Grosse Pointe Michigan

Before Grosse Pointe was divided into several cities, the terms “Grosse Pointe” or simply “The Pointes” refer to the entire area of five individual communities. They consist of 10.4 miles within the borders of St. Clair Shore on the north, Lake St. Clair on the east and south, Harper Woods on the West and Detroit on the south.

Derived from the French word “grosse” refers to a blunt point which usually is used for anything that lies between grand and grasse. When people call the area as Grasse Point, its territory remains boundless or are unknown, they commonly use the term to describe a certain part of the area. As the name became more common, the Americans adopted it in 1796 referring to the broad flat point starting at the Windmill Point lighthouse.

Today, Grosse Point is a suburb in the Metro Detroit famous for its many historic estates and neighborhoods. Dubbed as “The Village”, its downtown crosses Kercheval Avenue starting from Neff to Cadieux and serves as the main business district for all Grosse Pointes.

Early settlers describe Grosse Pointe as swampy, a common description of land surveyors for almost all parts in Detroit. Residents established Grosse Pointe primarily as farming and hunting community, where men are tasked to do the hunting and women left to do most of the farming chores. Back then, all farms built their own water frontage as water is the most important necessity for drinking, farming and transportation. Stretching back at least a mile, it may seem that houses were all on the water.

It soon ended when clearings on the waterfront were dedicated mainly to orchards. Around the 1880s, Grosse Pointe was famous for its orchards. A federal visiting the community in 1826 describe Grosse Point to have a very beautiful and scenic view of the lake. But during the height of the lumber industry from 1850s to 1900s, lumber men cleared most of the woods surrounding the community while wealthy businessmen bought most of the lakefront houses.

For decades, Grosse Point soon developed into Detroit’s summer houses and resorts having a number of elegant French names. Upon the constructions of highways and the boom of automobiles, Grosse Point soon became a rapidly growing suburb. Today, Grosse Point houses thousands of people featuring well established schools, lakefronts, clubs, and many other wooded shores.

Court Houses

Grosse Pointe Woods Court Clrk
20025 Mack Plaza Dr, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236, USA

Police Department

Grosse Pointe Police Department
17145 Maumee Ave, Grosse Pointe, MI 48230, USA

Famous Attractions

Grosse Pointe Shores Park
800 Lake Shore Rd, Grosse Pointe Shores, MI 48236, USA

Hamtramck Disneyland
12087 Klinger Street,, View From Alley of Commor, Hamtramck, MI 48212, USA

Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory

900 Inselruhe Ave, Detroit, MI 48207, USA

Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History

315 E Warren Ave, Detroit, MI 48201, USA

Belle Isle Aquarium
3, Inselruhe Ave, Detroit, MI 48207, USA

Edsel & Eleanor Ford House
1100 Lake Shore Rd, Grosse Pointe Shores, MI 48236, USA

Motown Museum
2648 W Grand Blvd, Detroit, MI 48208, USA

Fair Lane, Home of Clara and Henry Ford
1 Fair Ln Dr, Dearborn, MI 48128, USA