The East Grand Boulevard Historic District is a historic district located along East Grand Boulevard

Grand Boulevard (Detroit)

Grand Boulevard is a thoroughfare in Detroit, Michigan, running east to west in some places and north to south in other places. It once constituted the city limits of Detroit. Grand Boulevard is named the "Berry Gordy, Jr...

 between East Jefferson Avenue and Mack Aveue in Detroit, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1999.

Description

The East Grand Boulevard Historic District includes a few moderate-sized apartment buildings and numerous large homes. The apartment buildings in the district include the El Tovar Apartments

El Tovar Apartments

The El Tovar Apartments is an apartment building located at 320 East Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan, in the East Grand Boulevard Historic District. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.- Architecture :...

, Saint Paul Manor Apartments

Saint Paul Manor Apartments

The Saint Paul Manor Apartments is an apartment building located at 356 East Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan, in the East Grand Boulevard Historic District. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.- History :...

, and Kingston Arms Apartments

Kingston Arms Apartments

The Kingston Arms Apartments is an apartment building located at 296 East Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan, in the East Grand Boulevard Historic District. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.- Description :...

. Structures in this district were constructed primarily between 1900 and 1925.

History

During the late 19th century, creating wide, graceful streets was seen as a way to create a beautiful city. After much debate, in the 1890s Detroit adopted the idea of creating a "Grand Boulevard" encircling the city. By 1913, the landscaped Grand Boulevard was generally recognized as a major adornment of the city, and a prestigious address in which to reside.

Houses built along this section of the Boulevard were among the grandest in the city at the time they were built; however, by the mid-1920s, the appeal of living along Grand Boulevard declined. During the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

 and later during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, some of these massive elegant homes in this historic district were cut up into small apartments. Currently, this section of Grand Boulevard has become a mixed-use neighborhood. Only a few of these homes are still used as single-family residences; many serve as group homes for those who need institutional care.