Both pictures featured above were taken from the same location at the intersection of 19th Street and Ball looking west. The top picture was taken circa 1908. 

 This row of five two-story townhouses was typical of the homes constructed in the east end of Galveston in the years following the Great Fire of 1885, a devastating disaster in which hundreds of homes across 40 city blocks burned down, displacing thousands of residents. Many of these homes offered rooms for rent, no doubt serving the nearby Galveston County Courthouse. 

 Completed in 1898, this was the fifth Galveston County Courthouse and was of the Beaux Arts architectural style. The four-story structure was nearly destroyed in The 1900 Storm but was rebuilt. The original Ball High School that was located at 21st and Ball Avenue is pictured in the far back left of top image. 

 Over the years, the courthouse facility grew, and this row of houses was demolished. In September 1961, Hurricane Carla severely damaged the courthouse beyond repair and plans were made to construct a new courthouse.

 The new courthouse was constructed just to the west of the 1898 courthouse closer to 20th Street in an area that was part of Central Park. Sections of the damaged courthouse were still used out of necessity until the new courthouse was completed and opened in 1966.  

Soon after this, the old courthouse building was demolished, and the land was used for an annex at the rear of the new courthouse. 

 The county closed this section of Ball Avenue in 1988 to construct a parking garage with walkover, interrupting the grid of streets in the central business district.