The Black River Falls Commercial Historic District represents the development of a concentrated commercial area from the 1860s to the 1960s. Much of construction within the district took place during a long period of economic development and expansion common for cities across Wisconsin. However, this development was arrested by a disastrous flood in 1911 that destroyed much of the city and nearly all of its commercial core. The city was then rebuilt, with many of the historic commercial properties along Main Street completed in the decade following the flood. The commercial buildings along Main Street created a series of contiguous blocks of masonry buildings fronting the street and produced a recognizable and dense historic streetscape that marks the area as the commercial center of the city, which served the wider region as a service and shopping destination in Jackson County.
The district is also significant for its collection of commercial buildings and represents a wide range of design influences though many buildings possess a similar basic form. Many of these buildings reflect this basic form in a utilitarian manner while others have stylistic characteristics that identify them as being an example of an architectural style. The district has a large concentration of architecturally significant commercial buildings reflecting the continuity of architectural design trends through the mid-1960s. Overall, the district is largely intact and recognizable from is historic period and retains integrity to convey its architectural and commercial history, and this collection of buildings is identifiable as the commercial center of Black River Falls.