Historic battleship Texas, parked for repairs, is looking for a high-traffic location for its next home.

The battleship Texas, which has stood in front of the San Jacinto Monument in La Porte for most of the past 75 years, will head to a new home after a long-awaited refurbishment.

It has not yet been decided where this new house will be, but it will not be Baytown or Beaumont.

Two municipalities were recently informed by the Texas Battleship Foundation, the state-appointed caretaker of the last remaining battleship, which was used in both World Wars I and II, that they no longer claim the title. The Fund’s chief operating officer and chief operating officer, Bruce Bramlett, declined to say Friday which regions remained under consideration, citing ongoing negotiations, but said there were “many” candidates.

He also said state officials stipulated that the century-old ship, which has become a museum, should be permanently removed from the San Jacinto Battlefield State Historic Site, where the number of visitors per year was too low to be financially feasible, and relocated elsewhere. along the coast. Upper Texas coast. The state defines the upper coast as the counties of Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, Harris, Jefferson, and Orange, an area that extends roughly from the San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge to the Louisiana border.

“Take a map and a piece of string and draw an arc,” said Bramlett. “And you can start to figure out, ‘Well, those are the only possibilities.’ “

Bramlett said a final decision is likely to be made in the coming months as USS Texas undergoes more than $35 million in hull and superstructure repairs while in dry dock at the Gulf Copper shipyard in Galveston. It was moved there on August 31 last year and should be there until August 31 this year, according to Bramlett, who said additional repairs could be carried out after that point if needed and funding was available.

According to Bramlett, the working figures will be extended until 2024. And when the Battleship Texas is ready to reopen to the public, Bramlett said the foundation wants it to be in a location with good visibility and heavy traffic.

Galveston could be a prime candidate due to its proximity to Houston and its status as a popular tourist destination, although Bramlett has not confirmed if he is in the race. Galveston Mayor Craig Brown and City Manager Brian Maxwell did not immediately respond to an email Friday asking for comment.

“We certainly would like to improve and benefit from a geographic location where there are already a lot of people coming in, a lot of traffic,” said Bramlett. “That definitely didn’t happen in San Jacinto State Park. This was one of the crashes.

“After all,” he added, “where is she in the best position so that people and children can see her and visit her, and it is easy for them to get in and out for this?”

With regard to Baytown and Beaumont, which have the largest populations of any city on the upper coast of Texas, Bramlett said that Beaumont was “late” and the Baytown proposal was plagued with logistical and financial problems. The Battleship Texas Foundation has received state funding and a federal grant for refurbishment, but no money to move, so it is looking for a host site that is willing and able to invest in a long-term home for the ship, Bramlett said.

Baytown Mayor Brandon Capetillo acknowledged the city’s restrictions in this regard.

“Together with many of the people of Baytown, we believed this great city and Bayland Island would be the perfect place to showcase our rich history,” Capetillo said in a statement. “In the end, the financial implications and resources required to erect such a monument in Baytown were simply too extraordinary to overcome.”

Under an agreement signed with the state in 2019, the Texas Battleship Foundation received operational control of the ship for a period of 99 years. Bramlett said the foundation wants to ensure that once the battleship is moved to a new location, it will stay there for decades. Therefore, the fund is in no hurry to make a decision, he said.

In the meantime, Houstonians can still see the historic battleship – even up close – as long as it’s out of the water and being worked on in Galveston. The Foundation offers drydock tours every Sunday until the end of April. Tickets cost $150 and can be purchased online at

“If you like, you can go up and walk under it. You will be able to see how the work is going,” Bramlett said. “It’s really kind of like a wish list. Being able to get to the marina and take a tour of it with docents and ask them to explain what’s going on is pretty amazing.”