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Grosse Pointe refers to an affluent coastal area next to
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
, United States, that comprises five adjacent individual cities. From southwest to northeast, they are:
*
Grosse Pointe Park
*
Grosse Pointe
*
Grosse Pointe Farms
*
Grosse Pointe Shores (incorporated in 2009 from the remnants of two townships:
Grosse Pointe Township in
Wayne County and
Lake Township in
Macomb County)
*
Grosse Pointe Woods
The terms "Grosse Pointe" or "the Pointes" are ordinarily used to refer to the entire area, referencing all five individual communities, with a total population of about 46,000. The Grosse Pointes altogether are 10.4 square miles, bordered by
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
on the south and west,
Lake St. Clair on the east and south,
Harper Woods on the west of some portions, and
St. Clair Shores on the north. The cities are in eastern
Wayne County, except for a very small section in
Macomb County. The Pointes begin six miles (10 km) northeast of
downtown Detroit
Downtown Detroit is the central business district and a residential area of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States. Locally, downtown tends to refer to the 1.4 square mile region bordered by M-10 (Lodge Freeway) to the west, Interstate 75 ...
and extend several miles northeastward, in a narrow swath of land, to the edge of
Wayne County. The name "Grosse Pointe" derives from the size of the area, and its projection into Lake St. Clair.
Grosse Pointe is a
suburban area in
Metro Detroit, sharing a border with northeast Detroit's historic neighborhoods. Grosse Pointe has many famous historic estates along with remodeled homes and newer construction. Downtown
Grosse Pointe, along Kercheval Avenue from Neff to Cadieux, nicknamed "The Village," serves as a central business district for all five of the Grosse Pointes, although each of them (except
Grosse Pointe Shores) has several blocks of retail. Downtown
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
is just over seven miles (11 km) west of this downtown area, accessed by Jefferson Avenue, or several other cross-streets.
The north-south area along Lake St. Clair generally coincides with the boundaries of the two high schools. The southern areas (basically south and west of Moross Road) feature retail districts.
History
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Grosse Pointe, recognized for its historic reputation for scenery and landscape, has grown from a colonial outpost and a fertile area for small orchard owners and farmers to a coastal community with prime real estate chosen for grand estates.
The Grosse Pointes were first settled by
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
farmers in the 1750s after the establishment of the French
Fort Pontchartrain. Members of the
British empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading post ...
began arriving around the time of the
Revolutionary War. In the 19th century, Grosse Pointe continued to be the site of lakefront
ribbon farms: long narrow farms that each adjoin the lake, useful for irrigation and early transportation needs. Beginning in the 1850s, wealthy residents of
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
began building second homes in the Grosse Pointe area, and soon afterward,
hunting
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/ tusks, horn/ a ...
,
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques ...
, and
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...
clubs appeared. Some grand estates arose in the late 19th century, and with the dawn of the
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded ...
after 1900, Grosse Pointe became a preferred
suburb for business executives in addition to a retreat for wealthy Detroiters. By the 1930s, most of the southern and western areas of Grosse Pointe contained established neighborhoods, with remaining gaps and the northern sections such as
Grosse Pointe Woods developing after the 1930s.
In 1960, it was revealed that realtors in suburban Grosse Pointe ranked prospective home buyers by using a point system with categories such as race, nationality, occupation, and “degree of swarthiness.” Southern Europeans, Jews, and Poles required higher rankings than Northwestern European people in order to move into the community, while Asians and Blacks were excluded from living in Grosse Pointe altogether. Private detectives were used to investigate potential residents’ backgrounds. The revelation of this practice the state corporation and securities commissioner to issue a regulation to bar the licensing of real estate brokers who discriminated on the basis of race, religion, or national origin. Public hearings brought the national attention to the real estate discrimination situation in Detroit, which resulted in the expansion of open housing activity in the city.
A passenger
rail line that connected
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
to
Mt. Clemens along the shore was operational by the late 1890s, making Grosse Pointe more accessible. As the
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded ...
became the primary method of
transportation
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipel ...
and the rail line was decommissioned, the vista of what became Lake Shore Drive gradually improved. Lakeside estates are accessed from Lake Shore Drive and
Jefferson Avenue.
