Editing La Porte, Texas (section)

==History==
[[File:Sylvan Beach Pavilion 2.jpg|220px|thumb|left|Sylvan Beach Pavilion]]
{{Further|History of the Galveston Bay Area}}
[[File:Five Points of La Porte, Texas.jpg|thumb|200px|Five Points Plaza in La Porte]]
[[File:Old Sylvan Beach Depot -- La Porte, Texas.jpg|thumb|200px|Old Sylvan Beach Depot]]

The community of La Porte was founded in 1892 as a speculative [[real estate]] venture by an investment group.<ref name="HOT: La Porte">{{Handbook of Texas | name=La Porte, Texas | id=hel2 | author=Kolodzy, Ron | retrieved=19 January 2010}} Texas State Historical Association.</ref> A {{convert|22|acre|km2|adj=on}} public space known as Sylvan Grove was reserved by the waterfront.<ref name="Vue">{{cite journal|url=http://vuepointmag.com/firstissue/lifestyle.htm |journal=Regional Vue Point |title=Sylvan Beach: La Porte's Swinging Shoreline |author=Adams, Denise |access-date=19 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717232740/http://vuepointmag.com/firstissue/lifestyle.htm |archive-date=July 17, 2011 }}</ref> The area around Sylvan Grove soon was developed with amenities including bathhouses, boating piers, and a Victorian hotel with a dance pavilion. La Porte quickly became the most popular tourist destination in the Houston area.<ref name="HOT: La Porte"/><ref name="Vue"/><ref name="Antrobus 2005 p. 51-52">Antrobus (2005), p. 51&ndash;52.</ref> Sylvan Grove Park was acquired in 1896 by a company known as Adoue and Lobit and renamed Sylvan Beach.<ref name="Vue"/> Cottage retreats were built around the waterfront.<ref name="Vue"/><ref name="Antrobus 2005 p. 51-52"/>

In 1900, the devastating [[Galveston Hurricane of 1900|Galveston Hurricane]] hit the shoreline, seriously damaging the community's attractions.<ref name="Antrobus 2005 p. 51-52"/> As the [[Texas Oil Boom]] took hold beginning in 1901, and neighboring Houston became home to many wealthy businessmen, La Porte quickly rebuilt and re-established itself as a tourist center. It was, however, damaged again by a major fire and another hurricane in 1915.<ref name="HOT: La Porte"/><ref name="Vue"/> The community rebuilt again.

During the 1920s and 1930s Sylvan Beach Amusement Park became a nationally recognized destination, featuring beauty contests and regular performances by famous bands, in addition to a growing gallery of amenities.<ref name="Vue"/> Some of the most well-known performers of the era, including [[Guy Lombardo]], the [[Dorsey Brothers]], [[Phil Harris]], and [[Benny Goodman]], appeared at the park.<ref name="HOT: La Porte"/><ref name="Vue"/> In the 1930s the park was completely revamped, with additions of a large boardwalk, amusement rides, and many other attractions.<ref name="Vue"/> The residential community remained small, supported exclusively by Sylvan Beach tourism and the nearby Bay Ridge community, an area of beachfront summer homes in neighboring [[Morgan's Point, Texas|Morgan's Point]] built by wealthy Houstonians.<ref name="HOT: La Porte"/>

The beachfront began to physically shrink beginning around 1928 because of erosion from the wakes of shipping traffic, and [[land subsidence]] resulting from the extraction of groundwater in the area due to development.<ref name="Chron: Restoration">{{cite news | url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2009_4738401 | title=Restoration project on Sylvan Beach has begun $3.5 million plan will create 2,000 feet of shoreline, protective barricade | author=Christian, Carol | work=Houston Chronicle | date=14 May 2009}}</ref> [[Gas rationing]] in World War II slowed tourism. A hurricane in 1943 destroyed most of the tourist attractions. Most of the damaged structures at Sylvan Beach were never rebuilt after this time, as the area was changing, and La Porte's tourist industry rapidly declined.<ref name="Vue"/> By the later 20th century, erosion had completely eliminated the beach.<ref name="Chron: Restoration"/>

As shipyards and industrial plants in World War II were developed in nearby communities such as Pasadena, Baytown, and [[Deer Park, Texas|Deer Park]], the community's residents became more dependent on these businesses. The opening of the La Porte-Baytown tunnel in 1954 further spurred development.<ref name="HOT: La Porte"/> The later establishment of the [[Johnson Space Center]] in the nearby [[Clear Lake (region)|Clear Lake Area]], the Barbours Cut shipping terminal in neighboring Morgan's Point, and the [[Bayport Industrial District]] within La Porte's jurisdiction have gradually made the community successful as part of the [[Greater Houston|Houston area]]'s industrial heartland.<ref name="HOT: La Porte"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ci.la-porte.tx.us/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=6553 | publisher=City of La Porte, Texas | title=City of La Porte: Bayport Industrial District, Battleground Industrial District | access-date=15 January 2010 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401150506/http://www.ci.la-porte.tx.us/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=6553 | archive-date=1 April 2012 }}</ref>

Much of the history of La Porte's glory years as a tourist haven has been preserved by the La Porte Bay Area Heritage Society.<ref name="Chron: Restoration"/> Plans have been discussed for many years to restore La Porte's status as a tourist destination.<ref name="HOT: La Porte"/> A project to restore the beachfront at Sylvan Beach Park began in 2009 and finished in 2013, with sand brought in from other areas and dredging operations.<ref name="Chron: Restoration"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.glo.state.tx.us/news/docs/2009-Releases/05-06-09_Sylvan-beach.pdf | title=Press Release: Beach restoration brings back historic park's former glory | publisher=Texas General Land Office | date=20 May 2009}}</ref> Other plans, including building a large hotel on the shoreline, have been discussed as well.<ref name="HOT: La Porte"/>