Originally known as the Academy of the Sacred Heart,[2] the campus buildings were designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1977[2] and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

The site on which the Grosse Pointe Academy now sits was originally a French ribbon farm running from Lake St. Clair to Ridge Road.

[2] In 1885, the nuns planned the construction of a boarding school for young ladies, teaching grades K–12, on the property.

The school was built in 1887 along the property line separating the academy from Saint Paul's, so that the nuns could enter the building from within the property and the students could enter from the parking lot of St.

[2][3] The Grosse Pointe Academy is situated on a long strip of land between Grosse Pointe Boulevard and Lake Shore Drive on Lake Saint Clair, and directly adjacent to Saint Paul Catholic Church (Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan).