Click above images to enlarge Richard, Pere Gabriel, Elementary School 176McKinley Avenue, Grosse Pointe Farms - Wayne County Other Names Pere Gabriel Richard Elementary School Richard Elementary School Property Type school Historic Use EDUCATION/school Current Use EDUCATION/school Style French Renaissance Architect/Builder Robert O. Derrick Narrative Description Pere Gabriel Richard Elementary School is a two and one-half story tall brick and stone-trimmed asymmetrically massed rectangular building containing a third story within the high slate-covered mansard roof. Its highly decorative exterior is French Renaissance in inspiration. Coloristic effects have been achieved by the two-toned (buff and red) brickwork contrasted with stone. The main facade of the school building faces McKinley, but the McMillan elevation is now the primary point of access. A flat-roofed addition designed with the same coloristic effects as the original building was erected on the northeastern end of the school in 1962. The interior features of the school are marble hallways, decorative plaster tympanums over doorways, and Pewabic tile. Statement of Significance Pere Gabriel Richard Elementary School, the second elementary school in Grosse Pointe Farms, was completed in 1930. Named in honor of Gabriel Richard, a Catholic priest who widely promoted education in the early nineteenth century, it has architectural significance as a highly unusual example of French Renaissance design in a school building. It is also significant as a major work of architect Robert O. Derrick, who specialized in period revival designs for residential and institutional buildings in the Detroit area during the 1920's and 1930's. Marker Name Pere Gabriel Richard Elementary School Marker Text PERE GABRIEL RICHARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL This school, named for Catholic missionary and educator Pere Gabriel Richard (1767-1832), opened on September 30, 1930. Detroit architect Robert O. Derrick, who planned many Georgian and Colonial Revival houses in Grosse Pointe as well as Dearborn's Henry Ford Museum, designed the school in the French Renaissance style. The school's interior features Pewabic tile fireplaces and fishponds, decorative plasterwork and marble hallways. Period of Significance 1901-1930 Significant Date(s) 1930 Registry Type(s) 1993 Marker erected 07/22/1994 National Register listed 08/20/1992 State Register listed Site ID# P3333