Deltas form as streams empty water and sediment into lowlands that do not drain well.  There's an old joke that the terrain in East Texas is so flat you can look down on Dallas from a Houston skyscraper.  There is some truth to that.  If it rains in Dallas, the water passes through Houston on its way to the Gulf of Mexico.  Although the rainwater eventually makes its way to Galveston Bay, it has a bad habit of taking its sweet time before leaving.

What exactly is a bayou?  Bayous are exclusive to the southern United States.  Some call them mini-rivers, but not really.  The term 'Bayou' refers to slow-moving streams, marshy lakes, wetlands, swamplands, and creeks. Bayous tend to be stagnant whereas rivers are relatively swift.  Bayous typically exist in flat, low-lying areas.  Since water does not move very fast without any sort of slope, Houston's bayous are inefficient at draining.  Much of the rainwater never leaves.  It just sits there for days on end in swamps and ditches.  Some of it dries, some of it doesn't.  These conditions are perfect for mosquito larva to breed.  Due to the extensive swampland, mosquitoes have long been a serious headache for Houston.

Because Houston is ridiculously flat, back in the old days half the city was under water any time it rained.  Add that to the excessive heat, oppressive humidity, and mosquitoes thick as fog.  Fortunately over time, things have improved.  Paved roads arrived in 1910.  The bayous were streamlined in 1940.  Air conditioning came to Houston in 1960.  However, before that, Houston was a lousy place to live.  In 1900 the dirt roads would turn to thick mud in the heavy rain.  If the rain was bad enough, transportation would come to a complete halt.  The heat and humidity was almost unbearable, especially in the summer.  Whether inside or out, it was impossible to avoid sweating all day long.  Sugarcane, cotton and rice farmers were known to keel over and die from summer heat exceeding 100 degrees.  These days you can't build a new school in Houston without finding bones from people buried in the same spot where they died working the fields.

Hot and muggy, no one really wanted to live in such nasty place.  Pre-1900, the British government was forced to give hazard pay to diplomats forced to live in its Houston embassy.  Ulysses S. Grant once said if he owned Hell and Texas, he would rent out Texas and live in Hell because the conditions were better.  So why did people even live in Houston? 

Although Houston was a mediocre choice to carve out a living at the turn of the 20th Century, the city did have its advantages.  The land was good for agriculture.  Lots of rain, lots of plain, few rocks.  The bayous helped.  Since there were no cars or roads solid enough to depend on, these waterways offered a convenient method for cotton and rice farmers to leisurely float their crops downstream from far-flung areas north and west of Houston. 

Buffalo Bayou began as a mere trickle 30 miles west of downtown Houston in an area known as the Katy prairie.  Despite its humble start, this lazy stream grew larger as bayous such as White Oak coming from the north connected downstream.  At the junction of Buffalo and White Oak, Buffalo Bayou tripled in size.  Now that this once-narrow stream was much wider, this junction became a convenient spot in the early 1800's for flatboats to load their cotton and rice crops onto much larger barges.  By way of the enhanced Buffalo Bayou, the barges would ferry cargo downstream to Galveston Bay, then onward to the deep-water port of Galveston.

Due to Buffalo Bayou's importance as a terminus for the transfer process, commerce developed in the area surrounding the Buffalo-White Oak merger.  Indeed, the birthplace of Houston can be seen today by crossing the Main Street bridge.  Buffalo Bayou played a role in the 1836 War for Texas independence from Mexico.  At the site where Buffalo Bayou enters Galveston Bay, an army of Texans serving under Sam Houston defeated the Mexicans at a battleground known as San Jacinto.  20 miles upstream, the small settlement which had formed next to the Buffalo-White Oak confluence was quickly renamed 'Houston' to honor the general's victory.  

For most of the 1800s Houston served as vassal to Galveston.  The island city owed much of its prosperity to crops that reached Houston first, then was delivered to the port of Galveston.  Houston's dependency on Galveston lessened somewhat in the 1870s due to the emergence of railroads.  An area just north of downtown Houston was perfect for transferring rice and cotton from Buffalo Bayou onto railroad cars.  The railroads would then transport cargo to West Texas and neighboring states.  From this point on, half of Houston's cargo went to railroads, the other half to Galveston.  In the process, Houston's population finally caught up to its wealthy counterpart.

