Woodbridge Neighborhood Historic District | |
Location | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
---|---|
Coordinates | 42°20′50″N83°4′42″W / 42.34722°N 83.07833°W Coordinates: 42°20′50″N83°4′42″W / 42.34722°N 83.07833°W |
Architectural style | Second Empire, Queen Anne, Romanesque |
NRHP reference No. | 80001931, 97001480 (boundary increase I), 08000225 (boundary increase II) [1] |
Added to NRHP | March 6, 1980, December 1, 1997 (boundary increase I), March 20, 2008 (boundary increase II) |
Woodbridge is a historic neighborhood of primarily Victorian homes located in Detroit, Michigan. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, with later boundary increases in 1997 and 2008. [1] In addition to its historic value, Woodbridge is also notable for being an intact neighborhood of turn-of-the-century homes within walking or biking distance of Detroit's Downtown, Midtown, New Center, and Corktown neighborhoods.
The district as recognized by the National Register of Historic Places was originally bounded by Trumbull Street, Calumet Street, Gibson Street, Grand River Avenue, Rosa Parks Boulevard, West Warren Avenue, Wabash Street, Railroad Tracks, and the Edsel Ford Freeway. The boundaries of the District were increased twice: in 1997, 4304-14 Trumbull Street (private residences) and 3800 Grand River Avenue were added to the district, and in 2008 the southeast corner of Trumbull Street and Warren Avenue (Saint Dominic Roman Catholic Church) was added.
Most structures in the district are located on north–south streets. The irregularly-shaped district includes structure at 3800 Grand River Avenue (between Avery Street and Commonwealth Street), and structures within the following boundaries:
Woodbridge is an intact neighborhood of architecturally significant buildings and has had an important effect on the history of Detroit. The neighborhood, dating to the Victorian era, has largely escaped the redevelopment efforts that have obliterated many of Detroit's other historic areas. It is named for William Woodbridge, governor of Michigan in 1840–1, who owned a large farm on which much of the neighborhood was subsequently built. [2]
Most of the structures within the neighborhood were built after 1870, beginning with modest cottages. Larger structures were built later, including the James Scripps house (now demolished and turned into a city park), built in 1879. The Eighth Precinct Police Station, built in 1901, was architecturally designed to blend in with the lavish upper-class homes in the neighborhood. [2] As the automotive industry boomed, there was an increased demand for housing in the city of Detroit, and new buildings and apartment houses were constructed behind and between the existing homes in the neighborhood. During World War II, owners rented rooms and divided homes into apartments to house defense industry workers. [2]
After the war, residents began leaving the Woodbridge neighborhood for the suburbs. New residents to Woodbridge were less affluent. In the 1960s, the city cleared areas adjacent to the neighborhood to support revitalization. [2] The residents of Woodbridge organized a Citizen's District Council to preserve the neighborhood, and successfully managed to stabilize and preserve many of the remaining homes. Recent activity has shifted perception of Woodbridge from that of an up-and-coming neighborhood to a hotbed of urban revitalization, with the few properties that come up for sale typically subject to bidding wars. [2] [3]
Notable structures within the Woodbridge neighborhood include:
Detroit Public Schools operates public schools. Frederick Douglass Academy for Young Men is located in Woodbridge. [7]
Previous residents included:
Black Bottom was a predominantly black neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The term has sometimes been used to apply to the entire neighborhood including Paradise Valley, but many consider the two neighborhoods to be separate. Together, Black Bottom and Paradise Valley were bounded by Brush Street to the west, the Grand Trunk railroad tracks to the east, south to the Detroit River, and bisected by Gratiot Avenue. The area north of Grand Boulevard was defined as Paradise Valley.
Corktown is a neighborhood located in Detroit, Michigan. It is the oldest extant neighborhood in the city. The current boundaries of the district include I-75 to the north, the Lodge Freeway to the east, Bagley and Porter streets to the south, and Rosa Parks Boulevard to the west. The neighborhood was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Greektown is a commercial and entertainment district in Detroit, Michigan, located just northeast of the heart of downtown, along Monroe Avenue between Brush and St. Antoine streets. It has a station by that name on the city's elevated downtown transit system known as the Detroit People Mover. Greektown is situated between the Renaissance Center, Comerica Park, and Ford Field.
Midtown Detroit is an commercial and residential district located along the east and west side of Woodward Avenue, north of Downtown Detroit, and south of the New Center area. The area includes several historic districts. In addition, it contains a residential area of some 14,550 people and covers 2.09 sq mi. The community area of neighborhoods is bounded by the Chrysler Freeway (I-75) on the east, the Lodge Freeway (M-10) on the west, the Edsel Ford Freeway (I-94) on the north, and the Fisher Freeway (I-75) on the south.
