Famous people's places / Grosse Pointe Woods
Ferry Elementary School
A 1954 mid-century modern elementary school in Grosse Pointe Woods that actor J. K. Simmons attended as a boy before his family left Michigan in 1965.
01 / The story of this place
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Ferry Elementary School was built in 1954 in Grosse Pointe Woods, a Mid-Century Modern building designed by Michigan school architect Earl G. Meyer, and remains part of the Grosse Pointe Public School System today. Actor J. K. Simmons, who went on to win an Academy Award for his role in Whiplash and to voice and act in many other film and television roles, attended Ferry as a young boy in the early 1960s, until his family moved away from Michigan in 1965. The school later also housed a middle school program under the Ferry name for a period before reverting to an elementary school. Ferry continues to serve neighborhood families as an active public elementary school in the Grosse Pointe Woods community.
- Built in 1954, designed by architect Earl G. Meyer
- Actor J. K. Simmons attended as a boy in the early 1960s
- Simmons's family left Michigan in 1965
- Still an active Grosse Pointe Public School System elementary school
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- J. K. Simmons born 1955 · actor
Studied here
Public elementary school Simmons attended before his family left Michigan in 1965.
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Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
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