1820s–1920s. N. Macomb St. from E. Elm Ave. to Vine St., and E. Elm Ave. from N. Macomb St. to Lincoln Ave.
For much of its history, E. Elm Avenue has been Monroe's finest residential street. Its upper-class dwellings, the homes of many of the city's most important business and civic leaders, span more than one hundred years. It first developed in the 1820s and 1830s near the Monroe Street bridge over the River Raisin, as scattered houses were constructed along the river road, which is now Elm Avenue. Later, suburban villas were built on the rural landscape north of Elm Avenue. Because of its attractive topography and easy access to downtown, this area was platted into house lots and built up gradually over the succeeding century as an exclusively residential zone.