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Hidden History: Midcentury Modern Architecture in Grosse Pointe

  • Ann Arbor District Library: Downtown, 4th Floor Program Room 343 South 5th Avenue Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48104 United States (map)

While the Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe is best known for historical revival-style residences, it is also home to MidCentury Modern masterpieces by Marcel Breuer, Alexander Girard, William Kessler, Paul Rudolph, Minoru Yamasaki and others. This phenomenon reflects the prosperity of Metro Detroit at midcentury, Michigan’s primacy in modern design, and the existence of aesthetically adventurous Grosse Pointe patrons.

Join art historian Dr. Deborah Lubera Kawsky at the Ann Arbor District Library to explore the backstories behind iconic MidCentury structures such as Breuer’s Grosse Pointe Central Library (1953), Girard’s McLucas House (1950), Kessler’s W. Hawkins Ferry House (1964) and Rudolph’s Frank and Anne Parcells House (1970).

This event is in partnership with a2modern.

W. Hawkins Ferry House - Photo Credit: James Haefner

John and Kathleen McLucas House - Photo Credit: Robert Lubera

Frank and Anne Parcells House - Photo Credit: Brian Conway

Grosse Pointe Central Library - Photo courtesy of Grosse Pointe Central Library

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May 8

Grosse Pointe Modern: Exploring Three Residential Masterpieces