Dr. Frank Bicknell Lecture Series
2024-2025 Season
About the Series
In 1987, Dr. Frank Bicknell, a long time Grosse Pointe resident and well-known Detroit Medical Center urologist, celebrated his 80th birthday. His daughter and son-in-law established the Grosse Pointe Historical Society's Bicknell Fund to mark his milestone birthday. This fund established the Dr. Frank Bicknell Lecture Series; all Bicknell Lectures are free of charge and open to everyone.
The Bicknell Lecture Series continues to be offered in person.
This year, we ask that attendees register in advance of attending each lecture. Click this button below each lecture description to register for the lecture.
The lectures will also be available on YouTube following the lecture date. Click this button to be taken to the Grosse Pointe Historical Society's YouTube channel:
Lost Legends of the Lakes
Wednesday, September 18, 2024 7:30p.m.
Grosse Pointe Woods City Hall, 20025 Mack Plaza, Grosse Pointe Woods
This program will provide an overview of Great Lakes shipping history, told through the eyes of artist and former Grosse Pointer Robert McGreevy. From the first steam ship on the lakes, the Walk in the Water, to the SS Edmond Fitzgerald, the presentation will be illustrated with Mr. McGreevy's paintings.
The Preservation of Michigan Central Station
Wednesday, October 16, 2024 7:30p.m.
Cook Schoolhouse, 20025 Mack Plaza, Grosse Pointe Woods
This lecture, presented by Angela Wyrembelski from the restoration architectural firm Quinn Evans, will describe the work done on the Michigan Central Station's preservation. The program will also discuss how adaptive reuse of the historic station connects Detroit's pioneering past to a promising future. Before airplane travel became common place in the 1950s, the station was the departure point for thousands of Grosse Pointers traveling around the nation.
"Hudson's: Detroit's World-Famous Department Store"
Wednesday, November 20, 2024 7:30p.m.
Cook Schoolhouse, 20025 Mack Plaza, Grosse Pointe Woods
For over a century the J. L. Hudson Company redefined the way people in our area shopped and enjoyed leisure time. The J. L. Hudson's Department Downtown Detroit Store was more than just a store - it was a Detroit icon and a world-class cultural treasure. This store, along the Harper Woods / Eastland location, served Grosse Pointers until the Hudson's name disappeared from the remaining stores in 2001.
This lecture is presented by Bruce Allen Kopytek and based upon his book, Hudson's: Detroit's World-Famous Department Store.
"Michigan's Venice: The Transformation of the St. Clair Maritime Landscape, 1645-2000"
Wednesday, March 19, 2025 7:30p.m.
Cook Schoolhouse, 20025 Mack Plaza, Grosse Pointe Woods
The fourth lecture is presented by Daniel F. Harrison and is based upon his book, Michigan's Venice: The Transformation of the St. Clair Maritime Landscape, 1645-2000. Few maritime landscapes in the Great Lakes region remain so deeply and clearly inscribed by successive cultures as the St. Clair system: the lake, delta, and river. Viewed over time, the region forms a microcosm of the interplay of environment, culture, and technology that characterized the gradual shift from nature to an industrial society and a built environment optimized for global waterborne transport.
"Making Waves: Michigan's Boat-Building Industry, 1865-2000"
Wednesday, April 16, 2025 7:30p.m.
Cook Schoolhouse, 20025 Mack Plaza, Grosse Pointe Woods
The fifth lecture is presented by Scott M. Peters and is based upon his book Making Waves: Michigan's Boat-Building Industry, 1865-2000. Michigan will always be known as the automobile capital of the world, but our state also boasts a similarly rich heritage in the development of boat building in America. By the late nineteenth century, Michigan had emerged as the industry's hub, drawing together the most talented designers, builders, and engine makers to produce some of the fastest and most innovative boats ever created. Scott M. Peters explores this intriguing story of people, processes, and products of an industry that evolved in Michigan but would change boating across the world.
The Centennial of Ford Aviation
Wednesday, May 21, 2025 7:30p.m.
Edsel & Eleanor Ford House Visitor’s Center, 1100 Lake Shore Road, Grosse Pointe Shores
Co-sponsored during Preservation Month by the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House
The sixth and last lecture of the season is presented by Timothy J. O'Callaghan and is based upon his book The Aviation Legacy of Henry & Edsel Ford.
It will be co-sponsored, during Preservation Month, with the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House and held at their visitor's center.
While most people are aware of Henry and Edsel Ford's influence in the automotive industry, few know of their contributions to the development and mass production of large airplanes and their impact on commercial and military aviation. This presentation will review the period from the introduction of the Ford Trimotor airplane to the present day.
