Alleys and back buildings, the subject of Ellen Beasley's visually 
compelling book, have been a feature of Galveston since its early 
days as a growing port city on the upper Texas Gulf Coast. And 
yet, most visitors to the island, as well as studies of the American 
urban environment, have largely overlooked alley rental houses, 
servant and slave quarters, carriage houses, stables, and other 
secondary structures.

    Like their counterparts in other cities, these buildings and their 
inhabitants have had a profound visual, physical, and social impact 
on the history and development of Galveston.

    Interweaving written documents, oral interviews, and images, 
Beasley presents a vivid picture of Galveston's alleys and alley life 
from the founding of the city into the twenty-first century. The book 
blends a unique combination of research, photography, and the 
voices of those who have lived and those who still live along the 
alleys. Beasley has uncovered and analyzed a wealth of 
information not only about the back buildings of Galveston but also 
about their occupants and the complex cultural forces at work in 
their lives.

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ELLEN BEASLEY is a preservationist, independent scholar, and 
photographer. She has received a Rome Prize in Urban Planning 
and Design from the American Academy in Rome and a Loeb 
Fellowship to the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Her 
professional interests have focused on small-scale urban settings 
and buildings, both old and new. She is co-author of Galveston 
Architecture Guidebook.


Number Ten: Sara and John Lindsey Series in the Arts and 
Humanities