Palmer Park Apartment Buildings Historic District Boundary Increase

The Palmer Park Apartment Buildings Historic District Boundary Increase is significant for its architectural diversity and concentration of apartment buildings, which is unique within the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan. The district represents a wide range of architectural styles from the 1920s to the 1960s, including Neo-Georgian, Moderne, Modernistic, Colonial Revival, and International Style. The expansion area includes buildings that were constructed in response to the Federal Housing Administration's design recommendations, which emphasized features such as garden courts and window designs that allowed natural light into living spaces.

The district's significance is further enhanced by the work of notable architects and builders such as Wiedmaier and Gay, Robert West, and Harry Pelavin, who contributed to the eclectic architectural landscape of the area. The district also reflects the evolution of architectural styles and urban planning concepts over several decades, showcasing the transition from eclectic period revival styles to more modern and streamlined designs.

The Palmer Park district's development was influenced by the post-war housing boom and the demand for apartment living in urban areas. The district's layout, with its curving roads and focal points at wide plazas, distinguishes it from surrounding neighborhoods of single-family homes. The presence of religious structures within the district adds to its historical and cultural significance, representing a range of denominations and architectural styles.

Overall, the Palmer Park Apartment Buildings Historic District Boundary Increase is a testament to the architectural and historical development of Detroit, reflecting broader trends in urban planning and residential architecture during the mid-20th century.

This nomination is a boundary increase for the existing Palmer Park Apartment Buildings Historic District that will surround and enclose the existing district. The existing Palmer Park Apartment Buildings Historic District is a discontiguous, two-part district located within a larger triangular neighborhood of apartment buildings and religious buildings known as "Palmer Park" for its location directly adjacent to the Detroit city park of that name. The existing district contains two separate concentrations of 1920s and 30s apartment buildings that range in style from eclectic period revival styles to Moderne and International Style. The proposed boundary increase will expand the district to comprise the entire roughly triangular neighborhood bounded by McNichols Road on the south, Woodward Avenue on the east, Covington Drive on the west, and Pontchartrain Drive on the north. This neighborhood is unique within the city of Detroit and state of Michigan for its concentration of apartment buildings. The proposed expansion area contains apartment buildings dating from the late 1930s to the 1950s (the three "newest" apartment buildings date from the 1960s) plus two apartment house/commercial buildings along McNichols that were excluded from the original district because of their physical separation from the rest of the 1920s and 30s buildings as well as religious buildings that relate directly to the neighborhood's historic significance. The amendment would add thirty-four buildings to the Palmer Park Apartment Buildings Historic District.

The area in the proposed boundary increase is an extension of the existing district that continues along the same streets and contains the same physical characteristics. The neighborhood is laid out along pleasantly curving roads with focal points at the wide plazas formed by the intersection of Manderson and Merton Roads, and the intersections of Merton and Whitmore Roads with Second Avenue. The Palmer Park neighborhood is distinguished from the surrounding area of detached, single-family houses by its street pattern and its streetscape composed almost entirely of apartment buildings and religious structures.

The apartment buildings in the expansion area vary in size and design ranging from five-story apartment buildings to townhouses in rows. The majority of the apartment buildings are set back from the streets with many constructed around center garden courts. Only four of the apartment buildings abut the sidewalk in front. These four buildings were constructed during the period covered in the original nomination but not included because of their isolated location outside the concentrations of 1920s-30s buildings in the existing district. The Raleigh at 17110 Third and the Delmar at 17111 Second were constructed in the mid-1920s in the Neo-Georgian style, and the Balmoral at 361 Covington and the Fairlane at 381 Covington were constructed in the late 1930s in the Moderne style. The remainder and majority of the buildings were generally constructed in the 1940s and 1950s in the Moderne, Modernistic, and Colonial Revival styles. Many of these buildings are surprising examples of the changes in design that architects made to adapt to the current trends in architectural styles. The architectural firm of Wiedmaier and Gay and architect Robert West had both previously designed eclectic style buildings located in the existing historic district during the 1920s and 1930s. Both firms later designed Moderne style buildings included in the boundary increase during the late 1930s and 1940s. Wiedmaier and Gay commissions included the Carole Jean Apartments at 17524 Third and the Slater Apartments at 653-701 Whitmore. Robert West designed the Balmoral and the Fairlane. He was one of the first architects to introduce the Moderne style in the Palmer Park district and to utilize the use of casement windows.