Over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries, Grosse Pointe has gained a reputation as a notable American suburb; entrepreneurial leadership, recreational activities afforded by the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five la ...
waterway, an international border with
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
, and a focus on quality of
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. ...
contributed to the successful development of the region. The Russell Alger Jr. House, at 32 Lake Shore Dr., serves as the
Grosse Pointe War Memorial
The War Memorial, also known as the Russell A. Alger Jr. House and as the ''Moorings'' was dedicated to the memory of veterans and soldiers of World War II. It is located at 32 Lake Shore Drive in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan.
History
Russell A. ...
community center. Grosse Pointe contains fifteen recognized Michigan historical markers.
Culture and contemporary life
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"The Village", concentrated along Kercheval Avenue in Grosse Pointe, serves as a central business district for the five Pointes with traditional street-side shopping. The Village has its own
Sanders Candy and Dessert Shop, founded by Frederick Sanders Schmidt, who opened a store Detroit in 1875. The Village has become a vibrant district with the emergence of mixed-use developments (more information at the
Grosse Pointe page). Grosse Pointe Farms is home to "The Hill" district, located on a small bluff, which includes offices, stores, restaurants and the main branch of the
public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants.
There are ...
. Near its "Cabbage Patch" district, Grosse Pointe Park has retail and restaurants on multiple cross-streets, as well as a
farmer's market held weekly during the warm months. Grosse Pointe Woods' main business district lies along one of its main roads, Mack Avenue.
The recreational lifestyle historically associated with Grosse Pointe has given rise to many private
clubs. The
Country Club of Detroit in Grosse Pointe Farms features a notable classic course,
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...
, and traditional amenities. The
Grosse Pointe Yacht Club, at the intersection of Vernier Road and Lakeshore Drive on Lake St. Clair, is an acclaimed boating club. The Grosse Pointe Club, also called the "Little Club," is a highly exclusive, historic club on the lakefront, on a site where wealthy Detroiters and Grosse Pointers have gathered for recreation since its organization in 1885, when Grosse Pointe was a cottage-town. The Lochmoor Club is another club in Grosse Pointe which has an expansive golf course and other amenities. The Hunt Club is the equestrian club of Grosse Pointe. It houses an impressive number of horses and stables for the suburban area.
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Many prominent Detroiters, members of the
Ford family, including
Edsel Ford (son of
Henry Ford
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American Technological and industrial history of the United States, industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of ...
) and his wife, Eleanor Clay Ford, as well as
Henry Ford II (grandson of Henry Ford), have chosen to reside in Grosse Pointe. The
Edsel and Eleanor Ford House, at 1100 Lake Shore Drive, is open to the public for guided tours.
Each city has at least one municipal park along Lake St. Clair. The landlocked Grosse Pointe Woods has its park at the southern tip of St. Clair Shores, adjacent to Grosse Pointe Shores. Access to each of these parks is restricted to residents of its municipality, causing occasional controversy among residents of both Grosse Pointe and other neighborhoods in Metro Detroit.
Jefferson Avenue, a major thoroughfare in Detroit, becomes Lakeshore Drive between Grosse Pointe Farms and Grosse Pointe Shores, and is the scenic carriageway of all five Grosse Pointes, after skirting the eastern neighborhoods of Detroit. Lakeshore Drive was featured on
HGTV
HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, ...
's television program ''
Dream Drives
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, alt ...
'' and in the films ''
Grosse Pointe Blank'' and ''Gran Torino''.
The region is home to
University Liggett School, Michigan's oldest
independent school, and two high schools:
Grosse Pointe South High School and
Grosse Pointe North High School, which are the termini of the
Grosse Pointe Public School System
The Grosse Pointe Public School System (GPPSS) is a school district headquartered in Grosse Pointe, Michigan in Metro Detroit.
Schools
High schools:
* Grosse Pointe North High School (Grosse Pointe Woods)
* Grosse Pointe South High Sch ...
.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sport ...
s and community
organizations generally serve all five cities, as do the
public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants.
