Arts and history guide

A Second Empire mansion, maritime museums, a WWII carrier, historic homes and art centers on the Coastal Bend.

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Overview

The Coastal Bend's history shows up in buildings you can walk through: a Second Empire mansion, a working boat shop in Port Aransas, a row of historic homes in Corpus Christi, and a WWII aircraft carrier on the bayfront.

The city of Corpus Christi says each of the historic homes in Heritage Park pays tribute to the area's ethnic and cultural diversity. The Port Aransas Museum says its photo and document archive holds copies of more than 25,500 items about the history of the city.

What to do

Rockport & Fulton

The Texas Historical Commission (THC) describes the Fulton Mansion State Historic Site as a classic example of French Second Empire domestic architecture, with gas lighting, central heating and indoor plumbing with hot and cold running water. The Texas Maritime Museum lists exhibits on ship building, shipwrecks, Native Americans, industry, fishing and the outdoors, plus a children's exhibit. Rockport Center for the Arts lists classes and workshops, exhibitions and a sculpture garden.

  • Beach Family Sculpture

    Bronze family sculpture at Rockport Beach, a quick photo stop on the way to the sand.

  • Estelle Stair Gallery

    A gallery in a historic building showing prints, sculpture, clothing and mug art from a wide roster of artists.

  • Fulton Mansion State Historic Site

    An 1877 Victorian mansion that had running water, gas lighting and central heat before most of Texas did, with restored interiors, gardens and bay views from the back lawn.

  • History Center for Aransas County

    Rockport's local history center with exhibits on the county's fishing, ranching, and hurricane past.

  • Hoopes-Smith House

    Grand 1890s Rockport mansion on the heritage circuit, worth a slow drive-by on a historic-homes wander.

  • Jesus Moroles Estate

    Legacy site of Jesús Moroles, the celebrated Rockport granite sculptor whose monumental work stands worldwide.

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Aransas Pass

  • Rialto Events Venue

    A restored vintage theatre in downtown Aransas Pass with original theatre seating, a bar, and a food truck outside.

  • Shrimporee Grounds

    Aransas Pass festival grounds, home of the annual Shrimporee and other community events.

  • UH-1 Huey Memorial

    Restored Huey helicopter memorial honoring Vietnam veterans in Aransas Pass.

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Ingleside & Portland

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Port Aransas

The Port Aransas Museum says admission is free, and that its permanent exhibits include the Fresnel lens that topped the Lydia Ann Lighthouse, and the bell from the train that brought the rocks to build the jetties. Farley Boat Works calls itself a living exhibit, where visitors can see the shop in action and watch boats being built.

  • DC Sandman

    Port A sand artist doing sculpting demos and beach lessons.

  • Farley Boat Works

    A working boat shop rather than a museum, where volunteers build wooden boats using the traditional Farley methods.

  • Fire It! Ceramics

    Paint-your-own pottery studio in Port A, a dependable rescue on a rainy or sunburned day.

  • Lydia Ann Lighthouse

    Historic 1857 lighthouse on the Lydia Ann Channel, still standing on private land.

  • Port Aransas Art Center

    Community art center in Port A with rotating local exhibits, classes, and a gift gallery of coastal work.

  • Port Aransas Museum

    Two rooms and a gift shop in a small house, covering the island's founding families, lighthouse history, and the story behind the wooden Farley boats.

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Corpus Christi & Padre Island

The USS Lexington is a World War II Essex class aircraft carrier, and the museum says it sits on North Beach just steps from the Texas State Aquarium. The city of Corpus Christi says Heritage Park holds eleven historic homes, many of them recorded Texas Historical Landmarks, and that only outdoor self-guided tours are available there. The Centennial House is not in Heritage Park, and the city says it is available for public tours. The Art Museum of South Texas says its original building was designed by the architect Philip Johnson. The Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History spans nearly 100,000 square feet. Old Bayview Cemetery is owned and managed by the city and is a Historic Texas Cemetery and a State Archeological Landmark.

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When to visit

Rockport Center for the Arts hosts the annual Rockport Art Festival at the Festival Grounds at Rockport Harbor. The latest festival the center lists ran July 4 and 5. The center lists current and upcoming exhibitions, classes and workshops.

The visitor bureau points to indoor options for cooling off or escaping a sudden summer storm. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, according to NOAA. Storms sometimes form outside those dates. Check the forecast from the National Weather Service in Corpus Christi and follow local officials.

When to visit the Coastal Bend

History

The Fulton Mansion was built over three years, from 1874 to 1877, by George W. Fulton and his wife Harriet, who had made their fortune shipping cattle tallow and hides between Rockport and New Orleans. The THC says it was the showplace of the town named for them, and that the Fultons called it Oakhurst for the windswept oaks around it. It later passed through a series of owners before the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department acquired it in 1976, and in 2008 it became a THC property.

The Texas Maritime Museum began in the late 1970s during the Rockport Seafair Festival, and it officially opened in 1989 as the State of Texas' Official Maritime Museum. The Farley Boat Works in Port Aransas was established in 1915 and re-established in 2011.

The USS Lexington was commissioned in 1943. The museum says she was originally named the USS Cabot and was renamed while under construction, and that she was the oldest working carrier in the U.S. Navy when she was decommissioned in 1991. Tokyo Rose nicknamed her The Blue Ghost.

Old Bayview Cemetery was laid out by the U.S. Army Engineers during the encampment of Brigadier General Zachary Taylor just before the war with Mexico. After 1846 it became a community burial ground.

Getting around

The city of Corpus Christi says Heritage Park is at 1581 N. Chaparral Street, and that the Centennial House is a separate site at 411 N. Upper Broadway Street. The USS Lexington museum is at 2914 N. Shoreline Blvd.

The Port Aransas Museum is at 400 N. Alister at Brundrett, and Farley Boat Works is at 716 W Avenue C. The Texas Maritime Museum is at 1202 Navigation Circle in Rockport.

Where to stay

Salty Breeze Cottage

Rockport & Fulton, TX

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