Constructed in 1953, it is significant as one of the first major public commissions in the United States of architect Marcel Breuer.

In 1951, it was decided to construct a permanent space for the library, funded in large part by local businessman Dexter M. Ferry Jr.

[2] The building served as the main branch of the Grosse Pointe Library through the rest of the century.

By 2016, interior renovation to correct some of the building's issues was completed, and it remains in service as a library.

On the north façade, is a large floor to ceiling window connecting the courtyard and street to the interior.