[1] The area where this district is now located was originally settled by Detroit's wealthier citizens in the 1880s, seeking suburban homes near Woodward Avenue and well out of downtown.

Although the purchase was apparently a case of mistaken racial identity, it set a precedent, and more African-Americans began moving and establishing businesses in the area.

At the same time, more clubs opened in the Sugar Hill district, some Jewish-owned, but an increasing number owned by African-Americans.

[2] The Sugar Hill jazz district flourished into the 1960s, and played a major factor in the early careers of Berry Gordy, Al Green, Jackie Wilson, Marvin Gaye, and other young performers who would go on the establish the Motown sound.

However, the targeted urban renewal of the 1960s decimated Paradise Valley, and the expansion of the hospitals in the Detroit Medical Center area caused the demolition of what had been the heart of the entertainment district.

In particular, a number of former clubs were razed to make room for the construction of the John Dingell Detroit Veterans' Administration Hospital in the 1990s.

The district is the largest portion remaining of a flourishing 1940s and 1950s neighborhood which had a large concentration of black-owned or operated jazz venues other commercial enterprises.