The Cass Corridor is the name of the neighborhoods on the west end of Midtown Detroit. It includes the Cass Park Historic District, the Cass-Davenport Historic District and Old Chinatown. The corridor's main street, Cass Avenue, runs parallel with M-1, a main Detroit artery running north toward New Center. Though Cass runs from Congress Street, ending a few miles farther north at West Grand Boulevard, the Cass Corridor generally is defined as between Interstate 75 (I-75) at its southern end and Interstate 94 (I-94) to the north, and stretches from Woodward to the east and to the west: John C. Lodge north of Temple, and Grand River Avenue south of Temple.
New Center is a commercial and residential district located in Detroit, Michigan, adjacent to Midtown, one mile (1.6 km) north of the Cultural Center, and approximately three miles (5 km) north of Downtown. The area is centered just west of the intersection of Woodward Avenue and Grand Boulevard, and is bounded by, and includes the Virginia Park Historic District on the north, the Edsel Ford Freeway (I-94) on the south, John R Street on the east and the Lodge Freeway on the west. New Center, and the surrounding areas north of I-94, are sometimes seen as coterminous with the North End, while in fact separate districts.
Washington Boulevard Historic District is a multi-block area of downtown Detroit, Michigan. It consists of structures facing Washington Boulevard between State and Clifford Streets. In 1982, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It includes the Book-Cadillac Hotel, the Book Tower, the Industrial Building, and Detroit City Apartments among other architecturally significant buildings. Washington Boulevard is one of the city's main boulevards and part of Augustus Woodward's 1807-design for the city. Because Woodward's plan was never completed, the boulevard contains a sharp curve south of Michigan Avenue where it was connected to an existing street.
The Arden Park–East Boston Historic District is a neighborhood located in Detroit, Michigan, bounded on the west by Woodward Avenue, on the north by East Boston Boulevard, on the east by Oakland Avenue, and on the south by Arden Park Boulevard. The area is immediately adjacent to the much larger and better-known Boston-Edison Historic District, which is on the west side of Woodward Avenue, and also close to the Atkinson Avenue which is just south of Boston-Edison. There are 92 homes in the district, all on East Boston or Arden Park Boulevards. Arden Park Boulevard and East Boston Boulevard feature prominent grassy medians with richly planted trees and flowers. The setbacks of the homes are deep, with oversized lots. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The Boston–Edison Historic District is a neighborhood located in Detroit, Michigan. It consists of over 900 homes built on four east/west streets: West Boston Boulevard, Chicago Boulevard, Longfellow Avenue, and Edison Avenue, stretching from Woodward Avenue on the east to Linwood Avenue on the west. It is one of the largest residential historic districts in the nation. It is surrounded by Sacred Heart Major Seminary to the west, the Arden Park-East Boston Historic District and the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament to the east, and the Atkinson Avenue Historic District to the south. The district was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1973 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
The Virginia Park Historic District is located on the north side of New Center, an area in Detroit, Michigan, along both sides of Virginia Park Street from Woodward Avenue to the John C. Lodge Freeway access road. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Detroit, Michigan.
The Hunter House is located at 3985 Trumbull Avenue in the Woodbridge Neighborhood Historic District of Detroit, Michigan. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1974. It was previously operated as the Woodbridge Star, a bed and breakfast.
The East Grand Boulevard Historic District is a historic district located along East Grand Boulevard between East Jefferson Avenue and Mack Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
The University–Cultural Center MRA is a pair of multiple property submissions to the National Register of Historic Places which were approved on April 29 and May 1, 1986. The structures included are all located in Midtown, near Woodward Avenue and Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. The two submissions are designated the University–Cultural Center MRA Phase I, containing five properties, and the University–Cultural Center MRA Phase II, containing three properties.
The Cass Farm MPS is a US multiple property submission to the National Register of Historic Places which was approved on December 1, 1997. The structures included are all located in Midtown, in the Cass Farm area in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Cass Farm area is defined as occupying the space between Woodward Avenue on the east, the Lodge Freeway on the west, Warren Avenue on the north, and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on the south.
The former Eighth Precinct Police Station is a building located at 4150 Grand River Avenue in the Woodbridge Historic District of Detroit, Michigan. It is the second-oldest police building in Detroit, and was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1973 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The building now houses the Detroit Castle Lofts.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Downtown and Midtown Detroit, Michigan. It is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Downtown and Midtown neighborhoods in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Latitude and longitude coordinates are provided for many National Register properties and districts; these locations may be seen together in online maps.
George DeWitt Mason was an American architect who practiced in Detroit, Michigan, in the latter part of the 19th and early decades of the 20th centuries.
The New Center Commercial Historic District is a commercial historic district located on Woodward Avenue between Baltimore Street and Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.