Podcast: Galveston Island's Street Name Series - G-P and Half Streets

Avenue N and a half? Really? What is that all about?

This episode picks up where we left off on the last Street Names Series episode. Go check out that episode if you want to learn how Galveston got its grid street layout and how Galveston's Avenue A through Avenue F received their alternate names. We'll be focused on Galveston's historic east end, working our way south on the east-west streets. In a future episode in this series, we'll cover some of Galveston's prominent north and south running streets.

Picking up where we left off in the last episode, working our way south from Avenue G, and while we're at it, let's look into how Galveston got its alphabetical half streets. Avenues G, H, and I were renamed to reflect some of Galveston's early city leaders and leading families. Avenue G, otherwise known as Winnie, is named after Fox Winnie. And yes, that is an actual human name. Winnie was a contractor and investor who helped bring the Gulf and Interstate Railway to Galveston. You may have also heard of Winnie, Texas, in Chambers County. Winnie, Texas, was also named after Mr. Fox Winnie for his contributions to building the railroad and developing the town.

Avenue H is also called Ball Street, named in honor of local merchant and banker George Ball. Throughout his time on Galveston Island, George Ball contributed generous sums to hospitals, orphanages, and public schools, but he would always strive to keep his donations concealed. In fact, the second high school ever established in Texas was on Galveston Island.

It was named Ball High School after a generous donation of $50,000 by George Ball. Avenue I is also known as Sealy Street, named after John Sealy. Sealy was a merchant who worked closely with George Ball in banking ventures. After John Sealy's death in 1884, a portion of his wealth was set aside for charitable purposes, which his family used to build John Sealy Hospital, and Avenue I was named after Sealy.

As we continue south, we end up on Avenue J, one of Galveston's main thoroughfares, also known as Broadway. Avenue J was designed to be the spine of Galveston. When the city was laid out in a grid fashion, Avenue J was strategically located on the highest ridge of the island, with the intent of being the main point of access and circulation for the community. Broadway is wider than all other streets on the island, and many of Galveston's prominent families have built their homes along Broadway. Some of Galveston's most prominent mansions still reside on Broadway, like the Walter Gresham Home or Bishop's Palace on 14th Street, the League Kempner House on 17th Street, the Sealy Mansion on 25th Street or Rosenberg Avenue, and the Moody Mansion between 26th and 27th Street.

South of Broadway, most streets kept their original alphabetical designations, except for Avenue N and Avenue P. Avenue N is also known as Ursuline Street. In 1847, seven nuns of the Ursuline Order arrived from New Orleans. They quickly established a Catholic convent and school for girls on Avenue N. The school provided both an excellent education and a haven during the island's frequent storms. Though the original building no longer exists, the legacy of the Ursuline Academy lives on.

Avenue P, Also known as Bernardo de Galvez Avenue, was renamed after Galveston's namesake, Bernardo de Galvez. In the late 1700s, Bernardo de Galvez was governor of Spanish Louisiana and the viceroy of Mexico. He assisted in defeating the British troops along the Gulf Coast during the American Revolution. Galvez's contributions to the Spanish Empire and the newly formed United States made him a national hero of Spain as well as the newly formed United States. The bay north of the island was surveyed in 1785 and named Bahia de Galveston. The island took on the name Galveston in honor of Bernardo de Galvez. Today, you can drive all the way eastward down Avenue P and end up behind the Grand Galvez Hotel, which was also named after Bernardo de Galvez.

Now, here's a little bit about Galveston's half and rear streets.

In the 1830s and 40s, the footprint of the city of Galveston was relatively small, with most buildings and establishments very close to the port. The east-west facing streets were named alphabetically, extending from Avenue A, now known as Harborside Drive, all the way to Avenue M and from Avenue M south to the beach were platted as large quadrants, known as outlots, and the alphabetical street names continued south.

However, the distance between Avenue M and Avenue N, for example, extended the distance of the entire outlot, which was the length of two original city blocks. That original city grid was planned for unnamed alleys between the alphabetically named streets. By 1870, there were over 13,000 people living on Galveston Island, and finding an affordable place to live became an issue. As the pressure of the rapid growth and population in Galveston through the 1870s and 80s grew, the residential districts of Galveston expanded in every direction. These large outlots were the size of four Galveston city blocks. Throughout the late 1800s, through Galveston's expansion, these outlots were carved up to the specifications of the original city-platted lots, which measured by 42 feet and 10 inches by 120 feet, and 7 lots to a street. New north-to-south and east-to-west facing streets had to be carved into these outlots, along with a 20-foot wide alley. Considering the distance between two east-west facing streets was consistent from Avenue A to Avenue M, and extended two city blocks from Avenue N all the way south to the beach, instead of getting too complicated with street names while carving the east to west facing streets through the outlots, half streets were added corresponding to the northernmost named Street. Which is where we get the half-street names. M and a half, N and a half, and so on and so forth, extending all the way to the beach.

If you haven't yet, go check out the previous episode on Galveston street names. You'll learn a little bit about the Galveston City Company and the layout of the streets on the island.