From the historic Grand Opera House, to the glamorous Balinese Room, Galveston has been known for its wide array of rich musical culture. This is but one collection that is within the Galveston and Texas Historical Center. There is a vast amount of material on almost any topic one can think of such as historical buildings, genealogy, Galveston history, and much more. The archives catalog is a great place to start for research, having everything that the center has to offer. By searching the catalog and pulling out different items to study, I learned more than I thought I would about the history of the Galveston music scene.
When the 1894 Grand Opera House (image to the top left) opened up on Post Office Street in the late nineteenth century, it offered a variety of artistic entertainment including opera, theatre, various musicians and bands, and eventually films. This elegant venue brought the people of Galveston together, like when they had a benefit concert for the “Flood Sufferers” from the 1900 storm (image to the top right). These brochures and pictures were found within vertical files, which were specifically about the history of the Grand Opera House. Throughout the late 1900’s, the Grand Opera House had many well-known operas and musicals, including The Marriage of Figaro (1992) (brochure pictured bottom right), My Fair Lady (1989) (brochure pictured bottom left), Annie (1991), Thumbelina (1995), and many more. I was able to use the vertical files as a resource to discover what kinds of shows they had during different time periods. Flipping through ancient brochures from the early 1900’s was amazing because I felt as if I was taking a step back through time. Reading old advertisements were particularly intriguing due to how different they are today. The Grand Opera House program files were organized by every ten years, starting in the 1970’s and continuing into present day performances. I was also able to look through a manuscript box, which had old brochures from the early 1900’s.
Built in 1920, Sam and Rosario Maceo opened and ran the classy and glamorous Balinese Room. Originally located on a pier off of Seawall and 21st street, the Balinese Room attracted the biggest names in music to Galveston, Texas. A former Maceo executive stated in a newspaper article: “You could spend $4 for drinks and dinner in the Balinese and see a show you couldn’t buy anywhere else.” Musicians such as Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Duke Ellington, Bob Hope, and Jaynes Mansfield were some of the notable performers that played at the Balinese Room.
Like the Grand Opera House, there were many pieces within the Balinese Room collection that gives a jump back in time for what life was like in Galveston during the early 1900’s. Photographs of the Balinese Room are shown above, demonstrating the elegancy and particular style that this place had. Within the archives are countless pictures of the Balinese Room and even customers who went there. I was surprised by how many photographs there were, due to the privacy of their affairs that the Balinese Room attempted to keep. Pictured above is a group of customers sitting down to eat at the Balinese, which is one of many pictures from this time period that the archives has. Down below is a particular brochure that gave a wonderful depiction of the sort of style and high class that the Balinese Room required from customers. This brochure was created in 1980 for a benefit event located at the Balinese, where admission prices (prices between $50-$1,000) went towards the restoration funds for the 1894 Grand Opera House (brochure pictured to the left).
During the early 1900’s, Galveston had their very own music club called the Girl’s Music Club. In a Galveston Daily Newspaper that was found within a vertical file labeled as “Galveston music”, there was an article titled “Club Plays an Important Role in Musical Life of City.” This newspaper was an indicator that the members and leaders of this club provided musical culture to Galveston at the time. When doing my research, I was surprised to find only one vertical file about Galveston music. Using the archives catalog to research this club, there was an assortment of detailed papers such as receipts, correspondences, publications, and even their full constitution (image to the bottom right, front of Constitution to the left). The constitution included the amount certain members had to pay to be in the club, being $2.00 for active members and $5.00 for associate members. Their constitution also had a rigid set of by-laws and amendments that all members had to follow. In this specific manuscript box, there were detailed minute books, having short summaries of their meetings and a list of the members attendance (example of attendance sheet at end). Something interesting that I discovered were a few letters written to a Ms. Ina Jones, who was working with the Texas Federation of Music in 1947. Here, she stated that the Federation of Music was withdrawing the Girls Music Club from the National Federation of Music Clubs, possibly from the lack of dues that the club was receiving but without much context it’s hard to tell. More letters in the file indicated that the Girls Music Club was back up and running soon after.
Bibliography
Balinese Room
Balinese Room, Galveston Vertical Files. Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas.
The Grand Opera House
Grand Opera House-General History, Galveston Vertical Files. Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas.
Grand Opera House-Newspaper Clippings, Galveston Vertical Files. Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas.
The Galveston Musical Club
Box 1, Files 1-6, Galveston Musical Club Records, MS75-0007. Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas.
Box 1, Files 1-10, Galveston Musical Club Records, MS2019-0014. Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas.
Pictures
Balinese Room
G-9063.2 FF1 #3. Balinese Room, Galveston Photograph Subject Files: Restaurants. Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas.
G-9063.2 FF2 #12, Galveston Photograph Subject Files: Restaurants, Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas.
Balinese Room, Galveston Vertical Files. Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas.
The Grand Opera House
Grand Opera House-General History, Galveston Vertical Files. Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas.
Grand Opera House-Newspaper Clippings, Galveston Vertical Files. Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas.
Grand Opera House-Programs and Events 1980s, Galveston Vertical Files. Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas.
Grand Opera House-Programs and Events 1980s, Galveston Vertical Files. Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas.
Galveston Musical Club
Box 1, Folder 1, Galveston Musical Club Records, MS75-0007. Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas.
Box 1, Folder 3-6, Galveston Musical Club Records, MS75-0007. Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas.
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Galveston and Texas History Center
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Galveston, TX 77550
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