Lower Woodward Avenue Historic District

The Lower Woodward Avenue Historic District, also known as Merchant's Row, is a mixed-use retail, commercial, and residential district in downtown Detroit, Michigan, located between Campus Martius Park and Grand Circus Park Historic District at 1201 through 1449 Woodward Avenue (two blocks between State Street to Clifford Street) and 1400 through 1456 Woodward Avenue (one block between Grand River Avenue and Clifford Street). The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.HistoryThe Lower Woodward Avenue Historic District contains thirty-four commercial buildings built at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, many by noted architects. By the 1920s, this area of the city was one of the most active shopping districts in the nation; in 1925, the State and Woodward interseation was the most active pedestrian crossing corner in the U.S.Many famous and historic Detroit businesses either began or had flagship stores in or near the district, including Vernors, Sanders Confectionery, Winkelman's, S.S. Kresge Co., F. W. Woolworth Company, and Hudson's. New retail has emerged in the district. In 2011, the Forbes Company which owns the upscale Somerset Collection mall in the suburb of Troy debuted a group of seasonal pop-up mini-shops called Somerset Collection CityLoft on Merchant's Row as part of 'Downtown Detroit Days', generally open the last Thursday through Saturday of the month from June through August, and occasionally September. Michigan-based outdoor outfitter Moosejaw has opened a Detroit location along Merchant's Row at 1275 Woodward Avenue. The Elliott Building located at 1403 Woodward Ave. began re-development in July 2016 and is expected to complete in early 2017.