Stevens Building

The Washington Boulevard Historic District is significant as an intact streetscape of architecturally distinguished commercial buildings dating from 1901-1930 with a majority built in the 1920s. The buildings individually represent some of the finest early Twentieth Century architecture in Detroit and as a group illustrate the evolution of the commercial style in Detroit as it was practiced by some of Michigan's master architects. The district is also significant as a product of a planned real estate development inspired by the City Beautiful movement and carried out as the private artistic endeavor of one family and their architect, Louis Kamper.

The earliest building in the district is the Manufacturers National Bank Building, constructed in 1901 as the Stevens Building. Originally intended to be an adjunct facility for the nearby city YMCA, it was built when the street was still largely residential. Located at 1258 Washington Boulevard, the building was designed by Donaldson and Meier, a prominent Detroit architectural firm noted in later years for impressive church designs. This eight-story, brick, limestone and terra-cotta office building is designed in the Renaissance Revival style with an elaborately composed facade of varying window types crowned by a massive corbelled and arcaded Italian Romanesque style cornice treatment. This structure was recently rehabilitated for residential use with commercial on the first floor.