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710 online
Server Time:
2024-04-24 16:32:33
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 Jascony
Location: Southeast Texas
flattest thing since sliced bread
 |  |  | Re: Galveston Bunker
<Reply # 20 on 9/4/2006 4:29 PM >
|  | | | thanks to Jonsered's satellite photo and Google Earth I managed to track this place down a while back. I arrived around 5:30 and didn't have much time to look around so all my photos were taken in the dark.. and because I'm an idiot I only had a digital camera and no tripod so they're all flash pictures :/ still, I got a few of the inside. hopefully I didn't resize em too small. apologies in advance for the crappiness of these photos!
one thing that I wasn't expecting was all the cacti surrounding the bunker. it was everywhere. any worries I had about crazy squatters sleeping there were put to bed(ba-zing!) when I realized how horrible the mosquitos were out here. here's a view of all the low doorways and cool stairway on the side.
the roof of the bunker.
this is inside the largest room. that small crawlspace leads out to the ocean...when I was about to go in I yelled out to see if anyone was in there, and a piece of debris floating inside the tunnel knocked the wall and nearly gave me a heart attack :0
the smaller room next door had some signs of habitation(not counting the charming satanic graffiti which is all over the insides)
well, at least they tried to keep the place clean.
wow, crazy stairs. the bunker looked like a deathmatch level.
I believe there were 4 rooms in all...and well, this was one of them. there was another very small dark room that I stayed away from because of the bad smell coming from there.
a view of the Gulf from on top the bunker.
I'm gonna head back there eventually with a decent camera and tripod to hopefully get some keepers of the place.
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unseen
Location: Houston,tx
Gender: Male
| |  |  | Re: Galveston Bunker
<Reply # 21 on 9/4/2006 10:24 PM >
| | | | Did the small room smell like death, or crap?
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Jascony
Location: Southeast Texas
flattest thing since sliced bread
| | | Re: Galveston Bunker
<Reply # 22 on 9/5/2006 4:14 AM >
| | | | it smelled like Bigfoot's dick in there. I'm pretty sure it was just garbage smell though, but I was in a rush and it was a hassle to get into the room anyway(there was more tall grass and cactus in front of it than the other ones) so I just let it be.
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Jonsered
     
Location: Back in New Mexico where I belong
Gender: Male
Dressed for a scarecrow ball.........
| |  | | Re: Galveston Bunker
<Reply # 23 on 9/5/2006 2:29 PM >
| | | | Wow, the place has really gone down hill since I was there last in 1995. Squatters eh? There used to be so many rattlesnakes there, you couldn't have squatted for long!!! Anyway, thanks for the look.
I have changed my personal exploring ethics code. From now on it will be: "Take only aimed shots, leave only hobo corpses." Copper scrappers, meth heads and homeless beware. The Jonsered cometh among you, bringing fear and dread.
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RevSM
 
Location: South Central Texas
| | | Re: Galveston Bunker
<Reply # 24 on 9/5/2006 3:04 PM >
| | | | I totally forgot that this post was on here. I actually had an opportunity to see this place as well. Not very large but interesting to me as I find things having to do with WWII fascinating. The stairs seem strange but maybe something has been removed that would make the shape of the stairs make more sense.
Tetanus for Breakfast!
http://www.shatteredshutter.com |
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Jascony
Location: Southeast Texas
flattest thing since sliced bread
| | | Re: Galveston Bunker
<Reply # 25 on 10/31/2006 2:19 AM >
| | | | sorry guys, I'm gonna bump this bitch one more time. this weekend I went down to Galveston again(this time with a digital SLR, and during daytime) to get some non-flash photos and hopefully document the place a little better. I got too caught up in the closeups and you don't get as good a feel for the overall area as I hoped, but eh D:
I was going to use these to add the bunker to the UE database but it won't let me because I'm just a normal member. so, if any full members who've been here want to put this place up on the site they can use these photos.
some establishing shots
ART!!
no rattlers that I could see or hear, but there were a good amount of these:
this is the bad smelling room I mentioned last time. with some more light, you can see that it's because there's more garbage in there than anywhere else. also, it's the only room with a door. that's one old door!
ART!!
me and my beloved 35mm camera(it's an Olympus XA)
a couple hundred feet from the bunker there was another, smaller building on a hill. I wouldn't recommend checking it out, there's nothing to it and it's a huge hassle to get through with all the grass, trees, stickers and mosquito breeding pools you have to wade through to get there.
you can see the main building in the distance, and a ship in the gulf way back there.
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RevSM
Location: South Central Texas
| | | Re: Galveston Bunker
<Reply # 26 on 10/31/2006 3:29 PM >
| | | | Pretty cool. Did you intend to do what you did with the depth of field in those shots?
Tetanus for Breakfast!
http://www.shatteredshutter.com |
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fratka
| | Re: Galveston Bunker
<Reply # 27 on 10/31/2006 3:54 PM >
| | | | I grew up and own a beach house on the West End but I get into Galveston quite often. The majority of the photos you have posted here are of the old WWI and WWII gun turrets. As you might imagine they have been abandoned for quite some time. The part of Ft Crockett still exists below the San Luis hotel is still accessible but very dangerous. You would need rope and a couple friends to do it. To reach the tunnels you have to climb down 15 to 20 feet and then walk around in total darkness (which isn't a problem if you are prepared). It has a strong smell of piss and crap down there as the homeless have used it for shelter for a long time.
