Old Meets New Near Milliken State Park

I love walking along the river. It may be my favorite thing of all about the city. Milliken State Park and Harbor is a new addition to the burgeoning riverfront park system, which will eventually extend from the Ambassador Bridge to Belle Isle. The harbor has been here for a few years, while a whole new section of the park, with a bike path, native plantings, and a fishing dock, was recently completed.

.... walking toward the lighthouse

... looking back over the harbor towards the warehouse district

On the other side of the street from the new riverfront park lies the remains of an old warehouse district. Here the streets are narrow and still brick-lined in places, made for horse-drawn wagons. The old buildings date from the 1880's to just before the Great Depression. Some of the largest warehouses, like the Globe Trading Company (not shown), were once home to great shipbuilders.

Twenty-odd years ago, the city thought it might build casinos in this area. It led to land speculation and the destruction of long-standing businesses that had managed to hang on after the riots and through the white flight of the 70's and 80's.

.... artwork from the Hygienic Dress League

It is an area that has been "poised for redevelopment" for decades, but revitalization here always seems to stall. Now there is hope that the riverfront park system will tip the scales in favor of this neighborhood.

A few blocks away, in the newly opened section of Milliken State Park, the lines of the railings echo the lines of the Ambassador Bridge.

The statue is of Peter Stroh, who was a tireless fighter for the conservation of the Detroit River ecosystem. His family helped pay for the park as a tribute to him and his vision for the riverfront.

January in Michigan looks so stone gray and dreary that it makes the park look a little plain right now, but when spring comes....I can't wait to see what it looks like then.