Truth be told, if not for the Great Storm, Houston would never have amounted to much.  Galveston was the destination while Houston was merely a relay station.  If anyone was given a choice between living in Houston or living in Galveston, no one in their right mind would have chosen Houston.  However, the Great Storm changed a lot of minds.  Houston survived the Great Storm relatively unscathed due to being 50 miles inland.  Galveston wasn't so lucky.  At the moment, the island was too crippled to respond.  However, the city still possessed the finest port in the South.  All it needed was time to rebound.  Alas, it was not to be.  Strangely enough, Houston's inauspicious Buffalo Bayou would deliver the ultimate Kill Shot.

A CRUEL TWIST OF FATE
 

THE HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL
 

Arriving from New York in 1898, a builder and investor named Jesse H. Jones quickly became Houston's original mover and shaker.  After great success in the Houston area, Jones was asked to join the Hoover administration to help battle the Great Depression.  When Franklin Roosevelt took over, FDR gave Jones a key position in his cabinet to oversee industrial expansion during World War II.  Jones became so wealthy that in later years he established the Jones Scholarship program to help top-flight seniors throughout Houston pay for college. 

Jones had just begun to make his mark when the Great Storm and Spindletop took place back-to-back in late 1900.  Jones took careful note of the Spindletop oil discovery.  He anticipated the oil strike plus the growing importance of rice crops would create a rapid shift in the Texas economy.  With Galveston knee-capped by the Great Storm, Jones sensed Houston was in perfect position to take advantage.  Jones recommended expanding Houston's infrastructure to accommodate the explosive growth of the new Texas economy.  And just where should Houston start?  Jones had the perfect answer.  He proposed turning nondescript Buffalo Bayou into the mighty Houston Ship Channel.

Houston business leaders agreed this was a brilliant move.  Everyone knew Galveston possessed the finest port in the Southwest.  The waters were deep and the location was convenient to shipping in the Gulf of Mexico.  However the Texas economy could not wait for Galveston to regroup.  Consequently the decision to build the Houston Ship Channel was swiftly approved.  No doubt Galveston's leaders wanted to tear their hair out.  As Houston began its rise to prominence, Galveston was too crippled to make a counter-move.  Galveston officials stared glumly as Houston dredged out Buffalo Bayou and widened it. 

Slowly but surely the engineers created an artificial canal large enough to serve huge oil tankers.  Ironically, the Ship Channel extended to the edge of downtown Houston.  A mere four miles separated Main Street Bridge marking the White Oak-Buffalo Bayou confluence and the Turning Basin of the Ship Channel.  Smug oil executives in their tall skyscrapers could look out and survey their growing empire at the expense of poor Galveston. 

Jesse Jones may have been the luckiest man to ever live.  Opening in 1914, the Houston Ship Channel quickly became one of the busiest seaports in the world.  Two reasons.  The Panama Canal opened in 1914, the same year as the Ship Channel.  By all rights, the Panama Canal should have been Hong Kong to Galveston.  Instead it was Hong Kong to Houston. 

Jesse Jones' lucky streak continued when World War I broke out in 1914.  Since this war was highly mechanized, it created an overwhelming thirst for oil that could only be found one place on earth - Houston, Texas.   With multiple oil refineries lining the Ship Channel, many an oil tanker left Houston headed for Europe.

All told, the Houston Ship Channel, the Panama Canal and World War I served to propel Houston to instant world prominence.  The emergence of Houston as the dominant seaport in the South accelerated its evolution into the nation’s petrochemical leader. No one ever said Life is Fair.  Thanks to the Great Storm, Houston was the Energy Capital of the world while beleaguered Galveston was forced to watch in despair.  The completion of the Ship Channel put the final nail in Galveston's coffin.  Houston had the railroads, the shipping, the crops and the oil.  Meanwhile Galveston was left with nothing. 

With all the region's economic development concentrated on Houston, Galveston was long forgotten.  Fortunately a very curious by-product of World War I helped put Galveston back on its feet.  The nation needed to save grain for the war effort.  Overnight laws were passed aimed at reducing the national consumption of alcohol.  There were many side benefits.  Public health rates improved, admissions to mental hospitals for alcohol-related psychosis dropped.  So did work absenteeism and arrests for public drunkenness.  Goaded by religious leaders, politicians decided permanent banning of alcohol was good for the country.  Oddly enough, Prohibition became the best thing to happen to Galveston in ages.