The district is significant for the number of post-war apartment buildings constructed in compliance with FHA design recommendations such as garden courts or window designs that allowed an abundance of natural light into lobbies and apartments. The Shelburne Apartment at 17765 Manderson, the Park Plaza Apartments at 825 Covington, and the Derby Gardens at 810-818 Whitmore are excellent examples of the use of irregular shaped apartment buildings, landscaped gardens, and recessed entry courts used to distance the apartments from street traffic and to create a peaceful, garden-like atmosphere. Long rows of townhouses in the Colonial Revival or Neo-Classical styles such as the Merton Terrace at 631-711 Merton or the Parkway Apartments at 641-711 Covington displayed modest architectural detailing in an attempt to break the repetitious nature of the structure. The division of the apartment building into sections with numerous entrances allowed for increased privacy and less traffic.

Only three of the apartment buildings were constructed in the 1960s and reflect the final stage of residential development in the Palmer Park district. Influenced by Mies van der Rohe who stressed simplicity and unity of form and function, the buildings at 303 Covington, 820 Merton, and Blair House at 831-841 Merton were designed in the Modern style. Glass window walls and exposed structural steel simply define the architectural elegance of the buildings. Although these buildings were constructed within the past fifty years, they are an integral part of the historic district and contribute to its architectural integrity and fabric.

The Palmer Park district continues to be densely populated with almost all of the apartment buildings retaining a high occupancy percentage. Only four of the apartment buildings are vacant and each of those buildings is planned for renovation. Although the residential district has lost some degree of prestige and glamour, the majority of apartment buildings and garden courts are well maintained. Some buildings like the Covington Arms at 333 Covington and the Park Plaza Apartments at 825 Whitmore still retain an atmosphere of charm and exclusiveness.

The five religious structures include a wide range of denominations from a Jewish synagogue to a Greek Orthodox church. The buildings are all located on spacious lots in the center of the district. The styles vary from the Neo-Gothic Palmer Park Presbyterian Church built in 1925 to the monumental Moderne Temple Israel built in 1951. Three of the buildings, the Neo-Georgian Fifth Church of Christ Scientist, the Byzantine St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, and the Moderne Temple Unity, are all located at the intersection of Second Avenue and Whitmore Road and present a visually striking collection of religious structures of varying styles. All five structures are in use and well maintained by their current congregations.

The Palmer Park Apartment Buildings Historic District was designated in 1983. At that time a district was created containing two non-contiguous sections to include apartment buildings representative of the dramatically eclectic styles of the 1920s and the Art Moderne and International styles of the early 1930s. The district is part of a larger neighborhood that, dating from the 1920s to the 1960s, when the last few buildings to be built in the district were constructed on the only remaining vacant sites, is unique in Detroit and Michigan for its display of high quality apartment buildings that reflect the diversity and evolution of architectural styles and apartment building forms characteristic of those decades. When the district was originally nominated to the National Register in 1983, only parts of the neighborhood contained concentrations of buildings fifty years old or older; today nearly every building is more than fifty years old, and the few that are not reflect the conclusion of a major period of apartment house building in the area that began at the end of World War II. In addition, five religious structures in the neighborhood compliment the apartments in age and architectural character. This amendment would increase the district's boundaries to include these additional resources and would result in the designation of the entire Palmer Park apartment residential area. Residential development began in Palmer Park during the mid-1920s. Influenced by the suburban housing trends of the period, the neighborhood was laid out with gently curving streets and large parcels of land. Apartment buildings, designed by prominent Detroit architects to accommodate middle- and upper-middle-class residents, were built throughout the neighborhood. Development was interrupted during the Great Depression and again during World War II, but increased dramatically in the later 1940s. Many new apartment buildings inspired by the American Garden City Movement were designed for Palmer Park. Commercial buildings were located on the periphery of the neighborhood along the north side of McNichols Road and religious structures were built in the heart of the neighborhood. This newer development is significant to the district as an example of a high-density urban community developing according to the popular suburban planning concepts of the period. The majority of the newer structures were built by Jewish builders and developers as the Jewish community moved to the northwest edge of the city of Detroit away from its older settlements closer to the center of the city. This amendment expands the period of significance to include the role of the Jewish community in the continued development of the Palmer Park Apartments district. Inclusion of the five religious structures within the district is unique and indicates a community of religious tolerance.

