Warren-Prentis Historic District

The Warren-Prentis Historic District maintains one of the largest, mostly intact concentrations of upper- and upper-middle class, late nineteenth and early twentieth-century housing extant in Detroit. The district primarily contains single family residences and small to large scale, brick apartment buildings, as this area was where many of the early, wealthy Detroiters moved out from downtown and was a prime location in which to house the expanding working class population in Detroit. Other uses, including commercial, religious, health-care, and educational, moved into the district following this residential growth. The district's overall character has been maintained due to the high concentration of buildings, many of which have been minimally altered over time. Comprised of 123 buildings, the Warren-Prentis Historic District covers approximately 320 acres. The district is primarily bounded by the south side of Warren on the north, the west side of Woodward on the east, the alley south of Prentis on the south, and Third Avenue on the west. The boundary along the southeastern portion of the district is irregular. This district, located two miles north of the Detroit River, covers land originally known as the Park Lots and the Cass Farm, with two buildings located in the Jones/Crane farm. A grid system was utilized in the subdivision and development of the Cass Farm Survey Area; therefore main thoroughfares run north-south and the side streets run east west. The north-south streets leading to and from downtown are broad, ranging in width from four to nine lanes, with a predominance of commercial and institutional uses and a few larger, single family residences and apartment buildings. Conversely, the east-west streets are narrow, ranging in width from two to four lanes. The uniform setback of primarily small and medium scale, residential buildings, the greater presence of trees, and the fairly uniform scale of the buildings along the side streets all contribute to their more intimate character. The southwest portion of the district, including Prentis, the 600 block of West Forest and portions of Second Avenue, consists mainly of small to medium scale, residential buildings and maintains the highest density of buildings. The remainder of the district contains larger scale, institutional and commercial buildings and a higher number of vacant lots. Of the 123 buildings within the Warren-Prentis Historic District, 109 buildings- constructed between c. 1877 and 1946 - are contributing to the district. The district includes fifty-eight multiple dwellings, twenty-seven single family residences, twenty-two commercial buildings, four churches (one with an attached church hall), three health care-related buildings, three educational buildings, two each of humanitarian and industrial buildings, and one governmental building. The primary architectural styles represented within the historic district include: Colonial Revival, Vernacular, Arts and Crafts, Queen Anne, Romanesque, Classical Revival, Tudor Revival, and Craftsman. Other styles include Renaissance Revival, Beaux Arts, Prairie School, Commercial, International, Second Empire, and Late Gothic. In varying stages of upkeep, the buildings display a variety of architectural styles, materials, stylistic decoration, and craftsmanship. Of the fifty-eight apartment buildings built between the 1890s and the 1950s, fifty were constructed between 1910 and 1930. Subtypes of apartment buildings include duplexes, flats, terraces and small scale to large scale apartment buildings. The south side of the 600 block of West Hancock, the 600 block of West Forest, the 400 block of Prentis, and Second Avenue, between Prentis and West Hancock, contain the largest concentrations of well-maintained, primarily brick apartment buildings. Ranging in height from two to four stories, the late 19th and early 20th century buildings on these blocks are interspersed with single family residences. Three adjacent apartment buildings along Second Avenue, including the Classical Revival Biltmore Apartments (4609), the Jacobethan Forest Apartments (4625), and the Classical Revival Hollenden Apartments (4711), are among the most architecturally prominent, multiple dwellings in the district. The Late Gothic Revival Hadley Hall Apartments at 665 West Warren also stands out on the northern boundary of the district. Construction of twenty-seven single family residences located within the Warren-Prentis Historic District spans the period between the 1870s and the 191 Os, with seventy-five percent constructed prior to 1900.