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Building, Port Huron, since 1875

Howard Block

Still standing, photographed 2012

Howard Block, 2012 Photo: Notorious4life, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Opened
1875
Style
Italianate
Standing
151 years

The Howard Block has stood on to 205 Huron Avenue in Port Huron since 1875, 151 years and counting. Who built it, what makes it special and how to see it for yourself.

On the map

What is there now

Standing

We checked building permits, sales, listings and the city's blight and demolition files on October 25, 2026. Nothing new at this address in the last two years.

The story

By Victoria Jackson, Editor in Chief Updated

In 1875, as railroads, lumber and farm money built the region's main streets, the Howard Block opened in Port Huron.

It was built in the Italianate style, and it still reads that way from the sidewalk.

It joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

Next time you are nearby, stop at 201 to 205 Huron Avenue and look up.

The Howard Block, also known as the Central Block, is a commercial building located at 201-205 Huron Avenue in Port Huron, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Timeline

  1. 1875 Built Italianate
  2. 1994 Listed on the National Register March 17, 1994
  3. 2026 Today 151 years and still standing

Where it is

201 to 205 Huron Avenue, Port Huron

On this map

  1. Howard Block This place
  2. Military Road Historic District 180 ft
  3. Seventh Street, Black River Bridge 0.1 mi
  4. Harrington Hotel 0.3 mi
  5. Ladies of the Maccabees Building 0.5 mi
  6. Wilbur F. Davidson House 0.7 mi
  7. Huron (lightship) 0.9 mi

Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors

Around the block

Photo credits

Every photo on this page is used under its license, named here with its author and a link to the original.

  1. Howard Block, 2012 Photo: Notorious4life, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sources

Facts only, gathered from these sources. The story above is written by Rebuild Detroit. Every photo names its author and license where it appears.