The Grand 1894 Opera House’s stage is one of the largest in Texas, with rounded walls for enhanced acoustics. The painted stage curtain depicts the poet Sappho daydreaming in a boat while nymphs on the shore called her to prepare for a performance in the theater across the lagoon. Photo by Jennifer Reynolds

We asked on Facebook: What’s your favorite building or space on the island or around the area?

Well, my obvious fave is The Grand 1894 Opera House — beautifully restored, near-perfect acoustics and the Official Opera House of the State of Texas as designated by the 73rd Legislature!

– Kathy Van Dewalli

The Grand 1894 Opera House. It has the beauty and elegance of times gone by. It is decorated like the most elaborate birthday cake, and its atmosphere is charged with the energy of the thousands of talented performers it has housed.

– Saralyn Jacobson Richard

So difficult to say. Galveston is the whole package with its saved historic buildings. I will not speak to architecture, but I will to the island’s alleys, some pristine and others so gritty. I love them all.

– Holly Thorson

Well, since you included “spaces” as well as buildings, I’m going to have to say the Historic Broadway Cemetery District. It’s the one place on the island that represents all the historic and fascinating eras and citizens of Galveston. Always new discoveries to me made, and artwork/craftsmanship to appreciate.

– Kathleen Shanahan Maca

Butler’s Courtyard — with a mix of structures from mid-century to Craftsman to late 1800s.

– Ronnie Richards

I love St. Mary’s Basilica, the remodeling after Ike took forever to finish, but they did such a powerful job — it is beautiful and you can feel the presence of God and peace while you are inside.

– Angela Crummett

So hard to pick just one — the old Strand buildings, the ornate houses, the odd home stuck here and there that seems to have come from the future, the Kettle House … .

– Tally Calvert

Bishop’s Palace, it’s absolutely stunning. There is so much detail throughout the home. Every time I visit, I notice something new. The craftsmanship is just incredible.

– Christine Ruiz Hopkins

My favorite building on Galveston Island is the Trueheart-Adriance Building just off The Strand. I love this building so much I have a framed print of it in my house.

– Linda Bell Burton

The Coastal Heritage Preserve. Saving a view shed that is iconic to the West End and our Galveston Island Identity. Priceless investment. Worth $9.5 million and another 800 acres to save. It is our island’s “Mona Lisa.”

– Karla Klay

I vote for the Hotel Galvez. FDR stayed there, lots of history, unique style, haunted and well maintained. Still a great place for Thanksgiving Dinner. The spa is cool.

– David Bowers

Sacred Heart Church, St. Patrick’s Church and St. Mary’s Cathedral, which was the first Catholic Cathedral in Texas. All of them have been beautifully restored and equal to many European structures.

– Kathleen Brennan

Ashton Villa, one of the only historic homes that did not “rope off” the rooms, lets you get a wonderful feeling of life in that era. Wish it could come back on the tours, refurnished and like it used to be a few years ago.

– Cathy Townley-McGaughey

Old Red at UTMB — so much history, so instrumental in the health of Texas.

– Melissa Lockhart

The University of Texas Medical Branch’s Ashbel Smith Building, also known as Old Red, housed the entire medical school when it opened in 1891. Designed by Nicholas J. Clayton, the Romanesque-style building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a registered Texas historic landmark. Photo by Jennifer Reynolds