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Originally the face could be seen in the 4th floor panel above where it currently is visible. The University had the panel sand blasted to remove the image after rumors began to spread about the face. After sand blasting the face appeared again however it appeared on the 3rd floor panel just below where it originally had appeared. Again in an attempt to keep ghost hunters, paranormal investigators, urban legends, and just teenagers off the property UTMB had the 3rd floor panel sand blasted again. Once the face was sandblasted from the 3rd floor panel it again reappeared, this time on the 2nd floor panel just below it, and that is where it has remained for several years now. UTMB eventually gave up trying to remove "The Face" and it is now etched into the second floor stone face of the building. Warning! Getting to this location isn't impossible but it can be somewhat difficult to located. Once you find Ewing Hall please remember that UTMB is state property and if you trespass you can be arrested.

A second version of the story and my favorite because it's both historically documented and very interesting is that the face is none other then 'Bigfoot Wallace.' Land about three miles or so east along the bay from UTMB and much of Galveston Island for that matter was owned according to historical surveys by William A. A. Wallace - the infamous 'Bigfoot' Wallace from Texas history. According to historical accounts William A. A. Wallace as a member of the Texas army during the battle for Texas Independence was entitled to a grant of land. Bigfoot Wallace traveled to Houston, filled out the necessary paperwork, and sought out General Sam Houston, who was now President Sam Houston of the Republic of Texas, to sign the documents as the witnessing administrator. Bigfoot Wallace was granted land on Galveston Island and the deed is still in the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Ewing Hall also known as Building #71 in the UTMB (University of Texas Medical Branch) campus is on Harborside Dr. According to legend the building is haunted by the ghost of the former land owner. While the man was still alive UTMB offered to purchase his property from him but he refused. Prior to his death he made his family promise never to sell the family land and to keep the land in the family to pass on to the next generation. However once the man died his family sold the property to UTMB and construction on Ewing Hall began soon after.

Ewing Hall is built on the dockside of the UTMB campus and "the face" purported to be the face of the old man who's family broke their promise, can be seen etched into the side of the stone face of the building.

Bigfoot Wallace along with his lawyer struggled for years to get his land out of the State of Texas. The land dispute was long and bitter and some say that this is Bigfoot's way of getting even with the State of Texas for denying him his land. After-all Bigfoot Wallace was a decedent of Sir William Wallace who fought against the land hungry British King Edward I to defend his homeland from British takeover. Many of us know the name William Wallace because he was made famous by Mel Gibson in the movie Braveheart.

This version of the story is my favorite because if you look up pictures of Bigfoot Wallace you will see a striking resemblance between him and the face on the wall. It's also interesting because urban legend usually isn't always 100% accurate but it usually has a thread of the truth attached to it. A bitter land dispute, an angry former land lord, and a face etched in stone as revenge.

Furthermore, according to our research the land where UTMB now sit was never owned by anyone other than the State. Most of Harborside was filled in with dirt to make land in the 1960s so its unlikely that there was a former land owner. However I never discount popular legend or word of mouth because often times the verbal history is TRUE one way.... or another.

On a side note there is another interesting paranormal fact that I recently heard from another Galveston Island resident who is also employed with UTMB. According to my friend a young nurse was out looking for "the face" at Ewing Hall in the early 1990s and she accidentally drove her car into the water behind it. She and her Honda sank into the water and her seat belt failed to release causing her to drown. Supposedly there is a lawsuit against the manufacturer of her Honda Civic but I haven't been able to find it. I've also searched through news stories and haven't been able to find So take this story with a grain of salt. It could just be another urban legend.