Sugar Hill Historic District

The Sugar Hill Historic District is significant due to its association with jazz music, an important aspect of Detroit's music history between 1920 and 1960, and with the associated lifestyle within Detroit's African American community. Called "Sugar Hill" by some of its residents and patrons, the district was akin to the nation's music capitals of New York and Chicago. Between the years of 1940 and 1960, Sugar Hill's collection of nightclubs, hotels, apartment buildings, and businesses was home to a unique lifestyle that grew out of and fed into the local jazz scene. Sugar Hill's significance is further enhanced because it is one of the only remaining neighborhoods associated with jazz in the city of Detroit. The loss of buildings within the proposed district is evidence of the direct and indirect impacts of the mid-twentieth century urban renewal projects that led to the destruction of many historic neighborhoods in Detroit. Despite these losses, the remaining structures in the Sugar Hill Historic District continue to reflect the vibrant cultural and social history of the area during its peak years.

The Sugar Hill Historic District consists of fourteen structures located within a two-block area bounded by E. Forest Avenue on the north, E. Canfield on the south, John R. on the east, and Woodward on the west. It is located approximately two miles north of downtown Detroit. The district is in Detroit's mid-city cultural center, which is home to numerous museums and other public structures. Directly east of the district is Detroit's medical center. To the west, across Woodward Avenue, is the Cass Farm Historic District. Two national register-listed buildings are adjacent to the district: the Congregational Church at the northeast intersection of Woodward and Forest, and the Garfield Building at the northeast intersection of Woodward and Garfield.

The district is the largest remnant of a neighborhood that flourished in the 1940s and 1950s with a concentration of black-owned or operated jazz venues and related residential/commercial activities. The district includes single-family houses, apartment buildings, a church, and commercial buildings. Historically, the proposed district has been an area of evolving uses, reflective of the changing economy, auto industry, population, and housing trends. Its remaining buildings reflect the architectural evolution of the area from 1885 through the 1950s. All retain their original location and appearance with minor alterations. The buildings maintain a common setback and are constructed of similar materials.

The contributing extant buildings were constructed between 1885 and 1938. The single-family residential structures are the oldest in the district, dating from 1885 to 1909. They reflect the care in ornamentation and craftsmanship typical of single-family homes built for a prosperous population. The single-family residences at 102 Garfield and 76 E. Forest are lightly ornamented Queen Anne Style homes typical of the late-Victorian era. The home at 4635 John R. reflects the aesthetic coming into fashion with the Craftsman Movement at the turn of the century. All of the homes in the district are large in scale, constructed of brick and stone, and retain much of their original appearance and integrity.

Additions to the neighborhood in the early decades of the 20th century, including apartment and commercial buildings, are simpler in style than the earlier homes. This was due to both changing architectural styles and the shift to a renter, rather than owner, population. As the neighborhood evolved, apartment and commercial buildings dating from 1909 to 1938 were introduced. Two apartment buildings on Garfield are representative of the ornamented Classic Revival style, while the apartments on John R. are more simply detailed.

The district began to change from a purely residential area to one of mixed uses as the auto industry developed near the turn of the century. The first commercial buildings to open in this district were auto-related and include the extant Palmetto garage and commercial buildings on Canfield. All of the extant commercial buildings were constructed between 1913 and 1926.

The area encompassed by the district was completely developed—without vacant lots—by the middle of the 20th century. Alterations were made to many buildings to accommodate increased residential and commercial demands from the growing black population. Many single-family homes were subdivided into apartments or mixed residential and commercial uses. The function of the district's buildings is still primarily residential. While in recent decades demolition of the historic fabric (by neglect or by design) has altered the district's appearance, leaving numerous empty lots, the buildings that remain are accurate testaments to the architecture and prosperity of the area throughout its development.

The Sugar Hill Historic District is significant due to its association with jazz music, an important aspect of Detroit's music history between 1920 and 1960, and with the associated lifestyle within Detroit's African American community. Called 'Sugar Hill' by some of its residents and patrons, the district was akin to the nation's music capitals of New York and Chicago. Between the years of 1940 and 1960, Sugar Hill's collection of nightclubs, hotels, apartment buildings, and businesses was home to a unique lifestyle that grew out of and fed into the local jazz scene. Sugar Hill's significance is further enhanced because it is one of the only remaining neighborhoods associated with jazz in the city of Detroit. The loss of buildings within the proposed district is evidence of the direct and indirect impacts of the mid-twentieth century urban renewal movement on Detroit's African American neighborhoods. The Sugar Hill Historic District is also significant for its contribution to the social history of Detroit, specifically as related to the development of a new settlement pattern for African Americans. This neighborhood represented a departure from the strict racial barriers and segregation that existed in the city at this time, signaling a small but significant change that allowed black and white musicians and patrons to mingle in the only socially integrated section of Detroit. Integration was not accepted in housing and until 1940 blacks were largely confined to the Near East Side, (a strip of land located north of Jefferson to Medbury between John R and Russell), and a few pocketed areas in the city such as Conant Gardens and the 'west siders.' The Sugar Hill district is on the western-most edge of the Near East Side. Sugar Hill was not only a place where African Americans could live but it was an entertainment district for both blacks and whites. Perhaps most importantly, a newly formed cultural identity emerged from this district that shed the degrading image of blacks as menial service workers for a middle-class lifestyle, shaped by music, which emulated glamour and created new wealth. Out of this neighborhood sprung the musicians and genius that would eventually forge the Motown empire.

The Sugar Hill Historic District consists of fourteen structures located within a two-block area bounded by E. Forest Avenue on the north, E. Canfield on the south, John R. on the east, and Woodward on the west. It is located approximately two miles north of downtown Detroit. The district is in Detroit's mid-city cultural center which is home to numerous museums and other public structures. Directly east of the district is Detroit's medical center. To the west across Woodward Avenue is the Cass Farm Historic District. Two national register-listed buildings are adjacent to the district: the Congregational Church at the northeast intersection of Woodward and Forest, and the Garfield Building at the northeast intersection of Woodward and Garfield. The district is the largest remnant of a neighborhood that flourished in the 1940s and 1950s with a concentration of black-owned or operated jazz venues and related residential/commercial activities. The district includes single-family houses, apartment buildings, a church, and commercial buildings. Historically, the proposed district has been an area of evolving uses, reflective of the changing economy, auto industry, population, and housing trends. Its remaining buildings reflect the architectural evolution of the area from 1885 through the 1950's. All retain their original location and appearance with minor alterations. The buildings maintain a common setback and are constructed of similar materials.