I also recommend you take a look at Jean Laffite's, Maison Rouge near the port and Strand. The ruins are probably the oldest structure on the island.
The Lipton tea plant is still standing but abandoned across the street from Maison Rouge and is rumored to be placed on top of Jean Laffite's treasure. He use to moor his ships off of where present day pier 19 is and the tea plant is in direct line of sight from Maison Rouge. The plant is also located on the highest elevation of the area.
Some of you might find the Hitchcock NAS fun to explore. The crane spires are still present and impressive from this old WWII Blimp base. It is only about 10 or 15 minutes north of Galveston in the Town of Hitchcock. The old blimp base is located on FM2004, approximately a mile East of Hitchcock Highschool. The old base admin building was being renovated last time I was out there so beware it is occupied.
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Jascony
Location: Southeast Texas
flattest thing since sliced bread
| | | Re: Galveston Bunker
<Reply # 28 on 10/31/2006 4:22 PM >
| | | | thanks RevSM. yeah, I borrowed the digital SLR from somebody, and since it was a Canon I tried using one of my wide angle macro lenses from my 35mm Canon and it worked. shallow depth of field is fun to play with.
thanks for the tips fratka..fort Crocket sounds like somethin I'd like to try for next time I'm in the area.
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RevSM
Location: South Central Texas
| | | Re: Galveston Bunker
<Reply # 29 on 10/31/2006 5:11 PM >
| | | | Man, the last time I was in the Galveston area we had no problem finding places to explore. I'm not surprised to hear that there is plenty more that I've not heard of.
Tetanus for Breakfast!
http://www.shatteredshutter.com |
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bpitcher
Location: worcester style
Gender: Male
| | Re: Galveston Bunker
<Reply # 30 on 10/31/2006 10:21 PM >
| | | | If you take the ferry across the bay, I'm fairly sure there's a fort on the Bolivar side as well. I saw some pictures a while back, let me see if i can dig up something...
Edit: Google earth 29 21 53.15N 94 45 28.13W
History of Fort Travis Seashore Park
The Bolivar Peninsula has a long history of fortifications. Many of them were built on the site of the present Fort Travis Seashore Park. In 1816, Frances Xavier Mina, while on an expedition for Spain, constructed an earthen levee to protect himself and his men from the Karankawa Indians.
In 1818, Dr. James Long, his wife, Jane (a beautiful former debutante from Natchez, Mississippi) and 300 troops came to Texas to free Texas from Spain. Dr Long established his base of operations at Port Bolivar in 1820. He wished to secure the services of Jean Lafitte who occupied Galveston Island. Lafitte would not help. He had given verbal allegiance to Spain, Mexico, and the United States, but carefully remained aloof from entanglements that might curtail his privateering enterprises. Finally, without aid from any source, Dr. Long and his men set out to capture Presidio La Bahia.
Long left Jane, their daughter, and a maid at the rude fort with a few men to protect them. The winter of 1821 was bitterly cold: the "protection" left. Jane Long fired a cannon every morning to let Galveston know the fort was still defended. But who was the enemy? Was it the Spaniards, Mexicans, Lafitte's pirates or the Karankawa Indians?
The Karankawas had a bad reputation that survives to this day. They were a tall, nomadic people who refused to be tamed. They kept mosquitos (and the rest of society) at a distance by smearing their bodies with alligator grease and fish oil. The stories of the Karankawas being cannibals are not entirely accurate. They did, at times, consume human flesh during special ceremonies, but not as a regular practice.
During the time she was defending the fort. Jane, age 20, was expecting the birth of her third child, In December, during a raging storm, the food ran out, the slave girl became delirious from an illness and Jane delivered her own child. The baby was named Mary and was the first baby of English descent to be born in Texas.
Because of her heroism, Jane Long is often called "The Mother of Texas". Jane refused to leave until the following July when she received word that her husband had been killed. She later ran a rooming house in Richmond. During the Civil War the fortification on Bolivar Point was Fort Green -- for the Confederate soldiers.
In 1898, along with federal development of the Port of Galveston, construction on the present Fort Travis was begun. The fort was completed in 1899. The fort was heavily damaged during the 1900 storm. Repairs included the present 15 foot sea wall around the fort. During World War I Fort Travis garrisoned troops defending the Port of Galveston and its approaches.
In 1942, the fort was enlarged and 2,500 troops were stationed there. Several sizes of guns were installed, from anti-aircraft up to 16 inch long range rifles. When the war ended, Fort Travis was declared surplus property, dismantled, and in 1949 sold to private interests. The 60 acre park was acquired through a Moody Foundation grant in 1976 and is operated by the Galveston County Beach and Parks Department.
Today, the park includes the seawall, broad grassy areas, oleanders, winding roads, well equipped play grounds, picnic tables and bar-b-que grills. Cabanas and campsites are available for rental.
[last edit 10/31/2006 10:27 PM by bpitcher - edited 1 times]
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