After the catastrophic destruction and loss of life caused by the legendary 1900 hurricane, Galveston City officials authorized creation of a seawall to protect from future storms. The project was completed in stages. The original 12-foot-high seawall, finished in 1904, ran east along the gulf starting at 39th Street and curved north along 6th Street, ending at Strand Street, following the general path of destruction of the 1900 hurricane. Later, the 6th Street section was buried as further eastward sections of the island were raised to protect new eastern developments. In 2012, an excavation project revealed a portion of the original section of the seawall on what was then the UTMB campus. (2014)