Editor’s note: This story has been updated since publication to clarify that the park officially opens Saturday. An earlier version of the story said it opened Friday.
After much anticipation and three years of development, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park officially opens Saturday on the western portion of the Detroit RiverWalk near downtown.
The celebration for the 22-acre park will kick off Saturday with a 10 a.m. press conference hosted by the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, followed by the start of the nonprofit’s annual Detroit Harvest Fest. The free, family-friendly event, which is usually held at the Dequindre Cut, is moving to the Ralph C. Wilson Park this year. Festival headliners, The Jacksons–featuring original members Marlon and Jackie–will take the stage at 4 p.m. Saturday. Local acts performing include Ballet Folklorico Detroit, Detroit House Collective and Sean Blackman.
For the foodies, more than 30 food trucks from around metro Detroit are expected to be at the event, offering an array of cuisine from Mexican, Middle Eastern, vegetarian, Caribbean and more. Some of the participating restaurants include Balkan House, Egg Roll Diva, Fork in Nigeria and The Lobster Food Truck.
The $80 million park project features four major attractions–the William Davidson Sport House, with two full-sized basketball courts; the Delta Dental Play Garden, which features animal structures for kids to climb on; the Huron-Clinton Metroparks Water Garden and the DTE Foundation Summit for special events and programming.
Ralph C. Wilson Park is named after entrepreneur, veteran and philanthropist Ralph C. Wilson Jr., the late founder and owner of the Buffalo Bills who lived in Grosse Pointe Shores. He died in 2014.
I talked to Cassie Brenske, the chief development and communications officer for the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, on how the park came to fruition, its attractions and more details on Detroit Harvest Fest.
BridgeDetroit: How long has Ralph C. Wilson Park been in the making?
Brenske: I would say the vision probably started in 2017. That’s when we received a gift from the Wilson Foundation to establish our community advisory team. Once that team was assembled with 22 Detroiters from different areas of the city, they (the conservancy) pulled them together to start thinking about what Wilson Park would be. The team went to different cities for the opportunity to see how parks look in Boston and in New York and then they brought those ideas back to Detroit to figure out what we want here on our riverfront.
BridgeDetroit: Why was it important for the Riverfront Conservancy to create this space along the riverfront in addition to the RiverWalk?
Brenske: This park really just expands the offerings along the riverfront and was a huge part of our bridge-to-bridge vision (the conservancy’s goal of creating a 5.5-mile path along the Detroit River). When you’re along the riverfront, there’s a variety of different activities, but really this park will be a banner park along the west riverfront. Having 22 acres to work with was a great opportunity to create a world-class park for Detroiters. Expanding on the offerings that were already along the riverfront, as we were able to see so many people using the riverfront, knowing that we had an opportunity to really expand on that was awesome.
BridgeDetroit: Why was New York-based Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates the best team to design the park?
Brenske: Part of the process to pick Michael Van Valkenburg Associates was we did a design competition in 2017. We had four firms that were vying for that opportunity to build this park, and we held that design competition at the 1001 Building in downtown Detroit. For about two weeks, we had all four firms put together models of their presentation and their park, and they did public presentations to the community so people could come in and hear why they designed it the way that they did. What we really heard from Michael’s team was that they listened to the community. When they talked through all of the elements that they had included in their design, it was because they heard that people wanted to touch the water, so that’s how we ended up with the water garden. And they took a trip around Michigan and went up to the UP and felt like that was such a magical place. They wanted that same feeling of being up north here in Detroit for kids and families to experience. It was really cool seeing that their design captured a lot of what the community advisory team had said that they wanted to see in Detroit and then from the community themselves. When we were landing on a final decision, ultimately, we took into account the fact that a lot of people had identified Michael Van Valkenburgh’s design as the one that matched up with what their dreams were.
BridgeDetroit: Ralph C. Wilson Park has four zones of activities. Did the community advisory team help design what would be in those zones?
Brenske: They helped provide guidance for what those zones would be. But ultimately, we also had over 100 community meetings, where we brought the community in to talk about what they wanted to see. We had some youth-led workshops around the (William Davidson) Sport House in particular. A lot of the youth in Detroit helped design that sport house and what it’ll be used for programming-wise. And an interesting aspect of the (Delta Dental) Play Garden is there’s two creatures that were actually designed by Detroit school kids. We brought some schoolkids in to play with clay and build what we could see in the park. Two of those images were chosen, the fox and the bird that are in the tot lot. That’s what feels really special about this park when you’re in it. You realize there are so many community voices that came together to make it what it is.
BridgeDetroit: What has it been like planning this year’s Harvest Fest at the park?
Brenske: It’s really exciting, I think we’re going to have this massive turnout. We have such an incredible audience (of families) for Harvest Fest that look forward to it every year. We kicked that off coming out of the pandemic and it was a really great opportunity to get people together. This year, we really wanted to create awareness around the fact that this new park exists. It’s a great opportunity to pair this great event that we do annually and the branding of that with the opening of this park. I’m expecting people to be visibly surprised and shocked to see this amazing park while they’re at Harvest Fest. I think they might just be expecting what they’ve seen on the Dequindre Cut, but once they’re able to see everything that’s in the park, we hope that it’s an opportunity for them to come back again.
