A block of businesses in Mount Rainier’s historic downtown will get a major makeover this fall.

Buildings built on the eastern side of Rhode Island Avenue in the 1920s and ’30s stretching from Eastern Avenue on the border with D.C. to the roundabout will be renovated through a city-run program.

The businesses include Potomac Fish House, Ny & Co. salon, Aladdin Sizzler and the popular Pan Lourdes Bakery.

Originally meant to serve the regular crowd of passengers getting off at the streetcar station at the roundabout, the buildings were all designed with flat-fronts and big first-floor show windows. Several have second-story apartments.

The most architecturally interesting is the police department at 3249 Rhode Island Ave., the former site of an auto dealer and repair shop.

Built in 1940, the building includes crenellations on its rooftop, which along with a gray brick pattern gives it the look of a tiny castle. If you look closely you can see the word “Superior” spelled out in the bricks.

The city is working with the Neighborhood Design Center, a nonprofit that helps with community design, and contractor J.D. Clark Professional Services on the facade improvements. The funding comes from two federal grants through the city’s Facade Improvement Program.

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