GALVESTON:  Sam Maceo enters the void
 

The new seawall was completed in 1915, but it was too late for the port to stage a comeback.  Houston's gain was Galveston's loss.  Well aware Houston would hold the upper hand from now on, the civic leaders decided 'tourism' was their best bet to make a comeback.  Since the seawall had created a very beautiful beach in front of the rebuilt city, why not put a hotel there?

In 1911, the Hotel Galvez was completed.  Unfortunately, the city's economy was still in dry dock.  Despite the beautiful hotel and convenient beach, there was no rush to fill the Galvez.

Fortunately the Prohibition Era (1920-1933) got Galveston moving again.  In hindsight, we now know that a major unintended consequence of Prohibition was the growth of urban crime organizations... Al Capone, for example.

Into Galveston's economic vacuum came Sam Maceo.  Referred to as the 'Galveston Godfather' and 'Mr. Galveston', Maceo quickly became the most important man in Galveston history.

Sam Maceo and his brother Rosario came to Galveston shortly before the outbreak of World War I.  They were barbers by trade, but soon discovered a lucrative side business.  As Prohibition took hold, the Maceo brothers began to smuggle in rum and cheap wine to give as gifts to appreciative customers. 

Seeing how interested their customers were in liquor, the Maceos became serious bootleggers.  The booze-laden islands of Jamaica, Cuba, and the Bahamas were more than happy to send schooners filled with liquor.  35 miles southwest of the island was a rendezvous point known as Rum Row.  Out at sea, the schooners loaded barrels onto smaller, more mobile crafts which then headed to rendezvous points hidden along Galveston's deserted beaches.

During the Roaring Twenties, the Maceo brothers allied themselves with Beach Gang leader Ollie Quinn to open the Hollywood Dinner Club, Galveston's most elegant hot spot.  Sam Maceo's smooth personality made him the face of the club.  During this time Maceo developed sharp interpersonal skills that came in handy when dealing with Island businessmen and politicians.  In short order, Maceo learned the name of every important person on the island and Galveston County.  His political skills paid off handsomely.  Through the use of bribes and cajolery, Maceo persuaded law enforcement to do the dirty work for him.  Fortuitous arrests of rival gang leaders allowed the brothers to gain complete control of the island's underworld without a blood bath.  By the late 1920s, the upper echelon of Galveston gangs had gone by the wayside.  With their enemies in prison, the two brothers had full control of the island's vice-related activities.

Sam Maceo operated more like a clever politician than gangster.  Known as the "Velvet Glove", Maceo's smooth style and ability to influence people was legendary.  Through his vast network of connections, Maceo wielded influence comparable to an elected official and business leader.  Sam Maceo maintained close relationships with politicians throughout Texas, fellow mobsters and celebrities throughout the United States.  Thanks in large part to his non-violent approach to business, local law enforcement found it advantageous to look the other way.  This benign enforcement attitude extended to booze and gambling as well as to prostitution. 

You probably had no idea Texas history was so colorful.  Indeed, some gave Emily Morgan more credit for the victory than Sam Houston.  The distraction provided by Emily Morgan was not forgotten.  Indeed, Emily's sacrifice was immortalized in song.  She came to be known as "The Yellow Rose of Texas" due to her light skin as well as her vital importance in the victory at San Jacinto.  Perhaps the role the Yellow Rose and her lady friends played in disarming the Mexican army explains Galveston's relaxed attitude regarding women of the night.  Throughout the Maceo Era, Galveston law enforcement repeatedly turned a blind eye towards prostitution.  

After booze and babes, the third cornerstone of the Maceo operation was gambling.  Poker had long been popular in Texas, birthplace of "Texas Hold ‘Em'".  So what if gambling was illegal?  No one cared.  Even before Maceo came along, there had been a long history of closed-door gambling and underground casino operations in Texas.

The final piece of the puzzle was the fancy nightclubs.  Maceo made sure respectable people could wine and dine to fine entertainment in the front while a legion of high-stake gamblers visited hidden alcoves in the back with gaming tables.  Unlike the Brando character in The Godfather, Sam Maceo was not known for violence.  Since Maceo was allowed to run his nightclubs free of interference, he preferred persuasion in lieu of force.  Although his brother Rosario was known to shed blood on occasion, by and large Maceo made sure there were no widespread vendettas in Galveston.

