< Previous60 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2025 FEATURE DRINK TO VICTORY This Cinco de Mayo, mix it up with sangria story and recipe by PHIL NEWTON | photo by JENNIFER REYNOLDS C inco de Mayo cele- brates the Mexican army’s victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, a significant event that became a symbol of Mexican resistance and pride. Most Texans celebrate with margaritas and Mexican cuisine. But coastal dwellers often turn to seafood dishes when commemorating the victory and this sparkling white wine version of traditional sangria pairs well with it and can be a big hit. This recipe calls for strawberries but fresh in-season peaches also work well. Make plenty, cause it will disappear quickly. SANGRIA BLANCO 2 each oranges, limes and lemons, thinly sliced 2 ⁄ 3 cup sugar 1 1 ⁄ 4 cup white tequila 1 bottle of chilled dry white wine 1 bottle of chilled dry sparking wine 3 1 ⁄ 4 cups quartered fresh strawberries Garnish: Fresh mint or basil sprigs First combine the citrus and sugar in a large pitcher, pour tequila over fruit and let stand for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Stir in white and sparkling wine. Add strawberries. Serve immediately over ice with fresh mint or basil to garnish. PHIL NEWTON is a Galveston baker/cook. He’s the owner/operator of Stiglich Corner with partner Cindy Roberts. COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2025 61 “Five Star Foundation lives up to its name... Five stars from start to finish!” FOUNDATION & CONSTRUCTION Foundation & Structural Repair Specialists Historical Homes Beach Front Homes Pier & Beam • All Masonry Repairs Carpentry • Piling Install News on the go. Download the app today. Yourself Bring The Beach! To RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE LENDER Matt Hawkes WORK WITH Galveston's Local Lender! Call (713) 521-0413 Matt Hawkes | Branch Manager | NMLS# 201887 1009 Broadway St., Galveston, TX 77550 matt.hawkes@nflp.com nflp.com/matthawkes APPLY FOR A MORTGAGE WITH62 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2025 HOMEPORT WINDOW WONDERLAND In this seaside house, there’s a view of the beach from every room story by BARBARA CANETTI Bart and Adrienne Agee wanted a house that emphasized the outside and the land- scape. The Agees worked with architect David Mullican to design their one-story house on Blue Water Highway with sweeping views of the beach and the ocean. (Right) The great room features 25-foot-high ceilings, a rock wall and built-in fireplace surrounded by walls of windows, allowing the couple to view both the sunrise and sunset. F rom every room of their seaside house, one thing is crystal clear to the Agee family: the beach. From the great room in their one-story house, 52 windows look out toward the beach. And that’s just in one room. “A key consideration for us in putting together this proj- ect was we wanted an area in the house that emphasized the outside and the ability to see the landscape on both sides, the beach and the ocean,” said Bart Agee, who with his wife, Adrienne, had the Blue Water Highway house built five years ago. The Agees worked with architect David Mullican to design a house that would allow them to view both the sunrise and the sunset from their living room. They strategically oriented the house on a 25-acre COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2025 63 PHOTOS: ANDREW STRANE PHOTOGRAPHY plot of land that required it to be set on the compass coordinates and at a 45-degree angle to the beach to give them their desired views. The house is raised about 17 feet above mean sea level and de- signed to look like houses reminiscent of Nantucket, Massachusetts, with real shake shingles. A marble and stone mosaic compass rose points to the north and is embedded in the staircase leading up to the house. The entryway is in the center of a courtyard under the house, with minimalist landscap- ing, a picnic table and large, outdoor fireplace. The house was designed to keep the bedrooms separate from the family room. Although there are beds and bedrooms for their seven children, the Agees wanted the family to be together in the combined 64 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2025 living room/dining room/kitchen rather than hidden away in their private rooms. “The emphasis was togetherness in this space and we wanted the focus to be here,” he said. The great room, with 25-foot-high ceilings highlighting 10 exposed wooden trusses and the air-conditioning ductwork, is decorated in white and beige hues and anchored by four matching couches facing a rock wall, built-in fireplace and an 80-inch TV. Because of the enormity of the room, the oversized flat- screen TV looks appropriate for the space. “I never thought an 80-inch TV would look small,” Bart said. The kitchen, an elongated space at the back of the great room, includes a lengthy island that seats six and a plethora of built- in white drawers and cabinets. Lighting for the bar/kitchen comes from five large, round black ceramic pendants hanging from the ceiling. A pantry off to the side stores appliances and accessories, keeping the white countertops cleared of most items. A large Wolf stove, with contrasting red knobs, dominates the space and has two ovens and six burners plus a griddle. The dining table, a huge finely sanded heavy wood slab, can easily seat the family, which sits on cream-colored square poufs around the table, which are stored under- neath when not being used. (Above) The dining table is made from a huge finely sanded heavy wood slab. The cream-colored square poufs are stored underneath the table when not being used. (Right) Five large round black ceramic pendants hang above the long white kitchen island, which seats six. (Opposite, from top) The primary bedroom is decorated in muted tones and features Gulf views; the bunkroom features four beds, two rolling ladders and built-in storage; each of the guest rooms features built-in clothes and linen closets, a separate bathroom and access to the wrap-around porch and deck. PHOTOS: ANDREW STRANE PHOTOGRAPHY COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2025 65 HOMEPORT66 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2025 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2025 