Mention the name Moody on Galveston Island and thoughts once ranged from an insurance company and cotton compresses to hotels on the island that served as Texas' first seaport and one of its finest resorts.

Today, the name Moody is associated with something else - the fabulous Moody Gardens on the western end of the city - a site about which Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe wrote: "the site is not congenial to man. The salt marshes that team with an independent life of their own, will not invite him. Although he is conquering space at the near Houston Space Center, he will remain on planet earth harassed by winds, hurricanes and inundations. Without destroying either wildlife or himself can he implant permanently into this extraordinary scene the marvelous story of his use from it? He can try and indeed should, for: the greatest threat to man's existence may not be commercialism, or war, or pollution, or noise, or consumption of capital resources, or even the threat of extinction from without, but rather the blindness that follows sheer lack of appreciation and the consequent destruction of those values in history that together are symbolic of a single great idea."

Sir Geoffrey's response was the design he completed in 1983-84 for Moody Gardens following his retention by the Moody Foundation to create a master plan for Moody Gardens. A presentation of his original design was made to the Texas/ASLA at their Annual Meeting by Sir Geoffrey himself.

In 1984-85, SLA of Houston was chosen to complete the first phase scheme through construction administration. This included the Garden of Life, the equestrian facility, and the entry drive to the garden property. In 1986-87, SLA, with Sir Geoffrey, revisited the original master plan for the gardens.

In discussing Sir Geoffrey's plan, Peter Atkin, Director of Horticulture for Moody Gardens, said, "the basic question arose as to what could Moody Gardens have as its basic core that would not only create Moody Gardens as a destination facility but could benefit the general visitor by being an educational facility. The thought developed that a botanical garden which would expose local residents and visitors to the wonders of landscape, hort-iculture, and botany could not only be an enhancement to the quality of life of Galvestonians and people in the immediate region but could also attract distant people to this paradise island."

Today, Moody Gardens is a conference center graced by lush tropical entry gardens by SLA; an educational facility where children, especially handicapped children, can see animals and ride horseback; a white sand beach where visitors can play in the water of Offats Bayou; a Biome where one of the world's finest rainforests lanquished under glass; and an IMAX theater which brings a variety of scientific and travel visions - larger than life - to the visitors. LASN

On Galveston Island, just 50 miles south of Houston and one of Texas' oldest cities, Galvestonians and thousands of visitors find the beautiful gardens such as the Garden of Life and educational facilities such as a rainforest.