While Sam Maceo was getting rich from illegal activities such alcohol, gambling, and prostitution, there was a part of him determined to spread the wealth.   Apparently Maceo had a soft spot for the little people.  Seeing him provide repeated acts of kindness and charity throughout the community, it is small wonder he enjoyed widespread support.  Acting more like a benevolent dictator, Sam Maceo singlehandedly returned prosperity to a town greatly in need of a hero.

THE FREE STATE OF GALVESTON
 

Sam Maceo was not a thug, he was a businessman.  Galveston needed tourists, so Maceo went the extra mile.  He made sure to have a series of small casinos such as the one hidden in the restaurant where my friend Maria Ballantyne grew up.  These smaller establishments were designed to take care of customers with limited budgets.  In addition, Maceo made sure to offer at least one high-end restaurant/casino for the high rollers.  These Vegas-style nightclubs offered bootleg liquor, fine dining, and first class entertainment in addition to high stakes gambling and ready availability of alluring hookers. 

Once Prohibition opened the door, the brothers built an empire on the island with little opposition from the locals.  During Maceo's 30 years of glory (1920-1950), law enforcement pretty much let Mr. Galveston do whatever he wanted.  Nor did the State of Texas bother to interfere, at least not until World War II ended.  Other than the occasional wink-wink cosmetic raid where Maceo was tipped off well in advance, as long as tourists kept flocking to the island, Maceo was allowed to operate with impunity. 

Let's face it, everyone in Galveston knew what side their bread was buttered.  Not just that, most Texans despised Prohibition, including many politicians inside and outside Galveston circles.  One can assume most politicians enjoyed visiting this wicked Babylon as much as the next guy.

Plus it helped that Galveston was free of nosy neighbors and the indignant objections of church ladies from other parts of the state.  Isolated from the mainland by a long bridge, Galveston was a world unto itself.  Looking the other way, Texans seemed content to let Galveston conveniently ignore the vice laws. 

During this wild and crazy time, the island was referred to as the 'Free State of Galveston'.  During the Roaring Twenties, Galveston Island emerged as a popular resort town.  Attracting celebrity entertainers from around the country, Maceo's vice-oriented businesses were a major tourist draw.  Beach by day, Vice by Night.  It helped that Galveston operated in a remote corner of the state out of the eyes of many, the same way Vegas hides from scrutiny in the barren deserts of Nevada. 

Why should Amarillo or El Paso care what's going on in Galveston hundreds of miles away?  Furthermore, the "Free State" moniker embodied a belief held by many Texans that Galveston was exempt from the repressive mores and laws imposed by the government.  Although they would never say so in public, Texas politicians didn't like Prohibition any more than the next guy.  Unwilling to shut down the only place they could go to have fun, they quietly protected their favorite pleasure playground. 

As such, for 30 years Galveston was not required to obey rules that applied to the rest of Texas.  Laissez le bon temps rouler!

GALVESTON:  THE Balinese room
 

Since gambling and bootleg liquor went hand-in-hand with prostitution, the popular nightclubs along the Galveston seawall were well-known fronts for illegal activities during the Prohibition Era.  Hoping to visit casinos hidden from sight, people from across the state and nearby Louisiana flocked in.  Houston millionaires made sure to buy a palatial mansion in Galveston to accommodate their frequent visits to Maceo's seraglios.  In this way, much of that new-found Houston oil money made its way back into the Galveston economy.  The infusion of tourist capital and real estate tax income made all the difference in the world.  Sam Maceo became the talk of the town.  Thanks to the prosperity generated by Maceo's Era of Decadence, the Twenties and Thirties became the heyday of Galveston.  During this time, Sam Maceo turned Galveston into the leading resort mecca of the Gulf Coast.

The gem in Sam Maceo's empire was the popular Balinese Room.  This fancy nightclub with its hidden casino at the end of a pier was Maceo's master stroke.  Opening in 1929, Maceo placed his favorite restaurant right across the street from the Galvez, Galveston's most luxurious hotel.  Guests from around the country could fly in, stay at the Galvez and party deep into the night at the Balinese without any fear of law enforcement.  Thanks to the ingenious lengthy entrance, any time the pesky Texas Rangers raided the nightclub, all signs of illegal activity were safely hidden behind lock and key by the time they made it all the way to the back.

