[3][4] In the first two decades of the 20th century, the once predominantly rural Grosse Pointe area transformed into a residential suburb of Detroit.

[2] The first building constructed after consolidation was Defer Elementary School, built on the site of a rhubarb patch owned by Ludwig Meininger.

The school was named for George Defer, who was at the time the president of Grosse Pointe Park.

[2] Defer Elementary School is a three-story rectangular building built in the Tudor Revival style.

[2] This revival style was popular in Detroit and across the country in the years following World War I, and is symbolic of the prosperity of the era.