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Building, Grosse Pointe Farms, since 1953

Grosse Pointe Central Library

Still standing, photographed 2012

The Grosse Pointe Public Library Central Branch, 2012 Photo: Arbitrarily0, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Opened
1953
Style
Modern architecture
Standing
73 years

Designed by Marcel Breuer

The Grosse Pointe Central Library has stood on Kercheval Ave. in Grosse Pointe Farms since 1953, 73 years and counting. Who built it, what makes it special and how to see it for yourself.

On the map

What is there now

Standing

We checked building permits, sales, listings and the city's blight and demolition files on October 24, 2026. Nothing new at this address in the last two years.

The story

By Victoria Jackson, Editor in Chief Updated

The Grosse Pointe Central Library opened in 1953, through the Depression, the war years and the postwar move to the suburbs.

Credit the design to Marcel Breuer, working in Modern architecture.

It joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.

Go see it at 10 Kercheval Ave. Photos never get the scale right.

The Grosse Pointe Public Library Central Branch, located at 10 Kercheval Avenue in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, is one of the buildings of the Grosse Pointe Public Library. Constructed in 1953, it is significant as one of the first major public commissions in the United States of architect Marcel Breuer. The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Timeline

  1. 1953 Built Designed by Marcel Breuer
  2. 2021 Listed on the National Register April 21, 2021
  3. 2026 Today 73 years and still standing

Where it is

10 Kercheval Ave., Grosse Pointe Farms

On this map

  1. Grosse Pointe Central Library This place
  2. Pere Gabriel Richard Elementary School 0.1 mi
  3. Grosse Pointe High School 0.3 mi
  4. Christ Church Chapel 0.3 mi
  5. Beverly Road Historic District 0.4 mi
  6. Grosse Pointe Memorial Church 0.5 mi
  7. Paul Harvey Deming House 0.6 mi
  8. Saint Paul Catholic Church Complex 0.6 mi
  9. Russell A. Alger Jr. House 0.6 mi

Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors

Who made it

Marcel Breuer
Photo: Herbert Behrens / Anefo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

Marcel Breuer

Hungarian-American architect, 1902 to 1981. Designed the Grosse Pointe Central Library (1953)

Around the block

Photo credits

Every photo on this page is used under its license, named here with its author and a link to the original.

  1. The Grosse Pointe Public Library Central Branch, 2012 Photo: Arbitrarily0, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sources

Facts only, gathered from these sources. The story above is written by Rebuild Detroit. Every photo names its author and license where it appears.