Grosse Pointe War Memorial
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Russell A. Alger Jr. House
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| Location | 32 Lake Shore Drive Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan |
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| Coordinates | 42°23′13″N 82°53′50″W / 42.38694°N 82.89722°WCoordinates: 42°23′13″N 82°53′50″W / 42.38694°N 82.89722°W |
| Built | 1910 |
| Architect | Charles Adam Platt |
| Architectural style | Italian Renaissance Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 82002917 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | July 8, 1982 |
| Designated MSHS | February 18, 1982 |
The Grosse Pointe War Memorial, also known as the Russell A. Alger Jr. House and as the Moorings was dedicated to the memory of veterans and soldiers of World War II. It is located at 32 Lake Shore Drive in Grosse Pointe Farms, MI.
Russell A. Alger senior was a Civil War general and lumberman from Michigan. He served as the Governor of Michigan, a United States Senator from Michigan, and United States Secretary of War under William McKinley. His eldest son, Russell A. Alger Jr., was born in 1873. The Junior Alger was the executor of his father's large estate, one of the founders of the Packard Motor Car Company in 1903, and an early investor in the Wright Company in 1909.
In 1896, Alger married Marion Jarvis. In 1910, the couple commissioned Charles Adam Platt to design this house. The Algers and their three children moved in in 1910, and Russell Alger lived here until his death in 1930. Marion Alger moved out a few years later, and the house was donated to the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1936. In 1948 the house was returned to the Alger family. In 1949, the Alger family donated the house to the Grosse Pointe War Memorial Association.
The Alger House is the original building, and is now recognized as a Michigan State Historic Site and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1962 the first addition, the Fries Auditorium and Crystal Ballroom, was dedicated, and in 1993 the Center for Arts and Communications was added.
Today the War Memorial also serves as a community center for the Grosse Pointe Communities and hosts several different kinds of programs and events, including concerts, holiday celebrations, drivers education, obedience school for dogs, and social dances for middle school-age children. The War Memorial also broadcasts WMTV 5, Grosse Pointe's local, twenty-four-hour television station. Currently the Grosse Pointe Theatre's productions are held in the Fries Auditorium. It is also possible to rent rooms for special events or banquets.
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