Randolph Street Commercial Buildings Historic District

Randolph Street Commercial Buildings Historic District

1208-1244 Randolph Street (address numbers count from right)
Location Detroit, Michigan
 United States
Coordinates 42°20′4″N 83°2′42″W / 42.33444°N 83.04500°W / 42.33444; -83.04500Coordinates: 42°20′4″N 83°2′42″W / 42.33444°N 83.04500°W / 42.33444; -83.04500
Built 1840
Architect Unknown
Architectural style Italianate
NRHP Reference # 80004404[1]
Added to NRHP July 08, 1980

The Randolph Street Commercial Buildings Historic District is a historic district located in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, which includes six buildings [2] 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.[1] The collection of buildings are a rare surviving set of Detroit Victorian-era commercial structures.[3] The Randolph Street Commercial Building Historic District joins the Broadway Avenue Historic District downtown.

History

The Odd Fellows Building in a 1884 drawing by Silas Farmer. The fourth-story façade was later remodeled

Buildings along this section of Randolph Street have been used for retail since the area was first built up in the 1840s.[3] The building at 1244 Randolph was built during the period of original construction, and is a rare survivor from the 1840s.[2] The Victorian styled Odd Fellows Building (1874) is located at the corner of Randolph and Monroe.[4]

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.[3]

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.[3] However, the buildings still have their Victorian brickwork and metal window hoods.[3]

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.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 Randolph Street Commercial Buildings Historic District from the state of Michigan, retrieved 01/02/11
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Randolph Street Commercial Buildings Historic District from the city of Detroit
  4. ↑ Hill, Eric J. and John Gallagher (2002). AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press.
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