Woodbridge Historic District

Woodbridge Neighborhood Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Street scene on Avery, looking south from Willis
Location:	Detroit, Michigan United States
Coordinates:	42°20′50″N 83°4′42″W
Architect:	Unknown
Architectural style:	Second Empire, Queen Anne, Romanesque
Governing body:	Local
NRHP Reference#:	80001931, 97001480 (boundary increase I), 08000225 (boundary increase II)
Added to NRHP:	March 6, 1980, December 1, 1997 (boundary increase I), March 20, 2008 (boundary increase II)

The Woodbridge Neighborhood Historic District 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.

Description

West side of Trumbull between Willis and Selden

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 would include structures:

• On the east side of Wabash street, on both sides of Vermont Street, and on both sides of Rosa Parks Boulevard from the Edsel Ford Freeway to Warren Avenue.
• On the west side of Rosa Parks Boulevard from Warren Avenue to Grand River Avenue.
• On both sides of Hecla Street, Avery Street, and Commonwealth Street from the Edsel Ford Freeway to Grand River Avenue.
• On the west side of Trumbull Street from the Edsel Ford Freeway to Canfield Street.
• On the east side of Trumbull Street at the south corner of Warren Avenue.
• On both sides of Trumbull Street from Canfield Street to Grand River Avenue.
• On both sides of Lincoln Street and the west side of Gibson Street from Calumet Street to Grand River Avenue.
• The structure at 3800 Grand River Avenue (between Avery Street and Commonwealth Street).

History

House on Avery

The offices of the Phoenix Group once served as the city's Eighth Precinct Police Station.

Woodbridge is notable as an intact neighborhood of architecturally significant buildings, with an important effect on the history of Detroit. The neighborhood has largely escaped the redevelopment efforts that have obliterated many of Detroit's other historical neighborhoods, and the neighborhood stands as a rare survivor from the Victorian era.

The neighborhood is named for William Woodbridge, governor of Michigan in 1840-41, who owned a large farm on which much of the neighborhood was subsequently built. 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.

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.

Redevelopment

Dick and Sandy Dauch Scout Center, headquarters of the Great Lakes Council, Boy Scouts of America

Hunter House on Trumbull

Trinity Episcopal Church

After the war, residents began leaving the Woodbridge neighborhood for homes in the suburbs. New residents to Woodbridge were less affluent. In the 1960s, the city cleared areas adjacent to the neighborhood to support revitalization. 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 to that of an up-and-coming neighborhood. The Phoenix Group Companies based in the Woodbridge Historic District specializes in revitalization projects.

Dick and Sandy Dauch Scout Center

The Detroit Area Council, later becoming the Great Lakes Council for the Boy Scouts of America which serves the Detroit metropolitan area and covers all of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties chose to build its headquarters in Woodbridge. The facility holds both council and district staff, as well as the National Toyota Scout Shop. Dedicated in September 2003, the service center was largely paid for by the donations of the Dauches; Council Treasurer Irving Rose and his wife, Audrey; and Council Vice President Richard Marsh. The building cost nearly $6 million, including new furnishings, landscaping, and demolition of the old building.

Historic structures

Structures within the Woodbridge neighborhood that are also individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places are:

• Eighth Precinct Police Station
• Northwood - Hunter House
• Trinity Episcopal Church
• Tumbull Avenue Presbyterian Church

External links

• Anthony Agbali, Jason Booza, Jennifer Creighton, Amanda Dudley, Richard Fancy, Lance Greene, Amy Howell, Kevin Johnson, Ken Kelso, Rachel Klamo, Mary Mans, Alexandria Meriano, Elizabeth Pare, Girthia Porchia, Michelle Proctor, Oliver Rue, Tim Scrimger, Joseph White, Shihong Yao, "University City - Woodbridge Historic Area Together: A Community Study of the Woodbridge Historic District", April 23, 2001, paper presented on COMM-ORG: The On-Line Conference on Community Organizing and Development. http://comm-org.wisc.edu/papers.htm.
• Woodbridge Historic District Association