House at 2017-2023 Avenue I

Four adjoining houses at 2017 to 2023 Avenue I in Galveston form a row of nearly identical two-story frame residences. Each has a rectangular plan under a hipped roof, an inset double gallery with arches carried on turned posts with decorative brackets, turned balusters, and a two-bay front with a single entrance door and paired windows. Exact construction dates are unknown, but Sanborn maps indicate they were built between 1889 and 1900, and the form is estimated at the early 1890s. They remain on their original site in a mixed-use area and were first owned by Frances Jane Guy. The row matters because it is described as the best surviving grouping of simple double-gallery houses in Galveston. This vernacular type was built in the city from the 1870s into the twentieth century, often as speculative real estate. Single and paired examples can be found around Galveston, but a group of four is now unique. A 1982 survey recorded all four houses as residences in good condition.