It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 5, 1995, for its significance in architecture, art, commerce, community planning, politics, religion, and transportation.

[1] The district encompasses 2-210 and 1-233 Broad St.; 251-339 North Broad Street; 1190-1214 and 1201-1217 East Grand St.; 1125-1169 and 1140-1170 East Jersey Street, and parts of Dickinson Street, Commerce Place, Elizabeth Avenue, and Martin Luther King Plaza.

It has 117 contributing buildings including the Elizabeth Public Library, the Ritz Theatre[3] and the individually listed First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth and Elizabeth station.

[4] Elizabeth is the fourth largest city by population in New Jersey and the seat of Union County.

Located 5 miles south of Newark, Elizabeth has never developed a sizeable skyline, though mid-rises built before and during the Great Depression characterize the Mid-Town Historic District in the core of the city's central business district.