Q&A: Ryan Murray

09/01/2018

Get to know EEHDA's newest board member

Q: How did you become interested in the East End?

Ryan: I became interested in the East End after my wife, Rachel, and I decided to call Galveston home. My wife works on island and I work in Houston, so we had to decide if we were going to live in Houston, Galveston or somewhere in the middle. Neither of us really wanted a suburban lifesytle, let alone a Houston suburban lifestyle. So we chose to live in Galveston and the choice was easy. I have always had an admiration for traditional building techniques, early American architecture, and a desire to own an historic home (a prospect which terrified us to a degree). This combined with the great walkability of the East End made the neighborhood the only place I would consider living in Galveston. This restricted home search criteria made for a lengthy search that drove my wife and realtor crazy, but the wait was worth it and we are very happy to call the East End home.

Q: Tell me about your historic home?

Ryan: Rachel and I purchased a 1912 Edmund J. Cordray home. Originally built and appearing on property records as a rental property with Cordray as the owner. Cordray was a pharmacist and owned and operated the Cordray Drug Store once located at the site of the East End Cottage. The house was rented from 1919 to 1941 to a variety of tenants including the Alpha Kappa Kappa medical fraternity, a mechanic, a bookkeeper and a manager at the Galveston Piano Company. Cordray's daughter Florence moved into the home in 1941 and lived here until 1985. Rachel and I purchased the home in 2016 and have been slowly rehabing and making it our own since. The home is a combination of Colonial Revival and Craftsman architecture. Its realitively open mainfloor, high ceilings and tons of natural light made this home a good fit for our growing family.

Q: What's your favorite part of living in the East End and how do you want to contribute through board membership?

Ryan: Walkability! The main motivator in our decision to move to the East End was the great walkability of the neighborhood. Close to bars, restuarants and other entertainment, the neighboorhod is very ammenable to the lifestyle that we wanted and the lifestyle that historic cities were built around in the past. And of course, there is the fantastic collection of homes in the neighborhood. It's a great feeling to walk around your neighborhood and feel like your living in an larger than life art gallery. There is rarely a time when Rachel and I go for an evening stroll that we don't notice an architectual detail on a home that we hadnt seen before. I wanted to serve on the board to advocate for our neighborhood, get younger residents involved in the district, and enhace the walkable experience our neighborhood offers. From lighting, street quality, and obviously the sidewallks, I want to make our neighborhood accessable and safe for residents and visitors alike. Alongside our neighbors, with our councilman, and the city, I want to be creative and collaborative in how we enhace our efforts to make our neighborhood and city truly beautiful.

Q: What do you do in your work life?

Ryan: I am a Quality and Compliance Project Manager for a contract pharmaceutical manufacturing company. Our focus is in the cell and gene therapy sector, novel technologies that are mostly in early clinical trial stages for treating cancer and other various rare diseases. My role is interfacing with our customers and the regulatory agencies to guide the process from clinical development to commercialization of drug products. The plant is located in the Pearland area, so I survive my commute on audiobooks and NPR. All worth it to live in the neighborhood, plus im always current on news!

Q: Tell me about your family.

Ryan: I think I am the first in my family to be a Galvestonian, although my Grandmother tells me my great grandfather's brother (or some distant realtive) worked on the Galveston port docks during World War I. I am the middle child of three having an older brother and and younger sister, all two years apart. I met my wife, Rachel, while attending Texas A&M University in College Station. Rachels tells me that I am an annoyingly abnoxious Aggie Football fan. Its borderline unhealthy, but I am working on it. We married in 2014 and lived a part for a few years after Rachel took a position at UTMB. I finally moved to Galveston full-time in 2016 to begin rasing our family. We welcomed our baby "BOI" Charlie to the world in February of 2018 and he is the center of our universe.

Q: Other interests?

Ryan: My house takes up a lot of my spare time. I have always enjoyed home improvement projects in general, but old houses take it to a whole new level! A little nerdy, but I am really into home automation. As oposed to "Smart Home" I've coined the phrase "Wise Home" while applying smart technology to our historic home. Rachel says I have gotten a little carried away with this. Case and point: our window shades are controlled by the position of the sun... Rachel and I both love to fish and to be outdoors. We love to travel to Colorado every summer for hiking, fly fishing and nature. On the island, we love to relax with new and old friends downtown or on the beach over a cocktail or meal.

East End Historical District Association News
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