NRHP Reference # 80004404 Year built 1840 Architectural style Italianate architecture | Area 7,285 m² Added to NRHP 8 July 1980 | |
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Location Detroit, Michigan
United States | ||
The Randolph Street Commercial Buildings Historic District is a historic district located in Downtown 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.
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 Victorian 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.