Randolph Street Commercial Buildings Historic District
Encyclopedia
The Randolph Street Commercial Buildings Historic District is a historic district
located in Detroit, Michigan
, which includes six buildings along Randolph Street between Monroe and Macomb streets (1208-1244 Randolph Street). The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1980. The collection of buildings are a rare surviving set of Detroit Victorian-era commercial structures. The Randolph Street Commercial Building Historic District joins the Broadway Avenue Historic District
downtown.
styled Odd Fellows Building (1874) is located at the corner of Randolph and Monroe
.
As the city grew, larger commercial buildings were required and the other structures on Randolph were constructed. The area remained a shopping district into the twentieth century.
Over the years, the street-level facades of the buildings in the district were altered numerous times, two structures had new top stories added, and a cornice removal program in the 1950s resulted in the loss of all the fine bracketed entablatures. However, the buildings still have their Victorian brickwork and metal window hoods.
Since construction of the buildings, structures in the district have housed numerous commercial enterprises, ranging from legal offices, to tailors to sculptors. In the early 1900s, the district was home primarily to dry goods and clothing establishments.
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
located 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"....
, which includes six buildings along Randolph Street between Monroe and Macomb streets (1208-1244 Randolph Street). 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 1980. The collection of buildings are a rare surviving set of Detroit Victorian-era commercial structures. The Randolph Street Commercial Building Historic District joins the Broadway Avenue Historic District
Broadway Avenue Historic District (Detroit, Michigan)
The Broadway Avenue Historic District is a historic district located on a single city block along Broadway Avenue between Gratiot and East Grand River in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004...
downtown.
History
Buildings along this section of Randolph Street have been used for retail since the area was first built up in the 1840s. The building at 1244 Randolph was built during the period of original construction, and is a rare survivor from the 1840s. The VictorianVictorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
styled Odd Fellows Building (1874) is located at the corner of Randolph and Monroe
Monroe Avenue Commercial Buildings
The Monroe Avenue Commercial Buildings, also known as the Monroe Block, is a historic district located along a block-and-a-half stretch at 16-118 Monroe Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, just off Woodward Avenue at the northern end of Campus Martius. The district was designated a Michigan State Historic...
.
As the city grew, larger commercial buildings were required and the other structures on Randolph were constructed. The area remained a shopping district into the twentieth century.
Over the years, the street-level facades of the buildings in the district were altered numerous times, two structures had new top stories added, and a cornice removal program in the 1950s resulted in the loss of all the fine bracketed entablatures. However, the buildings still have their Victorian brickwork and metal window hoods.
Since construction of the buildings, structures in the district have housed numerous commercial enterprises, ranging from legal offices, to tailors to sculptors. In the early 1900s, the district was home primarily to dry goods and clothing establishments.