When speaking of the Maceo Era, people often refer to Galveston as Vegas of the Thirties.  As we shall see, this comparison proved highly ironic.  Vegas and Galveston would one day have a very interesting connection.  Because he broke laws, Sam Maceo was considered a gangster, but at heart he operated like a modern-day Vegas businessman.  Over time, the Maceo brothers came to own all the major vice-oriented businesses on the Island.  Adding casinos to his nightclubs, Galveston was Vegas before Vegas.  In the midst of rampant sin and debauchery, the Balinese Room stood out as the most famous nightclub of all. The Balinese Room was ostensibly a restaurant, but there was a well-known casino placed at the end of a long pier.  The casino extended so far into the Gulf there was a standing joke that the waiters used their break to catch fish.  Gambling tables were designed to quickly convert into bridge tables.  If there was a raid, the band located in front would play the "The Eyes of Texas" as a warning to the card dealers in back. By acting fast, police were greeted by well-dressed patrons playing bridge and sipping soft drinks.

Sam Maceo used a well-known real estate technique known as 'location location location' to ensure his club's success.  He put the Balinese right across the street from the magnificent Hotel Galvez.  Smart move.  Sam Maceo cultivated a relationship with William Moody, Galveston's business leader and owner of the Hotel Galvez.  Moody and Maceo got along just fine.  Thanks to Maceo, Moody's giant hotel stayed packed with celebrities and guests who flocked to visit the nation's newest resort town.  Imagine the visitors' delight to discover every vice known to man was open to all, a major lure during Prohibition.  Galveston became the playground of the Southwest, even bigger than New Orleans by some accounts.

30 years is a long time.  The reason Sam Maceo lasted so long was obvious.  The majority of the citizens liked it that way.  Everybody was making money.  Not one bank closed during the Depression.  Tourism was strong.  The hotels stayed busy year-round, even in the winter.  Everyone who wanted a job had one.  Ten percent of the Island's adult population worked for the Maceo organization.  Every merchant in town profited directly or indirectly from Maceo's empire.  Maceo was so obsessed with protecting the reputation of his operation he made sure anyone who hit it big at his casino received an escort back to their hotel.  Ironically a town based on crime had the lowest crime rate in the state.  No one locked their doors; the streets were safe at night.  Perhaps the highest compliment of all came courtesy of the Catholic Church.  A pew was reserved for Maceo and his family every Sunday.  One of his closest friends was the Monsignor.

Though certainly no saint, Sam Maceo was extremely civic-minded.  His assistance to charities, churches and schools was another reason his organization had little trouble with the law.  Other than the occasional perfunctory pre-arranged raid for show, law enforcement left him alone.  By sharing his profits throughout the city, Maceo endeared himself not just to William Moody, but to many subsidiary businesses.  In this way, Maceo returned prosperity to a local economy still depressed from the hurricane devastation.  Understandably no one dared upset the apple cart.  Legitimate businesses such as banks, restaurants and hotels thrived thanks to the illegal activities.  Not just that, real estate was booming thanks to Houston millionaires buying up those fancy mansions along Broadway Boulevard. 

Since Maceo had the tacit support of the business community, it stands to reason that law enforcement and politicians were under his spell as well.  The benevolence of Sam Maceo helped considerably.  During his years as the island's dominant figure, Maceo never abused his power.  He generally did not attempt to prevent others from prospering so long as it did not interfere with his business interests.  The economic damage caused by the Great Storm lasted 20 years.  Sam Maceo was the guy who turned the lights back on.  During his 30 year reign, the citizens had money in their pocket again.  People referred to Sam Maceo as "Mr. Galveston". 

frank Sinatra AND THE BALINESE ROOM
 

Sam Maceo was a shrewd man who knew how to make money in legitimate ways as well as vice.  The Balinese Room not just a gambling joint, it was a first-class nightclub.  Maceo made it a point to attract well-known entertainers from across the country to perform at the Balinese.  Not only did the performers appreciate getting paid, in their spare time they enjoyed booze, babes and gambling just as much as the next guy.  The Balinese was a popular destination for the biggest names in show business.