BridgeDetroit: How has the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy been able to move on and complete this project after the embezzlement scandal involving former CFO William Smith?
Brenske: The big thing for our team is looking out at the riverfront and realizing that all of this is still there. We still serve our community and we’re still making sure that this is a place for everybody, and that’s really been what’s held us together over the last year and a half. It was very hard, obviously, to have that happen and reckon with that. But ultimately, just seeing how everybody was focused on keeping this going, and that the most important part was that we maintained our No. 1 riverfront and we’re still here. We’re still able to provide these incredible programs and these incredible spaces for our community,
BridgeDetroit: How do you think Ralph C. Wilson Park will play a part in this new chapter of Detroit development?
Brenske: It just builds on some incredible momentum in the city right now. Between the opening of this park, the opening of Michigan Central last year and the opening of the new Gordie Howe Bridge, it’s a really great momentum moment for Detroit, and this park is a huge part of that. Being able to have these incredible parks in Detroit is pretty fascinating. Being known as the Motor City, but then having all these parks and greenways and public spaces really sets us apart and changes that perception of Detroit.
As always, have a good week!
Cheers,
Micah
313 Scene
- Noel Night, a December staple in Midtown Detroit, is taking a break. The organization behind the one-night cultural celebration, Midtown Detroit Inc., announced Wednesday that it’s taking a one-year pause from Noel Night to reimagine the event’s future and ensure that it’s sustainable for years to come.
- ABC’s “Golden Bachelor” Mel Owens, a Detroit native, is returning home Tuesday for a meet-and-greet event to raise money for the American Cancer Society. The first 100 donors will receive their own rose, presented personally by Owens, as he does on the TV show. The event, from 6-8 p.m. at the Born in Detroit store, 1275 Woodward Ave., includes a chance to meet Owens, a selfie photo opportunity and an event T-shirt. (Detroit Free Press)
- Kenya LeNoir Messer is the new Motown Museum CEO following a 15-month national search. Messer will work closely with continuing chairwoman and former CEO Robin Terry, granddaughter of Esther Gordy Edwards, who launched the museum 40 years ago at the West Grand Boulevard site. (Detroit Free Press)
- The Detroit Institute of Arts’ new African American art gallery “Reimagine African American Art” opened to the public Saturday featuring 50 works and a new central location adjacent to Rivera Court. The installation, organized by the museum’s Center for African American Art, encompasses four galleries that tell the story of African American history chronologically from 1840 to 1986, capturing time periods and themes that include Harlem Renaissance, Social Realism, the Civil Rights era and the Black Arts Movement. (The Detroit News)
- The city of Detroit has completed the renovations of two homes on Garland Street, directly across from the newly opened Dr. Ossian Sweet Memorial Park, and are now for sale. In August, Mayor Mike Duggan joined family members of Dr. Ossian Sweet, community leaders, and residents, to cut the ribbon on the Dr. Ossian Sweet Memorial Park, which honors the stand Dr. Sweet and his family took against housing discrimination in 1925. (City of Detroit)
What’s Going on in the D?
- Dance act iLuminate is coming to the Fisher Theatre 7:30 p.m. Thursday. iLuminate features a cast of the country’s top dancers performing pop and rock hits from the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. The dancers are outfitted with customized LED suits synced to iLuminate’s proprietary software to create lighting effects with each of the choreographed dance moves. Tickets are still available, beginning at $31.
- Belong Lending is hosting a Halloween community event from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at its New Center headquarters, 7436 Woodward Ave. The family-friendly event will include a pumpkin giveaway, music, cider and donuts and more. The event is free, but registration is required on Eventbrite.
- The Redford Theatre is showing its love for spooky season with Saturday screenings of the Tim Burton movie “Edward Scissorhands” at 2 p.m. and Edgar Wright’s horror comedy “Shaun of the Dead” at 8 p.m. Tickets are $7.
- The Senate Theater is hosting its third annual Halloween fundraiser with a screening of the horror classic, “Suspiria” 8 p.m. Saturday. The 1977 film follows Suzy (Jessica Harper), who travels to Germany to attend ballet school. As she spends more time there and as people begin to die, Suzy uncovers the terrifying secret history of the place. Doors open at 6 p.m. and an organ overture will begin at 7:30 p.m. People are also encouraged to dress up for the costume contest. Tickets are $10.
- Detroit clothing store The Peacock Room is hosting, “Mad About Mahj” from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Fisher Building. Guests can enjoy a day of playing the Chinese tile game mahjong, with a beginner and intermediate session from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and an afternoon open play session from 2-5 p.m. The event will also feature light bites and refreshments, mahjong-themed goodies and shopping. The morning session is $23, while the afternoon session is $55, available for purchase on Eventbrite. Each ticket includes a $10 gift certificate to the Peacock Room.
