Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about the incorporated city of Grosse Pointe Park. For the adjacent area, see Grosse Pointe.
| Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | Michigan |
| County | Wayne |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Palmer T Heenan |
| Area | |
| - Total | 3.7 sq mi (9.6 km²) |
| - Land | 2.2 sq mi (5.7 km²) |
| - Water | 1.5 sq mi (3.9 km²) |
| Elevation | 577 ft (176 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Total | 12,443 |
| - Density | 5,772.6/sq mi (2,224.2/km²) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP codes | 48230 |
| Area code(s) | 313 |
| FIPS code | 26-35540[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0627466[2] |
Grosse Pointe Park is an affluent city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 12,443 at the 2000 census. Bordering on Detroit with frontage on southern Lake Saint Clair, it is the westernmost of the noted Grosse Pointe suburbs, with the oldest overall housing stock of the five cities. Grosse Pointe Park is six miles east of downtown Detroit, and thus is home to many who commute to the city on a daily basis.
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[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²). 2.2 square miles (5.6 km²) of it is land and 1.5 square miles (4.0 km²) of it is water (part of Lake St. Clair). The total area is 41.62% water. Grosse Pointe Park has about 3.5 miles of borders with Detroit, with one border between Alter Road and Wayburn to the southwest, and another along Mack Avenue to the northwest; its third border on land is with the City of Grosse Pointe along Cadieux Road to the northeast.
The neighborhoods in Grosse Pointe Park are built on a standard grid street pattern which flows out of Detroit, and housing ranges from tightly-packed single- and multi-family brick houses, often rentals, on the far west side of the Park, to rows of traditionally-styled single family homes generally averaging over 3,000 square feet, to multi-million dollar mansions, some of which are found on the lakeshore. The west side of the city features mixed-use neighborhoods, where retail, schools, and churches are within close walking distance. The rest of the city is basically residential, but at the eastern edge residents are in close walking distance to "the Village" shopping district in Grosse Pointe. Most of the houses in the Park were built prior to World War II, and many of these were designed by noted architects using the finest materials. Windmill Pointe Drive, and streets such as Bishop, Kensington, Edgemont Park, Three Mile Drive, Devonshire, Buckingham, Berkshire, and Balfour, among others, each have dozens of large, architecturally significant homes. These mansions and mini-manses were often placed on large lots, and later many the lots were split up, producing some of the post-war ranch and other modern homes seen on some streets.
Grosse Pointe Park includes a large neighborhood located on Windmill Pointe, a once-swampy piece of land roughly south of Jefferson Avenue, the edge of which marks the entrance to the Detroit River and the end of Lake St. Clair. A large lakefront park with a pool, gym, movie theatre, and gathering spaces for residents is found at this spot. At the bottom of the point, at the foot of Three Mile Drive, is another large park, Patterson Park, which is known for its skating rink and walking trails. One way that people distinguish geography in Grosse Pointe Park is by location north or south of Jefferson Avenue, the south side being generalized as Windmill Pointe.
Grosse Pointe Park, along with Grosse Pointe and Grosse Pointe Farms, is in the Grosse Pointe South High School district. There are two Grosse Pointe Public School System elementary schools in the Park, Defer and Trombly Schools, in addition to one middle school: Pierce Middle School. The eastern Park is also served by Maire Elementary in Grosse Pointe in the Village district. There is one private school in the Park, the K-8 St. Clare of Montefalco Catholic School on Charlevoix and Audubon Streets.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 12,443 people, 4,816 households, and 3,303 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,772.6 per square mile (2,224.2/km²). There were 5,043 housing units at an average density of 2,339.6/sq mi (901.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.48% White, 2.95% African American, 0.35% Native American, 1.82% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.39% from other races, and 1.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.74% of the population.
There were 4,816 households out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.3% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.18.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $80,485, and the median income for a family was $104,267. Males had a median income of $73,343 versus $40,095 for females. The per capita income for the city was $42,051. About 1.8% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 1.9% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Places of Note
-Retail districts along Mack Avenue, Charlevoix, Vernor, Kercheval, and Jefferson near the Detroit border. Kercheval Avenue is by far the largest and busiest of these, and is a few-minutes drive from the Village district in the City of Grosse Pointe. This area has a farmer's market during the warm months.
-Windmill Point Drive: a boulevard leading from Patterson Park at the foot of the point to Windmill Point Park at the end of the road, a large park adjacent to the Detroit border on a waterfront plot where Lake St. Clair becomes the Detroit River. Along this strand, mainly from Berkshire to the the end, are dozens of architecturally significant mansions, some of which exceed 10,000 square feet with dramatic views of the lake. The lakefront homes average from one to seven million dollars in value. The quality of the architecture and the size of the homes make Windmill Pointe Drive comparable to a smaller version of Newport, RI.
-Historic sites along Jefferson. For example, two particularly notework houses. First, the Buck-Wardwell house at the corner of Three Mile Drive and Jefferson, built in the 1840s and perhaps the first brick house in Grosse Pointe. The house sits on a scenic plot behind a white picket fence. Across the street, at the corner of nearby Bedford St., is the Voight-Kreit house, a unique Tudor design built in 1900. Several mansions, including some on the lakefront, are concentrated on Jefferson just before Cadieux Road.
-Two historic churches. First, Saint Ambrose Catholic Church at Maryland and Hampton near the Detroit city limit. This neo-gothic adaptation in red brick was designed by the notable Donaldson and Meier firm in the 1920s. At Mack and Whittier on the other side of the city is St. Clare of Montefalco Catholic Church, a Mediterranean design from around 1950. The parish has been actively served by Augustinians since the 1920s.
-Three architecturally significant public schools in the Grosse Pointe School District: Pierce Middle School, Defer Elementary School, and Trombley Elementary School.
-Dozens of blocks of homes representing some of the finest residential architecture of the 1910-1930 period.
[edit] References
- ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
[edit] External links
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