There are ...
and
school system, but
municipal services are separate. ''
The Grosse Pointe News
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
'', on a weekly basis, and the ''
Grosse Pointe Times
Große or Grosse is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Demetrius Grosse
* Maurice Grosse
* Katharina Grosse
* Ben Grosse
* Hans-Werner Grosse
* Heinz-Josef Große
* Julius Grosse
{{surname
German-language surnames ...
'', on a semi-weekly basis, publish local news, though the ''
Detroit Free Press
The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...
'' and ''
The Detroit News
''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival '' Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the '' Detroit Tribune'' on Febru ...
'' provide the majority of regional, national and international news.
Architecture
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Grosse Pointe has a significant collection of historic architecture as well as some newer mansions.
Albert Kahn designed the
Edsel & Eleanor Ford House (1927) at 1100 Lakeshore Dr. in Grosse Pointe.
[A&E with Richard Guy Wilson, Ph.D.,(2000). America's Castles: The Auto Baron Estates, ''A&E Television Network''.] Rose Terrace (1934–1976), the mansion of Anna Dodge, once stood at 12 Lakeshore Dr. in Grosse Pointe. Designed by
Horace Trumbauer as a
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...
styled
château
A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions.
No ...
, Rose Terrace was an enlarged version of the firm's Miramar in
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New ...
.
[Zacharias, Patricia (June 24, 2000]
Mrs. Dodge and the Regal Rose Terrace
Michigan History, ''The Detroit News''. Retrieved on November 23, 2007. A developer, the highest bidder for Rose Terrace, demolished it in 1976 to create an upscale neighborhood. This gave a renewed sense of urgency to preservationists.
[ The Dodge Collection from Rose Terrace may be viewed at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The ]Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the tra ...
styled Russell A. Alger House (1910), at 32 Lakeshore Dr., by architect Charles A. Platt serves as the Grosse Pointe War Memorial. Many noted architects designed works in Grosse Pointe including Albert Kahn, Marcel Breuer
Marcel Lajos Breuer ( ; 21 May 1902 – 1 July 1981), was a Hungarian-born modernist architect and furniture designer.
At the Bauhaus he designed the Wassily Chair and the Cesca Chair, which ''The New York Times'' have called some of the most ...
, Marcus Burrowes, Chittendon and Kotting, Crombie & Stanton, Wallace Frost, Robert O. Derrick, John M. Donaldson
John M. Donaldson (January 17, 1854 – December 20, 1941) was an American architect and artist born on January 17, 1854, in Stirling, Scotland. Donaldson was principal designer of the successful Detroit-based architectural firm Donaldson and Mei ...
, Louis Kamper, August Geiger, William Kessler, Hugh T. Keyes
Hugh Tallman Keyes (1888 – 1963) was a noted early to mid-20th-century American architect.
He designed grand estates for "the great and the wealthy of the Detroit area" (such as Ford, Fisher, Bugas, Scherer, Stroh, Knudsen, Pingree and indirec ...
, George D. Mason
George DeWitt Mason (July 4, 1856 – June 3, 1948) was an American architect who practiced in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, in the latter part of the 19th and early decades of the 20th centuries.
Biography
George Mason was born in Syracuse, New Yo ...
, Charles A. Platt, Leonard Willeke, Eliel and Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer noted for his wide-ranging array of designs for buildings and monuments. Saarinen is best known for designing the General Motor ...
, Field, Hinchman, and Smith, William Buck Stratton, and Minoru Yamasaki
was an American architect, best known for designing the original World Trade Center in New York City and several other large-scale projects. Yamasaki was one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century. He and fellow architect Edward ...
. Included below are examples of some of Grosse Pointe's many historic structures.
Landmarks
Notable residents
* Gregg Alexander: New Radicals frontman, best known for their single " You Get What You Give"
* Anita Baker: soul singer
* Roy D. Chapin
Roy Dikeman Chapin Sr. (February 23, 1880 – February 16, 1936) was an American industrialist and a co-founder of Hudson Motor Company, the predecessor of American Motors Corporation. He also served as the United States Secretary of Commerce fro ...
