[3][4] The early buildings on the block were constructed in Victorian commercial style, designed by architects such as Sheldon and Mortimer Smith during the mid-to-late 19th century.

[6] The Monroe buildings were occupied by numerous short-term tenants through the years, including grocers, confectioners, and saloons.

[7] The Detroit Opera House, then located on the north side of the Campus across Monroe Avenue from the buildings in this district,[8] anchored the area, and, in 1901, the Wonderland vaudeville theatre moved next door.

[7] In the 1920s, the Detroit cinema hub centered around Grand Circus Park, with nearby Monroe Avenue receiving less attention.

In early 1990,[2] most of the aging structures were cleared away, leaving only the National Theater as a reminder of the history of the area.

[3] The buildings[2] that once stood in this site were a mix of pre- and post-Civil War architecture, along with a group of movie theaters from the early 20th century.

[12] The Follies section of the building (including four of the seven bay Williams Block) was demolished soon thereafter, leaving only the three westernmost commercial and retail spaces.

[12] Belt courses were located above and below windows, and additional decoration consisted of bas relief carvings and cast iron entablatures.

By 1940, the restaurant had been replaced again with retail space, which remained in the building until the city of Detroit vacated the property in 1978.

[8] Brick was used decoratively on the façade, and cast iron crowns over the windows and column capitals accented the elevation.

[8] The Columbia Theater was built in 1911 for John H. Kunsky, and designed by C. Howard Crane to seat over 1000 people.

[15] Windows in all buildings were rectangular in shape with cast iron lintels featuring a scroll and urn motif.

[17] The next year, John H. Kunsky opened the first true movie house in Detroit, the Casino Theater, two doors away at 70-72 Monroe.

[17] Kunsky's Casino Theater, however, closed in 1915; later tenants in the space at 70-72 Monroe included the Famous Barrel Bar and Father and Son Shoes.

[16] The building at 66-68 Monroe housed an umbrella factory from 1888 to 1912, then a pawnbroker, shoe repair shop, men's clothiers, and a bookstore.

[2] The building was originally virtually identical to the structure next door at 70-72 Monroe, including the cast iron lintels featuring an urn and scroll.

[9] This facade originally had a thick cornice supported by scrolled brackets, and a decorative arch above the entrance.

[9] However, in 1922 after the closure of the Royal, the second story was extended all the way forward to the Monroe facade, adding windows along the Farmer elevation.

For most of the life of the building, until it was vacated in the 1970s, ground-floor tenants included a lunch room and a clothing or shoe store.

[20] However, the front facade was reworked in 1923, with the addition of white brick facing and alteration of the windows to large plates of glass.

[21] The front façade of the National was dominated by an enormous arch flanked with twin towers and covered with white and blue terra cotta tiles.

[21] The National Theater was an outstanding example of Modernistic design, boasting a pair of terra cotta latticework towers, arched art glass windows, and colored Pewabic tiles on the façade.

Its historic facade was dismantled and is being preserved for reuse in that development, while the rest of Kahn's only surviving theater was destroyed.