I believe the building on 1101 23rd Street Galveston is cursed.
According to the book written by Dosha Schultz Williams called the Ghosts Along the Texas Coast published in 1996 there is a boarding house on Avenue K and 23rd Street in Galveston Texas that was really haunted.
She wrote: ‘Galveston Island has many haunted places; one of them was the subject of a Halloween newspaper article on October 31st, 1989, written by Sonya Garza for the Galveston Daily news.’
‘The news article stated that the old house at 23rd Street and Avenue K is slowly decaying, and the paint is flaking off the wood.’
This was written in 1989 one can only Wonder what the condition of the old boarding house is today in 2025.
Back in 1996 according to Docia: ‘the 90-year-old Mansion was a formal former boarding house. There are some 27 rooms within its three stories. Linda g r o h, a married daughter of Ms Stanford was quoted as saying she had Vivid memories of unexplained footsteps, Erie laughter, and nightmarish visions.’ ‘She slept on the second floor. every night about midnight for an entire summer, she would hear tapping on the floor above her, almost like people tap dancing. she also heard distant laughter and faint music playing. This happened sometimes when she was alone. the third floor always gave her the creeps. Garza stated in her article that Mrs Stanford was no longer bothered by the ghosts. she had had a spiritual list come and check the place out, and she had determined that there were probably two Spirits there, one male, and one female. Stanford was quoted as saying the medium told me in order to get rid of the spirits, I’d have to leave also because they were emotionally attached to me. and I plan on staying’
‘What made Ms Stanford change her mind and move out anyway, or are they still hanging around the old house?’
Sometime before 1996 Docia: ‘During a recent is it to Galveston Docia learned the building has been purchased by David Goodbar, the owner of a beautifully restored mansion in the same block and is known as the Galveston’s ‘Silk Stocking’. Restoration and remodeling of the building was to be completed early in the summer of 1994’ according to David.
Soon after he was diagnosed with ALS and died in 1999.
Vikki Ward Goodbar, David’s wife died March 14, 2018 at her home in Galveston. She owned a boutique on ‘The Strand’ for years but sold the business when David was diagnosed with ALS. He passed away October 12, 1999. Sometime after the 1989 article about the ghosts in the old mansion as mentioned by Docia David planned on renovating it and it would be completed in 1994. According to her obituary ‘Vikki was survived by her daughter, Courtney at the time of her death and is survived by her granddaughter Remy Scarlett’.
Her daughter died soon after: A celebration of her life as well as the life of her mother Victoria Goodbar will be held at 6:00p.m. Wednesday , June 27, 2018 at Carnes Brothers Funeral Home 1201-23rd Street, Galveston, Texas 77550. Just up the street from the boarding house they planned on restoring at 1101 23rd Street.
According to Coast Magazine: For at least five years, Michael and Ashley Cordray wanted to buy the crumbling 1912 boarding house on 23rd Street in Galveston, only to be denied the opportunity because of excessive red tape and uncooperative owners, they said. It is now the Mansard House.
In the Galveston news March 22, 2024: A long vacant island building that began in 1912 as a boarding house opened last week as a stylish boutique hotel.
Island-based Save 1900 has converted the former Smith/Perry Boarding House into a 12-room hotel called The Mansard House, 1101 23rd St. The Cordrays acquired the old boarding house about 15 months ago
In about 2003, a developer had worked to transform it into the Normandy Inn. But that developer, possibly because of health problems, never opened the hotel, Michael Cordray said.
The building was purchased buy George Wood in 2007 and sold to the house renovating couple. George Wood was a landlord to many locations.
The owner before George was Norman Jones and he called it the Normandy Inn. He died at the age of 57.
As the Normandy Inn it was known to be quite haunted. Many paranormal investigation.
