Anchored by Sears and completed by 1957, it was one of the first large-scale strip complexes in the Downriver Detroit suburbs prior to the 1970 opening of Southland Center.

In 1965, Harold Stulberg became the manager of the Lincoln Park Shopping Center and between 1983 and 1995 embarked on a multi-year renovation project, based on customer surveys taken in 1980, which resulted in Dunham's Sports, Pier 1 Imports, Winkelman's ladies apparel, So-Fro Fabrics and Harmony House, the latter displacing a Big Boy restaurant that moved to a separate building along Dix Highway, all opening stores in the center.

This included a major expansion in 1988, which saw the openings of the Jack Loeks Star Theatres Lincoln Park 8 movie theater in May and of F&M Distributors on August 1.

Those that remained at the center, including President Tux, Hallmark Gold Crown, KB Toy Works, GameStop, GNC, Payless Shoe Source and Famous Footwear, would eventually leave as well, either relocating to "The Hill" or to other area locations or due to corporate bankruptcies, especially as the Great Recession began taking tolls both on the retail industry and on property values around the complex.

The Lincoln Park Shopping Center was the site of two failed Walmart Supercenter proposals in 2007[3] and 2012,[4] both of which have resulted in disputes with Sears.

By June 2017, Dollar Tree would relocate to a former Walgreens store a block southeast on Southfield Road, which left Sears as the only tenant of the large-size strip complex.