West Vernor/Junction Historic District

The West Vernor/Junction Historic District has served as the commercial hub for a large area of southwest Detroit since the 1870s and 1880s when this part of Detroit began to develop and retains commercial buildings dating back at least to the 1890s. The district's late nineteenth and early twentieth century commercial architecture reflects a broad range of architectural styles and building forms characteristic of neighborhood commercial areas in Detroit and Michigan. Because of the location at the intersection of West Vernor and Junction Avenue, an important cross street that provides a direct connection with other major Detroit arteries and with industries located along the nearby railroads, the district became the site of some of the neighborhood's leading commercial businesses, banks, and theaters. It is also the home of one of Detroit's and Michigan's largest Catholic parishes, Holy Redeemer. The Holy Redeemer complex is one of the largest historic parish complexes in Michigan with architecturally distinguished early twentieth century buildings designed by the prominent Detroit architectural firm, Donaldson and Meier.

The West Vernor/Junction Historic District is a four block commercial area that lies along West Vernor Highway surrounding its intersection with Junction Avenue in southwest Detroit. West Vernor Highway at Junction Avenue is comprised of a long stretch of late nineteenth and early twentieth-century two-story commercial buildings that form a visually diverse streetscape. The southwest corner of the intersection contains the massive parish complex of Holy Redeemer Catholic Church. This Neo-Romanesque church, rectory, schools and other buildings are the district's visual focal point. The commercial blocks of the district contain a mixture of two-story wood frame and brick commercial buildings that have storefront space on the first floor and residential/office space on the second floor. The buildings are uniformly set back from the street and these facades form an almost unbroken wall of storefronts. The blocks east of Junction Avenue are older in appearance with many of the commercial buildings built in the 1890's. The blocks west of Junction Avenue have many buildings constructed in the 1900's and 1910's. Many of the buildings have been modernized with new siding added to the facades. Some of the key buildings which provide visual interest include the two limestone-clad former bank buildings diagonally opposite one another at the West Vernor/Junction intersection; the six-bay Marantette Furniture building; the three Late Victorian stone-trimmed brick buildings at 4313-27 W. Vernor and the Late Victorian brick building at 5426-28 W. Vernor.