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In Southwest Detroit, Bagley Street and West Vernor Highway have long been known as the commercial heartbeat of Mexicantown.
Now, thanks to a recent federal designation, the area is also officially known as historic, formally listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as the Bagley-West Vernor Historic District.
Along the strip, longtime business owners are saluting the new national recognition as deserved and long overdue.
“The Bagley and West Vernor area has a rich cultural and entrepreneurial history, especially within the Latinx community,” explained Yadira Lugo, office administrator of Artistic Diseños, a family-owned metal fabrication and ironwork business that has operated in Southwest Detroit for over 50 years.
The designation grew out of a late 2025 nomination by the Detroit City Council Historic Designation Advisory Board and its desire to honor a century’s worth of contributions by Latin Americans in Southwest Detroit.
Lugo said such efforts help strengthen the community. “Recognizing that history helps validate the contributions of generations of families and business owners who helped build and sustain the neighborhood.”
Juanita Franco, owner of the 45-year-old La Gloria Bakery, attended one of the initial designation meetings — as she was surprised and curious about the nomination. “I am excited the area is finally getting recognition,” Franco said.
“I believe the designation will draw more suburban people to the communities, and I hope it will increase business.”
Managed by the National Park Service, the NRHP has designated over 100,000 significant sites across the U.S. In Detroit, the Bagley-West Vernor Historic District joins other local NRHP sites, including Eastern Market, the Boston-Edison Historic District, the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Ossian H. Sweet House.
Kelsey Maas, preservation planner for Detroit’s Historic Designation Advisory Board, worked to secure the Bagley-West Vernor listing. She believes the designation will highlight the historic relevance of the community.
“This formal designation will officially recognize what Detroiters and neighborhood residents have long known: Latinx community members have been in Detroit for a long time and have made significant contributions to the city,” Maas said. “The designation celebrates Latinx histories and will diversify Detroit’s historic record.”
To be eligible for NRHP recognition, a site must meet the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. Some standards include the site being at least 50 years old and having intact historic structures, as well as ongoing activities, residents or developments with historical significance.
The push to have the Bagley district designated historic was aided by an Underrepresented Communities (URC) grant from the National Park Service.
“We needed a Latinx historic context study to help us uplift our stories and our impact,” Detroit City Councilmember Gabriela Santiago-Romero explained. The grant funded a study about the history of the Latin American culture, services and entrepreneurship of Southwest Detroit Latino communities and identified historical sites founded by immigrants. The $50,000 URC grant, awarded in 2021, was the final step in the area’s nomination process.
Nominations can be submitted by governmental agencies, business owners, historical societies, preservation organizations and others. The sites then become a part of the National Register Archives, a public, searchable database, and are eligible for various forms of federal preservation support along with possible state grant opportunities and tax benefits. “These tax credits can be used on expenses of approved projects to rehabilitate contributing buildings within the historic district,” Maas said.
Alfonso Avila Jr. is the owner of the family-owned El Rancho Mexican restaurant on Vernor. He believes the area’s new designation complements the renovated Michigan Central Station and the iconic, 325-year-old Basilica of Sainte Anne de Detroit.
“The designation is a big plus for businesses,” Avila said, “and will bring in more customers, including Canadians, to stimulate the area.”
He also sees the designation as a potential catalyst for other areas in Southwest Detroit gaining recognition, including the adjacent community between Livernois Avenue and Campbell Street.
“The whole area,” Avila said, “is saturated with historic structures worth protecting.”