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The City of Grosse Pointe, Michigan is an inner suburb of the Detroit Metro Region. One of five Grosse Pointe communities in Wayne County, the city shares a border with Grosse Pointe Park, Grosse Pointe Farms, and Detroit, with a shoreline on Lake Saint Clair to the southeast.

Mack Avenue serves as the northwestern boundary to the city, with Fisher Road in the northeast, Cadieux Road in the southwest, and the lake in the southeast. No major highways pass through the city, but I-94 is about one mile north of the city. The main access roads into and out of the city are Mack Avenue, Jefferson Avenue, and Cadieux Road.

Besides those that border on Grosse Pointe, cities and villages within twenty miles of the city include Grosse Pointe Woods, Harper Woods, Grosse Pointe Shores, Eastpointe, Saint Clair Shores, Hamtramck, Roseville, Center Line, Fraser, Highland Park, Warren, Mount Clemens, Dearborn, Hazel Park, Sterling Heights, Ferndale, and Pleasant Ridge.

Major development in the city occurred between 1900 and 1940, after which growth continued until 1970, although at a much slower pace. Because the city is fully developed, most of its single-family homes were built in the 1920s and 1930s, and some are older. Due in large part to smaller family sizes, the population of Grosse Pointe has declined slightly each decade since 1970, when its peak population was 6,637.

Known as The Village, the largest concentration of commercial development is along Kercheval Avenue, between Cadieux Road and Neff Road, although there are other business pockets within the city. Most Grosse Pointe residents commute to work. Public school students in Grosse Pointe attend campuses of Grosse Pointe Public School District, although Marie Elementary School, on Cadieux Road, is the only school located within the boundaries of the city.

The early history of the current city of Grosse Pointe can be confusing because there weren't five separate Grosse Pointe communities in the beginning, and because many of the histories combine the five communities. Grosse Pointe referred to the larger region, and was known by that name long before the Americans took over in 1796. The Grosse Pointe area was settled by the French in the early 1700s.

Michigan became a state in 1837, and Grosse Pointe Township was organized in 1846. The first Grosse Pointe post office was established on November 3, 1870, with Joseph Yates as postmaster, but this was prior to the village being set off as a separate entity.

The Village of Grosse Pointe was the first municipality within the township when it was incorporated in 1880, although at that time it included Grosse Pointe Farms, which separated in 1893 over an issue regarding the opening of a tavern. A post office was established in the village on May 28, 1888, with Matthias Lodewyk as postmaster. As the original township post office was still in operation under the name of Grosse Pointe, the post office in the village was named Cottage Grove.

Grosse Pointe became a city in 1934.

The southern Pointes, Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Farms, and Grosse Pointe Park, are older and more densely populated than the northern Pointes (Grosse Pointe Woods and Grosse Pointe Shores).

Although separate entities, it isn't uncommon for the five Grosse Pointe communities to be referred to collectively as Grosse Pointe, or at The Pointes. Besides their shared history, the cities are interdependent in many ways. For example, The Village commercial area in Grosse Pointe serves as a central business district for the larger Grosse Pointes community. Headquartered in Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Public Schools serves all five communities, with most of its campuses in Grosse Pointe Woods, and additional campuses in Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Park, and Grosse Pointe.

The focus of this category is on the City of Grosse Pointe, and appropriate topics include online resources representing the city itself, and any individuals, businesses, industries, schools, places of worship, organizations, attractions, events, and recreational or sports programs or facilities.

 

 

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