GROSSE POINTE

'Grosse Pointe' refers to an area of Metro Detroit, Michigan, United States that comprises five adjacent individual communities. From southwest to northeast, they are:

★ Grosse Pointe Park, city

★ Grosse Pointe, city

★ Grosse Pointe Farms, city

★ Grosse Pointe Shores, village (which consists of two townships, Grosse Pointe Township in Wayne County and Lake Township in Macomb County).

★ Grosse Pointe Woods, city
The term "Grosse Pointe" is ordinarily used to refer to the entire area, referencing all five individual cities, with a total population of about 50,000. The Grosse Pointes altogether are about twelve square miles, bordered by Detroit on the north 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 of some portions. The cities are in eastern Wayne County. Essentially all of the Grosse Pointe population is south of the famed Eight Mile Road, and as few as 6 or as many as 14 miles east and north of downtown Detroit.
Grosse Pointe is one of the affluent suburban areas in Metro Detroit, which shares a border with less affluent historic northeast Detroit neighborhoods. Grosse Pointe has many famous estates. The Russell Alger, Jr., House, at 32 Lake Shore Dr., serves as the Grosse Pointe War Memorial and is open for public tours. The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House, at 1100 Lake Shore Drive, is also open for public tours. On the coast of Lake St. Clair, the area has a waterfront allure. Downtown Grosse Pointe, along Kercheval Avenue from Neff to Cadieux, nicknamed "The Village," is considered by many to be the central downtown for all five of the Grosse Pointes, although each of them (except Grosse Pointe Shores) has several blocks of retail. Downtown Detroit is just under 8 miles west of this downtown area, accessed by Jefferson Avenue, or several other cross-streets.
The Grosse Pointes have been a settled area since the late 18th century, but most of their development came early in the 20th century. The slender area along Lake St. Clair is often divided on a north-south basis, basically coinciding with the boundaries of the two high schools. The southern areas (basically south and east of Moross Road) feature housing and retail districts that are generally older and more densely organized than those in the north.

Contents

Infrastructure

History

Grosse Pointe in popular culture

Partial list of historic estates and famous residents

Noted architects and firms with work in Grosse Pointe

See also

Further reading

External links

Infrastructure

Newspapers and community organizations generally serve all five cities, as do the public library and school system, but municipal services are separate. ''The Grosse Pointe News'', on a weekly basis, and the ''Grosse Pointe Times'', on a semi-weekly basis, publish local news, though the ''Detroit Free Press'' and ''The Detroit News'' provide the majority of regional, national and international news.
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's television program ''Dream Drives''.
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.
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. "The Village", a four-block strip of Kercheval Avenue in Grosse Pointe, is a larger and more retail-focused shopping district. The Village is seeing major investment from private developers, as areas once used for surface parking are being developed into new mixed-use buildings (more information at the Grosse Pointe page). Near its "Cabbage Patch" flat 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 Ave.

History

'Early History'
The Grosse Pointes were first settled by French farmers in the 1750s after hostilities between Native American tribes and the French occupiers of Fort Pontchartrain. Members of the British empire began arriving around the time of the Revolutionary War. In the 1800s Grosse Pointe continued to be the site of lakefront ribbon farms. Beginning in the 1850s, wealthy residents of Detroit began building second homes in the Grosse Pointe area, and soon afterwards, hunting, fishing, and golf clubs appeared. Some permanent mansions were built in the late 1800s, and with the dawn of the automobile after 1900, Grosse Pointe became a commuter suburb in addition to a playground for wealthy Detroiters. Most of the southern and western areas of Grosse Pointe were filled with permanent single family homes by 1930, with remaining gaps and the northern sections such as Grosse Pointe Woods developing between the Great Depression and the 1960s.
'Grosse Pointe in the modern era'
A passenger rail line that connected Detroit to Mt. Clemens along the shore was operational by the late 1890s, making Grosse Pointe more accessible to day-trippers from the city. As the automobile became the primary method of transportation, the shore road was improved, the rail line was decommissioned, and the lakefront itself was largely contained by concrete. The lakeside estates already accessible from Jefferson Avenue in the Park and City did not fall victim to the need for a dedicated shore transportation route, and continued to extend to the lakefront.
During the first 70 years of the 20th Century, Grosse Pointe was recognized as a notable Midwestern suburb; the wealth of a booming Detroit, recreational activities afforded by the Great Lakes waterway, an international border with Canada, and a focus on quality of education contributed to the successful development of the region.
The Great Depression, however, brought changes. The institution of higher income taxes on the very wealthy, as well as the cost of estate upkeep, resulted in the closing of many large homes, usually with a sale to developers. When sold, the large estate houses were typically demolished and the land divided to accommodate several smaller, more modern, residences. Even as the process of subdivision of estates took place, Grosse Pointe continued to grow and flourish with the steady construction of more modest homes off the lake. The region is now completely developed, and construction of modern homes generally necessitates the demolition of older properties.
Many members of the Ford family, including Edsel Ford (son of Henry Ford) and his wife, Eleanor Clay Ford, as well as Henry Ford II (grandson of Henry Ford), have held homes in Grosse Pointe.
Indicative of the lifestyle historically associated with Grosse Pointe, the region is home to many private clubs. The Country Club of Detroit in Grosse Pointe Farms features a notable classic course, tennis, and traditional amenities. The Grosse Pointe Yacht Club, at the intersection Eight Mile Road (which is named Vernier Rd. as it runs through Grosse Pointe Woods and Grosse Pointe Shores) and Lakeshore Dr. 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 the 19th century when Grosse Pointe was a cottage-town.