This nomination is a boundary increase for the existing Palmer Park Apartment Buildings Historic District that will surround and enclose the existing district. The existing Palmer Park Apartment Buildings Historic District is a discontiguous, two-part district located within a larger triangular neighborhood of apartment buildings and religious buildings known as 'Palmer Park' for its location directly adjacent to the Detroit city park of that name. The existing district contains two separate concentrations of 1920s and 30s apartment buildings that range in style from eclectic period revival styles to Moderne and International Style. The proposed boundary increase will expand the district to comprise the entire roughly triangular neighborhood bounded by McNichols Road on the south, Woodward Avenue on the east, Covington Drive on the west, and Pontchartrain Drive on the north. This neighborhood is unique within the city of Detroit and state of Michigan for its concentration of apartment buildings. The proposed expansion area contains apartment buildings dating from the late 1930s to the 1950s (the three 'newest' apartment buildings date from the 1960s) plus two apartment house/commercial buildings along McNichols that were excluded from the original district because of their physical separation from the rest of the 1920s and 30s buildings as well as religious buildings that relate directly to the neighborhood's historic significance. The amendment would add thirty-four buildings to the Palmer Park Apartment Buildings Historic District. The area in the proposed boundary increase is an extension of the existing district that continues along the same streets and contains the same physical characteristics. The neighborhood is laid out along pleasantly curving roads with focal points at the wide plazas formed by the intersection of Manderson and Merton Roads, and the intersections of Merton and Whitmore Roads with Second Avenue. The Palmer Park neighborhood is distinguished from the surrounding area of detached, single-family houses by its street pattern and its streetscape composed almost entirely of apartment buildings and religious structures. The apartment buildings in the expansion area vary in size and design ranging from five-story apartment buildings to townhouses in rows. The majority of the apartment buildings are set back from the streets with many constructed around center garden courts. Only four of the apartment buildings abut the sidewalk in front. These four buildings were constructed during the period covered in the original nomination but not included because of their isolated location outside the concentrations of 1920s-30s buildings in the existing district. The Raleigh at 17110 Third and the Delmar at 17111 Second were constructed in the mid-1920s in the Neo-Georgian style, and the Balmoral at 361 Covington and the Fairlane at 381 Covington were constructed in the late 1930s in the Moderne style. The remainder and majority of the buildings were generally constructed in the 1940s and 1950s in the Moderne, Modernistic and Colonial Revival styles. Many of these buildings are surprising examples of the changes in design that architects made to adapt to the current trends in architectural styles. The architectural firm of Wiedmaier and Gay and architect Robert West had both previously designed eclectic style buildings located in the existing historic district during the 1920s and 1930s. Both firms later designed Moderne style buildings included in the boundary increase during the late 1930s and 1940s. Wiedmaier and Gay commissions included the Carole Jean Apartments at 17524 Third and the Slater Apartments at 653-701 Whitmore. Robert West designed the Balmoral and the Fairlane. He was one of the first architects to introduce the Moderne style in the Palmer Park district and to utilize the use of casement windows. The district is significant for the number of post-war apartment buildings constructed in compliance with FHA design recommendations such as garden courts or window designs that allowed an abundance of natural light into lobbies and apartments. The Shelburne Apartment at 17765 Manderson, the Park Plaza Apartments at 825 Covington and the Derby Gardens at 810-818 Whitmore are excellent examples of the use of irregular shaped apartment buildings, landscaped gardens and recessed entry courts used to distance the apartments from street traffic and to create a peaceful, garden-like atmosphere. Long rows of townhouses in the Colonial Revival or Neo-Classical styles such as the Merton Terrace at 631-711 Merton or the Parkway Apartments at 641-711 Covington displayed modest architectural detailing in an attempt to break the repetitious nature of the structure. The division of the apartment building into sections with numerous entrances allowed for increased privacy and less traffic. Only three of the apartment buildings were constructed in the 1960s and reflect the final stage of residential development in the Palmer Park district. Influenced by Mies van der Rohe who stressed simplicity and unity of form and function, the buildings at 303 Covington, 820 Merton and Blair House at 831-841 Merton were designed in the Modern style. Glass window walls and exposed structural steel simply define the architectural elegance of the buildings. Although these buildings were constructed within the past fifty years they are an integral part of the historic district and contribute to its architectural integrity and fabric.