The key to making it through a hurricane is proper preparation, and that's just what the sea-wall is, preparing for the worst, and protecting everyone.
A lesson learned after one of the deadliest storms to ever hit our area.
Photos of downtown Corpus Christi take before 1941 show the bay used to come up all the way to water street.
Back then, the waterfront had pavillions and piers where locals and tourists gathered for dances. But a hurricane in 1916, then the deadly 1919 storm pretty much destroyed all of downtown.
Protecting downtown and the city became a top priority.
The first line of defense against storms is the breakwater near the ship-channel.
Built in 1925, the breakwater was required by the federal government before the Port of Corpus Christi could open.
In 1938 voters passed two bonds totaling nearly $1.8 million to fund the next line of defense, the seawall.
Crews built the seawall 100 feet from the shoreline, then backfilled the space with dredge adding nearly 2 complete city blocks along the bayfront.
The initial design was just a straight wall of steel-sheet and concrete but civil engineers convinced officials to upgrade to the stair-step design we know today.
The nearly 1,200 feet of seawall, along with the two t-heads and l-head was finished in 1941. The final cost of the project was just over $2.2 million, which is about $47.5 million today.
In 1985 engineers determined the seawall needed repairs and voters approved a $4 million fix.
The project also included construction of the barge dock, and a marina, but it didn't address all the problems.
13 years later engineers noted more cracks along with severe corrosion and deteriorated pilings. The money needed to repair the city's protective wall would once again go before voters.
In November 2000, a 1/8th cent sales tax was increases approved by voters.
The sales tax increase was used to create the seawall fund.
Seawall repairs began a year and a half later and wrapped up in 2006 at a total cost of $43.4 million.
The seawall fund still exists today and helps fund not just repairs but upgrades, and development.
Most recently money from that fund has been used in the project to repair the Water Gardens.
It also funds upgrades to flood protection in the museum district.
The most recent seawall repairs are expected to last for at least 50 years.
But, the city's protective wall is battered by the elements daily and will always need work to keep the city safe.