: 457 Lake Shore Drive, Hudson Motor Car Company founder, served as United States Secretary of Commerce
The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...
. Architect John R. Pope designed the Georgian style Chapin house, built in 1927. In 1956, Henry Ford's grandson Henry Ford II purchased the home.[
* Andrea Deck: actress
* Anna Thompson Dodge (Mrs. Horace E. Dodge): 12 Lake Shore; Rose Terrace Mansion was demolished in 1976
* ]Horace Dodge
Horace Elgin Dodge Sr. (May 17, 1868 – December 10, 1920) was an American automobile manufacturing pioneer and co-founder of Dodge Brothers Company.
Early years and business
He was born in Niles, Michigan, on May 17, 1868.Burton, Clarence M., ...
: automotive pioneer
* John Francis Dodge: automotive pioneer; 80,000+ sq ft home stood vacant for 20 years following his death
* Jeffrey Eugenides: Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while othe ...
* Prince Fielder: former Detroit Tiger; grew up in Grosse Pointe Park while his father
His or HIS may refer to:
Computing
* Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company
* Honeywell Information Systems
* Hybrid intelligent system
* Microsoft Host Integration Server
Education
* Hangzhou International School, in ...
was playing for the Tigers
* Edsel Ford and Eleanor Clay Ford: 1100 Lake Shore Drive; Edsel was son of Henry Ford
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American Technological and industrial history of the United States, industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of ...
; public tours
* Henry Ford II: 160 Rd.; grandson of Henry Ford[
* Martha Firestone Ford: owner of the ]Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...
; granddaughter of Harvey Samuel Firestone
Harvey Samuel Firestone (December 20, 1868 – February 7, 1938) was an American businessman, and the founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, one of the first global makers of automobile tires.
Family background
Firestone was born o ...
* William Clay Ford: grandson of Henry Ford
* William Clay Ford Jr.: great-grandson of Henry Ford
* Alexander Grant Alexander Grant may refer to:
The arts
* Alex da Kid (Alexander Grant, born 1982), English hip-hop producer
* Alex Grant (musician) (born 1974), bass guitarist for Idlewild and DeSalvo
* Alex Grant (poet), Scottish-American poet, teacher
* Alexa ...
: 18th-century British Great Lakes Naval Commander
* John 5: guitarist and songwriter
* Russell A. Alger: United States Senator, and Secretary of War
* Henry B. Joy: president of Packard Motor Car Company
* Cornelia Groefsema Kennedy: Federal District Court Judge, later appointed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
* Edie Kerouac-Parker: first wife of Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation.
Of French-Canadian anc ...
* Aaron Krickstein (born 1967): tennis player, world # 6
* George Lothrop: Attorney General of Michigan, and later U.S. Ambassador to Russia
* Kirk Maltby: forward for the Detroit Red Wings
* Stephen Murphy III: Federal District Court Judge; United States Attorney in Detroit
* Serge Obolensky: Russian aristocrat, American paratrooper in WWII, and businessman
* Roger Penske: founder of Penske Automotive Group
* Carly Piper: Olympic swimmer; won gold medal in Athens in 2004 for the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay
* J.K. Simmons: Academy Award winning Actor
* Quinn XCII: Singer and songwriter
* Corey Tropp: forward for the Buffalo Sabres
* Ralph Wilson: owner of the Buffalo Bills; long-time Shores resident
* Meg White: member of The White Stripes; born in Grosse Pointe Farms
* G. Mennen Williams: Governor and Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court
* Marianne Williamson: Democratic candidate for President of the United States of America[Archived a]
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
Notes
References and further reading
* A&E with Richard Guy Wilson, Ph.D. (2000). America's Castles: The Auto Baron Estates, ''A&E Television Network''.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Edsel & Eleanor Ford House
Grosse Pointe Historical Society
Grosse Pointe Public School System
University Liggett School
Grosse Pointe Public Library
''Grosse Pointe News''
— weekly newspaper
''Grosse Pointey''
— online news source
Grosse Pointe War Memorial
(Russell Alger mansion)
The Village, Downtown Grosse Pointe
— shopping district
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Coastal resorts in Michigan
Michigan populated places on Lake St. Clair