As the last U.S. naval vessel still afloat to serve in the Normandy invasion, the Battleship Texas has already had a huge month. A pair of artifacts from the 110-year-old warship were flown to France as part of ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day, but back home in Galveston the waters are still a little murky regarding its potential new neighbors.
Late last month, popular harborside restaurant Katie’s Seafood House launched a viral Facebook post protesting the battleship’s presumed relocation to Pier 21, home to two Landry’s-controlled restaurants and the Harbor House hotel. Landry’s and the Battleship Texas Foundation are in the early stages of a partnership for the hospitality corporation founded by billionaire island native Tilman Fertitta to ultimately operate the USS Texas as a museum ship, BTF vice president of operations Matt Pham said last week.
But to Katie’s, at nearly two football fields long, the ship mooring itself at Pier 21 would block a significant portion of what the award-winning restaurant considers one of its primary assets (other than of course the food): the postcard-worthy view of the harbor, including Pelican Island and the so-called “mosquito fleet” of shrimping boats that tie up next door. As such, Katie’s has drafted a change.org petition urging the Galveston Wharves Board of Trustees, the public entity that manages the port, to block the battleship’s relocation.
The petition has now gathered more than 2,000 signatures, but not much has changed in the ensuing weeks, according to Pham.
