[2] In the mid 19th century, Menominee's location on the shore of Lake Michigan and within a heavily forested district facilitated the growth of both shipping and lumber industries in the area.

By the early 1900s, the growth of the mining industry brought a new wave of industrialists, who employed architects from Chicago to design elaborate public buildings in the area.

[2] The First Street Historic District contains over 40 commercial buildings and civic structures, as well as several private houses, spread over a 29 acres (12 ha) area.

Many of the commercial blocks are of a vernacular Midwestern design, constructed of local red sandstone.

Some are Romanesque Revival structures of locally made bricks, and several have elaborate classical or Beaux-Arts facades.