During the Roaring Twenties and Swing Era of the Thirties, there was always a house band ready to play the favorite tunes of the day.  The Balinese Room featured big bands such as Phil Harris, Guy Lombardo, Jimmy Dorsey, Harry James and Val Olman.  It is no wonder that the Balinese became a prime destination for the rich and famous.  Maceo learned early on how to harness celebrities to boost the appeal of his Balinese Room.  The nation's biggest stars performed there, including Bob Hope, Spike Jones, Peggy Lee, Vaughn Monroe, Duke Ellington, Mel Torme, Tony Bennett, and Edgar Bergen. 

Oh, plus some guy named Frank Sinatra.  I have expressed my belief in the Arabic doctrine of Darkest Day and Brightest Day.  At some point in every man and woman's life, they can do no wrong.  Everything they touch turns to gold.  Then they get cocky and do stupid things.  Pretty soon their whole world turns to hell.  This includes people with money, brains, fame and oodles of talent.  No one is immune.  In 1950, Sinatra hit his Darkest Day.

Age 35, Frank Sinatra was down on his luck.  He was one more bad step from being forgotten.  A broken man, Sinatra tried to put his life back together starting at Houston's Shamrock Hotel.  Desperate for a job, he persuaded oilman Glenn McCarthy into giving him a short gig at the Cork Club, a plush private nightspot on top of Houston's legendary Shamrock Hotel.

McCarthy constructed the Shamrock in 1949.  At the time, it was the largest hotel in the United States.  The resort-like hotel with its restaurants, bars and swank boutiques became a popular gathering place for society matrons, business notables and visiting celebrities.  It was characterized as 'Houston's Riviera' during the early 1950s.  The Shamrock's exclusive Cork Club was the site for many oil deals, fist fights, and hustling along with performances by famous singers such as Sinatra.  Except that Sinatra wasn't quite so famous at the moment. 

What went wrong?  Despite his marriage to Nancy, mother of his three children, Sinatra was known as a ladies man.  Sinatra could have any woman he wanted.  Then one day he met a woman who could have any man she wanted... and did... frequently.  

Her name was Ava Gardner.  Due to his disastrous love affair with this notorious femme fatale, Sinatra's life and career hit rock bottom in 1950.  Music tastes had shifted after the horrible World War II.  Strike One.  Negative publicity about Sinatra's adultery was Strike Two.  Ava Gardner left him to chase a swarthy Spanish bull fighter.  Strike Three. 

One morning, Sinatra and his close friend Jimmy Van Heusen left the Shamrock to drive down to Galveston.  Van Heusen was a composer of many Sinatra hits such as 'Come Fly With Me'.  Van Heusen was also the man who rushed Sinatra to the hospital following a suicide attempt over the breakup of his marriage to Ava Gardner.  This was Sinatra's Darkest Day.

With his career on the brink, Sinatra came to plead with crime boss Sam Maceo to book him into the Balinese Room.  This led to an interesting chapter in Sinatra's life.  Sinatra was determined to talk Maceo into letting him follow his Cork Club contract with a gig at the Balinese.  If Maceo didn't hire him, Sinatra had no other place to go.  This was not the first time that Sinatra used mob connections to advance his career.  However this time Sinatra was on his knees begging. 

Maceo was skeptical.  He knew about Sinatra's self-inflicted problems.  However, to Sinatra's great relief, Maceo said okay.  However, Sinatra was no longer important enough to be the featured performer.  For the time being, Sinatra would serve as singer for the house band.  Can you imagine that?  Dead broke, Sinatra stayed in a flea bag hotel and ate his meals on credit.  However, this respite was just the break Sinatra needed to pull himself back together.  While no longer the fabled star of yore, Sinatra's extended stay at the Balinese played a large role in his comeback.  Say what you will about Sinatra, he was very loyal to his friends.  Sinatra never forgot what Sam Maceo had done for him.  He would one day repay the debt in a very special way. 

Although Mario Puzo's Godfather books were considered a work of fiction, some say the chapters did not require much imagination.  For example, the story of how singer Johnny Fontane begged the Godfather to help him get a key role in a hit movie is said to be a thinly disguised reference to Sinatra and his benefactor Sam Maceo.   After the Balinese, Sinatra's luck improved.  Handed a plum role in From Here to Eternity, Sinatra maximized his second chance with an Oscar-winning performance.  Feeling his mojo return, Sinatra's comeback was complete.

