The Morris Avenue/First Avenue North Historic District is architecturally significant as a warehouse and wholesale district of large utilitarian structures that clearly express their function with large open spaces, orientation to transportation, and restrained architectural ornamentation reflecting the evolution of taste from the 19th into early 20th century. Developing in two stages, the initial phase began immediately parallel northward of the city's lifeline, its rail system. Development here began c. 1885 and continued until c. 1920, with the heaviest construction occurring between 1885 and 1910. Construction of these generally larger warehouses continued until c. 1930 and included similar business interests.