Monroe Avenue Commercial Buildings

The Monroe Avenue Historic District is significant for two reasons: it contains one of the few relatively intact pre and post Civil War commercial blocks in the City (the block between Cadillac and Farmer), as well as an unusual theater designed by Albert Kahn; the district is a portion of a larger district that was one of Detroit's first theater districts. The buildings within the block between Cadillac Square and Farmer Street constitute a development of Victorian commercial architecture in Detroit. The buildings at the eastern end of the block (No. 52-78) are typical of those that lined the city's streets in the years prior to the Civil War. Contained in this row of structures is the Johnson Block, built in 1852. The close similarity of all the buildings indicates that the entire row was built at approximately the same time. The western portion of the block contains two large buildings having considerable architectural distinction. Of the two, the older is the first Williams Block (No. 32-42), built in 1859. The architect was Sheldon Smith, who had migrated to Detroit from Ohio in 1855 with his son Mortimer, and who rapidly attained a position of prominence in the local architectural community. The building is particularly notable for its extensive use of cast iron both in its structure and in the rich ornamentation of its facade. Adjoining this building is a second Williams Block (No. 16-30) built in 1872-73 and designed by Mortimer L. Smith, who had practiced with his father from 1861 to 1868 and continued the firm after his father's death in that year. The construction of this Williams Block was hailed because the previous buildings on the site were considered to be eyesores in the vicinity of the then new City Hall.

The 13 commercial buildings nominated as the Monroe Avenue Historic District have always been in the heart of Detroit's central commercial district. Nine of the buildings form nearly an entire block from between Cadillac and Farmer while four of them are located to the east of Farmer. The Monroe Avenue Historic District represents a rare example of a 19th century commercial block consisting of a pre-civil War and a Victorian Era grouping that remain relatively intact. Several of the nominated buildings were built as theaters or were converted to theaters as business prospered in the city. The tallest building in the district is five stories; the shortest is two; several are narrow, four story structures. All of the buildings are of masonry construction with cast iron and tile details and decorative brickwork. Some have been painted and the paint is peeling.