At the same time Sinatra's star began to rise, Maceo's operation hit hard times.  Maceo began to draw so much heat from the Texas Rangers starting around 1950, he was forced to transfer his operation to Las Vegas.  This move was highly reminiscent of scenes from Godfather Part II where racketeers moved their East Coast profits to Vegas to become legitimate.  

the downfall of Galveston
 

Using considerable skill, Sam Maceo made the Balinese Room famous throughout the nation.  The impressive list of entertainers who performed at his club was testimony to his substantial national influence.  Given the prosperity he created and his benign approach, Maceo knew few enemies.  This explains how he was allowed to run vice on the island for three decades with little opposition. 

So what went wrong?  Here again we are back to Darkest Day and Brightest Day.  The onset of World War II marked the beginning of the end.  After Pearl Harbor, people weren't exactly in the same party mood as they once had been.  Prohibition had been lifted, so alcohol was readily available, thereby eliminating a major reason to visit Galveston.  Then the Hotel Galvez across the street was requisitioned as headquarters for Coast Guard soldiers responsible for patrolling the Gulf of Mexico.  Not only were tourists forbidden to stay at the Galvez, the Balinese Room was declared 'off-limits' for service men who barracked at the hotel.  An armed MP was posted at the front of the Balinese to discourage military personnel from sneaking in.  As one can guess, business tapered off substantially.  Still, the Balinese remained popular enough.  It quickly regained momentum when World War II was over.  Unfortunately the Texas political climate changed dramatically.  As the Fifties approached, a law and order crowd took over in the state capital with a pledge to put Maceo out of business. 

Although Sam Maceo had local law enforcement in his back pocket, the legendary Texas Rangers were a different story.  For thirty years, laws that applied to other parts of Texas had not applied to Galveston.  However, after the war, the open-minded attitudes of Texas politicians seemingly shifted.  Law and Order politicians from the mainland called upon the Texas Rangers to look into the Maceo operation. 

The appearance of the Texas Rangers at the Balinese created a semi-comic cat and mouse game.  Sam Maceo did not give up easily.  He devised an ingenious strategy known as 'The Ranger Race Track'.  It was well-known that the casino was operating in violation of the law.  In addition, the club’s illegal gambling made it a hub of mob activity.  The problem was catching the gamblers in the act.  Needing evidence to shut the place down, the Rangers set up shop at a hotel near the club and raided the casino often. 

However their efforts were thwarted by the length of the pier.  Upon their arrival, the band would strike up the popular song 'Eyes of Texas'.  Thus alerted, the dealers and waitresses at the back began a well-rehearsed cover-up.  They were so fast, by the time the Rangers made it to the tail end of the long corridor, the evidence was gone.  The cards and chips had vanished into secret walls and hidden floor pockets, the tables were covered with silverware and tablecloth.  "Can we help you, gentlemen?"

The Rangers did eventually shut down the club.  The breakthrough came when they gave up trying to catch anyone in the act.  Taking a page out of the MP technique used in the war, uniformed Rangers took turns sitting in the restaurant part of the club every day from morning to end.  Intimidated by the Rangers’ constant presence, the customers stopped coming.  As investigation into his activities grew more serious, Maceo was fed up with the interference.  Frustrated by the constant need to keep his extensive gambling activities under wraps, Maceo turned his eyes elsewhere.  At this point Maceo decided to move his empire to Nevada.  He became a major player in a new mob venture known as 'Las Vegas'.  Late in 1950 Maceo handed the Galveston operation to Anthony Fertitta and left town. 

Maceo became the leading investor in the Desert Inn, a new Vegas casino which opened in 1950.  In its day, the Desert Inn was the largest and most elaborate resort casino on the Vegas Strip.  However, business was slow at first.  Fortunately Maceo knew just who to call.  Frank Sinatra was a loyal friend who enjoyed returning a favor.  Sinatra's fame helped Sam Maceo get the Desert Inn off to a great start.  What goes around comes around.

If Texas had legalized gambling, Sam Maceo said he could have made Galveston bigger than Havana and Las Vegas combined.  Too bad the right people weren't listening.  Otherwise they would have supported Maceo instead of running him out of town.  Vegas was just a dream during Galveston's heyday. If Maceo had been allowed to run things his way, his 30 years of success would have made his Vegas investment unnecessary.  Instead mob money would have gone directly to Maceo's lucrative Galveston playground.   One can only wonder where Galveston would be today if Sam Maceo had gotten his way.  Unable to get gambling legalized in Texas, Galveston's loss became immense good fortune for Las Vegas. 