67 HOMEPORT The bedrooms and private areas extend off the great room. The primary bedroom, also decorated in muted tones, is attached to a massive bathroom and walk-in closet. Bart has set up an office nook in the room, where he can work from home if necessary. “What a great view when working,” he said. During the pandemic, the family moved from Houston to the beach house, where the children did their Zoom call lessons and Bart was able to work in the oil and gas field. “What remarkable good fortune we had be- ing able to do our work from here,” he said. Each of the matching guest rooms — in- cluding a bunk room with four beds — has (Opposite, from top) Bart and Adrienne Agee’s Blue Water Highway house is designed to look like houses reminiscent of Nantucket, Massachusetts, with real shake shingles; a marble and stone mosaic compass rose points to the north and is embedded in the staircase leading up to the house; the entry foyer features a massive table – probably made from a boat plank – supported by two huge tree stumps in the foyer and enhanced by a huge round mirror hanging above it. (Above) The oversized, two-level deck faces the beach and is large enough for family, friends, chairs, loungers and tables. it own separate lavatory. The clothes and lin- en closets are built in to look like furniture, so there aren’t any extraneous doors in the rooms, except for the bathroom. Every room in the house has access to the wrap-around dense ipe wood porch and deck that encircles the house with near-in- visible stainless-steel cables that don’t block the view of the beach. An oversized, two-lev- el deck facing the beach is large enough for fami- ly, friends, chairs, loungers and tables. “Depending on the weather, we can move to another spot to be comfortable outside if it is too hot or too sunny in any place,” he said. The floors throughout the house are Southern yellow pine that have been bleached and stained white. The walls all are white in the bedrooms, hallways — each is lined with eight windows overlooking the courtyard — and in the entry foyer, which rises out of the center outdoor space. A massive hall table — probably made from a boat plank — is supported by two huge tree stumps in the foyer and enhanced by a huge round mirror hanging above it. In addition to the plot the house sits on, the Agees own a second parcel of land across the street. There they own 75 acres of mostly wetlands, which borders on Cold Pass between Christmas Bay and San Luis Pass. That’s where they have a boat house, dock and pier and great lookout to monitor migrating birds and nature. “It is a great place to be to watch the migration,” Bart said. “It’s a great place to be with family.” The Agees are pleased with the house and its design. “It is so rare to do a major project like this and have so few regrets,” he said. “It could not have turned out better.” “It is so rare to do a major project like this and have so few regrets. It could not have turned out better.” BART AGEE68 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2025 FEATURE ‘A NEW LIFE’ Couple works to restore historic Galveston house to its original glory story by BARBARA CANETTI (Left Jo Dee and Cliff Wright’s 1899 Felix and Eva Mistrot House on 35th Street will be one of nine homes featured on the Galveston Historical Foundation’s 51st annual Galveston Historic Homes Tour on the first two weekends in May. When the Wrights bought the house four years ago, they worked to bring it back to its former glory. (Above) The 6,260-square-foot, two-story wood house and five sprawling porches sit above a basement on concrete arches. W hen Cliff and Jo Dee Wright bought the historic Mistrot House in mid- town Galveston four years ago, they knew they were in for a challenge. Now, after a lot of work on their part, the Victorian house will be featured in the Galveston Historic Homes Tour this year, making iconic details about this property open for the public to see. “It’s not just a house, it is a home,” Jo Dee said. “We wanted to bring it back to its original glory.” The white, 6,260-square-foot, two-sto- ry wood house is on a generous plot of land on 35th Street. The house and five sprawling porches sit above a basement on concrete arches. On the south side of the house, the porch leads to a circular bay and then wraps around the side, overlooking the garden. The house was built in 1899 for Felix Mistrot and his wife, Eva. Felix Mistrot was a French immigrant to Louisiana and then Gal- veston. The couple hired architect George B. Stowe to design a home for them near his downtown island business Mistrot Bros. & Co. on Mechanic Street where historic hotel The Tremont House is today. Shortly after the 1900 Storm, the house was used briefly as a makeshift hospital. COURTESY GREENWALT PRODUCTIONS/GALVESTON HISTORICAL FOUNDATION COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2025 69 JENNIFER REYNOLDS The house was designed with spacious rooms, high ceilings, decorative fireplaces and incredible amounts of custom wood paneling and woodwork that remain today. The oak floors are original and ornate stenciling that had been worn through the years was recreated by Galveston restoration artist Jhonny Langer. Langer also helped restore the unique room upstairs, which probably had been a bedroom but now is a sitting room. The blue walls in this room were painted with very detailed murals — Romeo and Juliet on one wall and Joan of Arc on another. The ceiling, also blue, has an enormous medallion and ornate design surrounding the chandelier with lacy pat- terns punctuated with pearls. “This room is unique on the island,” said Cliff, noting the painted walls were made of burlap and had been covered in Sheetrock. Guests enter the house into a large foyer, which opens to the parlor, or music room, a comfortable living room, the dining room and then the kitchen. Colorful square stained-glass windows in pinks and yellows give the rooms magical light during the day. Gracing the entryway is the grand stair- case, which winds midway allowing for a Juliet-style balcony landing as it ascends upward. At the foot of the stairs is a bronze statue with five lights atop the wooden newel. “This was what drew me to this house,” Cliff said. “One feature that catches your eye Next >