The Heidenheimer Bros. Marine Building

1. The Heidenheimer Bros. Marine Building Marker

Inscription. Built in 1876 by German immigrant Samson Heidenheimer (d. 1891), this building has housed a number of wholesale and retail businesses. According to local tradition, Heidenheimer began business in Galveston prior to the Civil War as a street vendor, and during the war built up a lucrative business by dealing in cotton and blockade running. With his brothers, he opened a wholesale grocery business which operated under various names at this location until 1904. Suderman & Dolson Stevedores, a division of the Morgan Steamship Line, moved here in 1904, and during their occupancy the building was known as the Marine Building. The structure was sold to a New Orleans businessman, who lost it to a Houston bank in 1933. A member of the Heidenheimer family bought the property in 1941, and it changed hands several times in the succeeding years. An important commercial and historic landmark, the building underwent restoration in 1984-85. The two-story structure is of Victorian-era styling, with Italianate hood molds on the second level and ogee arches on the first story. Features include corbelled detail and exaggerated style elements incorporated into the stuccoed masonry.

Erected 1986 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 7486.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Places.

Location. Marker is missing. It was located near 29° 18.41′ N, 94° 47.503′ W. Marker was in Galveston, Texas, in Galveston County. It was at the intersection of Moody Avenue and Mechanic Street, on the right when traveling north on Moody Avenue. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 2083 Ship Mechanic Row St, Galveston TX 77550, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker was in the Houston Metropolitan

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Area.

It was also in the American South

and on the Gulf Coast.

Globally, it was in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it found itself in what was once New Spain,

the Republic of Texas,

and one of the Confederate States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: American National Insurance Company (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Old Galveston Market House and City Hall (about 300 feet away); Samson Heidenheimer Building (about 400 feet away); The Stewart Building (about 400 feet away); The Hendley Building (about 400 feet away); Galveston Historical Foundation (about 400 feet away); Hendley Row (about 400 feet away); Mallory-Produce Building (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Galveston.

Other markers no longer nearby. Heidenheimer-Hunter Building (was about 400 feet away but has been confirmed missing); Trueheart-Adriance Building (was about 400 feet away but has been confirmed missing).

More about this marker. I have

The Heidenheimer Bros. Marine Building image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Jim Evans, September 21, 2019

2. The Heidenheimer Bros. Marine Building

visited this location twice and found no marker.

Credits. This page was last revised on December 28, 2025. It was originally submitted on September 21, 2019, by Jim Evans of Houston, Texas. This page has been viewed 591 times since then and 37 times this year. Last updated on December 26, 2025, by Joe Lotz of Flower Mound, Texas. Photos: 1. submitted on September 28, 2019, by Jim Evans of Houston, Texas. 2. submitted on September 21, 2019, by Jim Evans of Houston, Texas. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.