What a shame.  Look at Las Vegas today.  Houston could have been the next door neighbor to the largest resort center in the country.  Considering Houston doesn't have a clue when it comes to attracting tourism, the two cities could have established a cooperative relationship instead of years of antagonism.  So goes the fickle finger of Fate.

ghost town
 

"You don't know what you've got till it's gone." -- Joni Mitchell

Due to the constant harassment, by 1957 the Balinese was out of business for good.  Sam Maceo was long gone by this time, leaving his lieutenant Anthony Fertitta behind to pick up the pieces.  People say the day Maceo left town was almost as bad as the day the Great Storm hit.  The horror and death count were missing, but the damage to the economy was just as bad. Once the Texas Rangers turned out the lights, Galveston plummeted rapidly.  Without the Velvet Glove, things were never the same.  Vegas became a boom town and Galveston became a ghost town.

The closing of the Balinese marked the end of an era.  Prostitution was eliminated.  Gambling was eliminated.  Forty-seven nightclubs, several brothels, and other vice establishments were reportedly closed.  2,000 slot machines were destroyed.  Though officials claimed to have destroyed all the gaming equipment, that was nonsense.  Most of the equipment had been previously shipped to Las Vegas before the authorities could confiscate it.  In the end, it didn't matter.  Tourism was completely gone.  The hotels were empty and put up for sale.  No one bought them.  Beautiful mansions were put up for sale.  No one bought them.  Everything began to deteriorate.

The Texas Rangers claimed they had eliminated a serious criminal element.  However, as they say, be careful what you wish for. Now that Sam Maceo was gone, people learned what real crime was.  A far more dangerous criminal element entered the vacuum created by Maceo's departure.  Taking advantage of Galveston's history of lax law enforcement, street gangs brought guns, narcotics and armed robbery to the city.  There was a legend that Maceo's bookkeepers used to walk the daily proceeds to the bank without escort.  That's how safe things were.  Those days were over.  Now that the thugs ruled, violence unheard of in the Maceo Era took hold. 

The outside forces that killed the Golden Goose doomed Galveston to difficult economic times.  During the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies, Galveston entered a steep decline towards urban decay.  With minimal activity at the Port and tourism limited to day trippers from Houston heading to the beach, economic activity remained anemic for thirty years.  

Thirty years is an eternity.  As the years passed, the negative consequence of running Sam Maceo out of town became more apparent.  The population declined as people moved to Houston and elsewhere in search of employment.  With a greatly diminished tax base, public services were curtailed.  This was a mistake.  Seaweed and dead fish were left to rot on the beach in the hot sun.  The beach smelled and litter was not being picked up regularly.  The limited police presence allowed lowlifes to dominate.  Drinking, cursing and loud music made the beach unpleasant for families to visit.  Thugs roamed at will.  Unchallenged by the dwindling police force, ruffians accosted tourists and vandalized cars.  As rumors of nasty beach conditions and possible danger made their way back to Houston, fewer people bothered to make the trip down.

Another blow came when Houston's millionaires lost interest in Galveston's beautiful old homes.  Once the area's popularity was gone, the old homes were left to rot or be sold for pennies on the dollar.  Hundreds of magnificent Victorian-style homes and buildings fell into disrepair and neglect. 

Conditions were bad and there was not much hope the situation would change.  There was no reason whatsoever for tourists to visit and Houston had stolen all the shipping long ago.  By the time the Seventies rolled around, Galveston was in deep trouble.  With magnificent homes crumbling before their eyes, the last vestiges of the city's great past disappeared. 

About this time, a very bad joke was passed around.  During the Great Storm, there was a story about several men who were last seen clinging to a flimsy board in the flood waters.  The desperate men appeared to be trying to reach the sturdy Tremont Hotel, one of the few havens still standing.  Apparently they drowned in the deep waters just before reaching safety.  Legend has it that their ghosts took up residence in the Tremont Hotel. 

One day someone commented publicly that the spooky ghosts in the Tremont had not bothered to scare anyone for quite some time.  Did anyone know where they went?  The local comedians had a field day.  Galveston was so dead, even the dead people didn't want to stay. 

Fortunately, out of nowhere a man appeared who wanted to help.  His name was George.  Maria Ballantyne's brother decided to save Galveston.