Grosse Pointe Public Library

NPS Form 10-900 OMB Control No. 1024-0018 expiration date 03/31/2022 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in National Register Bulletin, How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. 1. Name of Property Historic name: _Grosse Pointe Central Library______________________ Other names/site number: ______________________________________ Name of related multiple property listing: _N/A_______________________________________________________ (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing ____________________________________________________________________________ 2. Location Street & number: _10 Kercheval Avenue___________________________ City or town: _Grosse Pointe Farms_ State: _MI_________ County: _Wayne_____ Not For Publication: Vicinity: ____________________________________________________________________________ 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this nomination ___ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property ___ meets ___ does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant at the following level(s) of significance: ___national ___statewide _X_ local Applicable National Register Criteria: ___A ___B _X_C ___D Signature of certifyingDRAFT official/Title: Date ______________________________________________ State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government 1 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB Control No. 1024-0018 Grosse Pointe Central Library Wayne County, MI Name of Property County and State In my opinion, the property meets does not meet the National Register criteria. Signature of commenting official: Date Title : State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government ______________________________________________________________________________ 4. National Park Service Certification I hereby certify that this property is: entered in the National Register determined eligible for the National Register determined not eligible for the National Register removed from the National Register other (explain:) _____________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Signature of the Keeper Date of Action ____________________________________________________________________________ 5. Classification Ownership of Property (Check as many boxes as apply.) Private: Public – Local X Public – State DRAFT Public – Federal Category of Property (Check only one box.) Building(s) X District Site Sections 1-6 page 2 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB Control No. 1024-0018 Grosse Pointe Central Library Wayne County, MI Name of Property County and State Structure Object Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count) Contributing Noncontributing ______1______ ______0______ buildings ______0______ ______0______ sites ______0______ ______0______ structures ______0______ ______0______ objects ______1______ ______0_______ Total Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register _N/A_______ ____________________________________________________________________________ 6. Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) _EDUCATION/Library_ ___________________ DRAFT ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) _ EDUCATION/Library_ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Sections 1-6 page 3 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB Control No. 1024-0018 Grosse Pointe Central Library Wayne County, MI Name of Property County and State _____________________________________________________________________________ 7. Description Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions.) _Modern Movement__ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Materials: (enter categories from instructions.) Principal exterior materials of the property: _Brick, Concrete, Glass_________ Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current physical appearance and condition of the property. Describe contributing and noncontributing resources if applicable. Begin with a summary paragraph that briefly describes the general characteristics of the property, such as its location, type, style, method of construction, setting, size, and significant features. Indicate whether the property has historic integrity.) ______________________________________________________________________________ Summary Paragraph The Grosse Pointe Central Library, simply known as the Central Library is the main library for the Grosse Pointe Public Library. The Central Library, constructed in 1953, is the oldest of the three current libraries in the GPPL system and is located in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. The Grosse Pointe Public Library DRAFTSystem serves five cities known as “Pointes” as well as the city of Harper Woods. The terms “Grosse Pointe” or “The Pointes” are commonly used to describe the entire area. The modern, rectangular shaped, library sits on the corner of Kercheval Avenue and Fisher Road, on the north side of Grosse Pointe South High School, in a very pedestrian friendly, and tree-lined neighborhood. The front façade and north side of the library faces Kercheval Avenue. A one-way drive on the northeast corner of the property that takes you behind the library to a parking lot. The parking lot then exits out onto Fisher Road on the southwest side of the property between the library and athletic fields of Grosse Pointe High School South. The library’s simple material palette of red brick, concrete, and glass helps it blend into the surrounding context despite its modern form. The intersection where the library sits, is the transition point from single family residences, to more a commercial area in downtown Grosse Pointe Farms. The library’s raised front porch addresses the street corner at Fisher Road and Kercheval Avenue by showcasing a large Kipp Sculpture, flagpole, and a brick site wall that Section 7 page 4 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB Control No. 1024-0018 Grosse Pointe Central Library Wayne County, MI Name of Property County and State guides pedestrians towards steps up to the main entrance or an outdoor sitting area at the street- level. Both the addition of the Kipp and the entrance drive / parking lot mark the only significant changes to the exterior of the property. The entrance drive and the parking lot were re-worked as changes were made to Grosse Pointe South High School’s athletic fields, which wrap the library’s property on the east and south. They also added in a handicap accessible ramp to the south entrance off the parking lot. Upon entering into the building from either entrance, the large, double height reading room that sits behind the large floor-to-ceiling glazing draws one’s attention immediately and it’s obvious, aesthetically and programmatically that this space is the nucleus that the rest of the building was created from. ______________________________________________________________________________ Narrative Description Historical Photograph of the Kercheval Street side of Grosse Pointe Central Library, Designed by Marcel Breuer. Photograph courtesy of the Grosse Pointe Public Library. DRAFT Setting Standing at the corner of Kercheval Avenue and Fisher Road, the modern, rectangular building form of the Central Library respectfully stands out from its surrounding tree-lined residential and small-scale commercial neighbors which follow more traditional architectural styles like Colonial and Tudor, which derive their character from ornamentation. However, even with its unadorned brick façade, the Central Library, keeps with the materials and scale that are common in the neighborhood now, and at the time of construction. Its compatible material palette combined with the large trees that hover over Kercheval Avenue and the front face of the building soften the rigidity of the boxy form and allow it to rest humbly on its prominent corner lot. Although the form of the building largely reads as a red brick mass, the front is also identified by a large expanse of floor-to-ceiling glass flanked by a separate punched opening in Section 7 page 5 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900

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