Grosse Pointe

Grosse Pointe (grōs point), name referring to five residential suburbs of Detroit, Wayne co., SE Mich. They include the city of Grosse Pointe (1990 pop. 5,681), inc. 1879; Grosse Pointe Farms, city (1990 pop. 10,092), inc. 1893, on Lake St. Clair; Grosse Pointe Park, city (1990 pop. 12,857), inc. 1907, on Lake St. Clair; Grosse Pointe Shores, village (1990 pop. 2,955), inc. 1911; and Grosse Pointe Woods, city (1990 pop. 17,715), inc. 1927. The area was originally settled, and called Grosse Pointe Park, by the French along the lake shore c.1712. Farms clustered there became organized as Grosse Pointe township c.1846. As the nearby city of Detroit boomed with the auto industry, many wealthy industrialists established large estates in the outlying area. Henry Ford's family, including his son Edsel, built their homes there. Of interest in the Grosse Pointe area are the mansion of Russell A. Alger, now a war memorial center, and a branch of the Detroit Institute of Arts.