Ball's Auditorium stood one block from this site from 1945 to 1995. There, Reginald Ball, Sr. operated a trade school that helped returning World War II African-American veterans obtain jobs through training in the crafts. By the 1950s, the trade school had largely completed its task, and the facility came to be used extensively for community activities, concerts, and paid events. During the 1950s and 1960s, it hosted performers including Otis Redding, Ruth Brown, Fats Domino, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, and James Brown as a popular venue on what was then called the Chitlin Circuit. After its heyday, the facility gradually deteriorated as bookings and uses declined, and what remained was razed.