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"Such a library as ours would not only contain books and current periodicals,
but there would be...articles of historic, scientific, and artistic interest."
~ Frank C. Patten, Head Librarian of Rosenberg Library, 1904 -1934
The Library accepted its first museum piece shortly after it opened in 1904. Since then, thousands of rare and interesting objects from around the world have been added to the collection. Displayed in these pages are the Library's "Treasures of the Month."
February 2012 "Treasure of the Month"
Galveston’s Sea-Arama Marineworld Artifacts
The Rosenberg Library presents a souvenir
plate, a deck of souvenir playing cards, and vintage brochures from
Galveston’s Sea-Arama Marineworld amusement park as its February
Treasure of the Month. The Japanese-made plate features an aerial view of the park with a
sea creature-themed boarder. The deck of cards, made in Hong Kong, is still wrapped in its
original plastic and features color photographs of the dolphin show,
the park entrance, and an aerial view of the sea wall.
During the 1960s, city leaders recognized the need for Galveston to extend its tourist season beyond the May through September months. Sea-Arama became the first of several projects designed to boost year-round tourism on the island. Its early brochure boasted “Sea-Arama offers to Southwesterners for the first time the opportunity to combine entertainment and education… culture and science.” Today whale and dolphin shows, water ski tricks, and aquariums are fairly common, but when Sea-Arama opened its attractions were cutting edge.
Completed in November 1965, the $2 million Sea-Arama
Marineworld quickly became Galveston Island’s top tourist
attraction. Located at
91st Street and Seawall, the 25-acre complex featured a
4-acre water ski park and a 200,000 gallon aquarium filled with
exotic fish, turtles, electric eels, and even piranhas. Sea-Arama offered visitors the chance to watch live alligator
wrestling matches, a poisonous snake act, flying porpoises, and
whale and dolphin shows from its 1,000-seat open-air theater. A crowd favorite was the finale of the cobra show that
involved a “kiss of Death” between the snake and its handler. Two of the most popular and memorable residents of Sea-Arama
were its whales Nemo and Mamuk. The ‘marineworld’ also featured an octopus grotto, a petting
zoo, and a lagoon with sharks and tropical birds.
Providing
an “educational and entertaining experience for adults and children
alike,” Sea-Arama’s attendance numbers averaged 200,000+ annually. From its opening until 1988, the park was the most-visited
destination for tourists in Galveston. Many Galvestonians who came of age during Sea-Arama’s heyday
fondly recall the novelty of the park. During the ski show the announcer would pick out a person in
the audience wearing a hat and say “I think a Seagull wants to buy
your hat; he just left a deposit on it.” The park even had a theme song that went: “Come see the
sites, come see the show, come to Sea-Arama super sea show by the
sea shore!”
The opening of the larger, more modern Sea World park in San Antonio in the late 1980s coupled with aging park facilities caused Sea-Arama’s popularity to dwindle. Unable to keep up with the rising cost of maintenance and the fall of ticket revenues, the park closed its doors in 1990. Many of its animals were moved to other facilities. The remaining buildings sat vacant until 2006 when these too were torn down. In the wake of Hurricane Ike the property served as a temporary debris holding area. Today there are tentative plans to redevelop the property.
Additional note:
A Sea-Arama employee reunion is scheduled for Saturday, June 30, 2012. The event will be held at the Moody Gardens Aquarium from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. To register for the event or for additional details, contact Tim Gould at sea-arama@yahoo.com. .
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View a selection of items that have been displayed as Treasure of the Month at the Rosenberg Library Museum. By clicking on the controls, you can manipulate the viewer. Click on a particular picture to view a full description and other pictures from the original display. To see this virtual exhibit in full screen, click the far right icon.
The Treasure of the Month is located on the mezzanine level of the Rosenberg Library at 2310 Sealy. It can be viewed Monday through Saturday during library computer lab hours (9:30 a.m. – 5:45 p.m.). For more information, please contact the Museum Office at 409-763-8854 x 125.