Grosse Pointe in popular culture

Grosse Pointe has been frequently referenced in television, film and literature, often as an icon of wealth and luxury. Grosse Pointe is known for a very preppy lifestyle, including dress, auto, and homes. Lacoste, Vinyard Vines and Lilly Pulitzer are extremely popular in the area.
The Grosse Pointe area is the setting of two novels by writer Jeffrey Eugenides: ''The Virgin Suicides'', which is satirical of his high school, University Liggett School, and ''Middlesex''. Grosse Pointe was also featured in Lisa Birnbach's ''Official Preppy Handbook'' for its preppy qualities. Included were references to a stereotypical way of speech, the "Grosse Pointe Monotone," and a guide to private clubs and restaurants in the area. A novel, ''Grosse Pointe Girl'', was written by Grosse Pointe native Sarah Grace McCandless.
The 1997 film ''Grosse Pointe Blank'' is set almost entirely in Grosse Pointe but was filmed in Chicago and Monrovia, California. The film stars Minnie Driver, Joan Cusack, John Cusack, and Dan Aykroyd. The opening drive sequence was the only scene filmed on location, along Lakeshore Drive. This same road was featured in Michael Moore's 1989 film ''Roger & Me''.
A number of television programs make reference to the region, most notably ''Grosse Pointe'' starring Lindsay Sloane, Bonnie Somerville, and Nat Faxon. It aired on The WB Television Network in 2000 and 2001. In the television series ''Northern Exposure'', pilot Maggie McConnell was a native Grosse Pointer who had moved to Alaska. In the Nickelodeon program ''Hey Dude'', the character of Brad was from Grosse Pointe.

Partial list of historic estates and famous residents

★ Russell Alger Jr., 32 Lake Shore Drive. Grosse Pointe War Memorial. Public tours.

★ Standish Backus, Burroughs Adding Machine President.

★ Joseph Berry, founder of Berry Varnish and Paint. Created the first Grosse Pointe year-round, lakeside residence in 1882.

★ Ralph Harmon Booth, 315 Washington Road. President of Booth Newspapers, served as U.S. Minister to Denmark, Detroit Institute of Arts Philanthropist, brother of George G. Booth.

★ Roy D. Chapin, 457 Lake Shore Drive, Hudson Motor Car executive, served as United States Secretary of Commerce.

★ Emory W. Clark, 635 Lake Shore Drive.

★ Henry Tiffany Cole, 394 Lakeland.

★ Charles A. Dean, 221 Lewiston.

★ John M. Dwyer 370 Lakeland.

★ Delphine Dodge

★ Anna Dodge, 12 Lake Shore. Rose Terrace Mansion was demolished in 1976.

★ Horace Dodge, automotive pioneer.

★ Berrien E. Eaton, 1018 Bishop, President of Rainbow Color & Paint Company.

★ C. Goodlee Edgar, 880 Lake Shore Drive.

★ Jeffrey Eugenides, Pulitzer Prize winning novelist.

★ Edward Steptoe Evans, President of Detroit Aircraft and holder of 1926 around-the-world record of 28 days, 14 hours.

★ W. Hawkins Ferry, 874 Lake Shore Drive.

★ Edsel Ford and Eleanor Clay Ford, 1100 Lake Shore Drive, son of Henry Ford. Public tours.

★ Henry Ford II, grandson of Henry Ford.

★ Josephine Ford, granddaughter of Henry Ford.

★ William Clay Ford, grandson of Henry Ford.

★ William Clay Ford, Jr. great grandson of Henry Ford.

★ Alexander Grant, 18th century British Great Lakes Naval Commander

★ Henry B. Joy, President of Packard Motor Car company.

★ William Kessler, Architect.

★ The Lardner family (Lardner elevator company, Detroit Elevator Company)

★ George Lothrop, lawyer, Attorney General of Michigan, and later U.S. Ambassador to Russia

★ Alvan Macauley, 735 Lake Shore Drive. Packard Motor Company executive.

★ Sidney Trowbridge Miller Jr., 248 Provencal. Attorney, son of Sidney Davis Miller, founder of Miller Canfield, Detroit's largest law Firm.

★ Roger Penske, founder of Penske Automotive Group.

★ Gilbert B. Pingree, 270 Voltaire Place.

★ William B. Stratton and Mary Stratton, 938 Three Mile Drive. Founded Pewabic Pottery Company.

★ Charles M. Swift, 17840 Jefferson Avenue.

Noted architects and firms with work in Grosse Pointe

★ Albert Kahn

★ Charles A. Platt

★ Robert O. Derrick

★ Louis Kamper

★ William Buck Stratton

★ Wallace Frost

★ Leonard Willeke

★ John M. Donaldson

★ George D. Mason

★ August Gieger

★ William Kessler

★ Hugh T. Keyes

★ Marcus Burrows

★ Crombie & Stanton

★ Chittendon and Kotting

★ Field, Hinchman, and Smith

★ Eliel and Eero Saarinen

★ Minoru Yamasaki

★ Marcel Breuer

See also

★ Edsel Ford

★ Grosse Pointe Yacht Club

★ Lake Saint Clair (North America)

Further reading

★

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 Pointe War Memorial (Russell Alger Mansion)