The triangle of grass behind the Westin Book Cadillac is the first thing in Capitol Park that catches the eye after a six-month shutdown. The lawn is bigger now, the trees younger, the gardens new, the dog park rebuilt, and the lighting upgraded. Stormwater infrastructure runs underneath the whole thing, draining through permeable surfaces instead of pooling or overloading the sewer. The Downtown Detroit Partnership cut a ribbon on July 23 and opened the park back to the public.
The dog park surviving was not an accident. DDP CEO Eric Larson has framed the project as community-driven, with the message from neighbors clear: keep the dog park.
The renovation cost $3.5 million. A $1 million slice of a 2022 MEDC Revitalization & Placemaking grant, a $13.74 million package covering eight downtown public space projects, got it started, with American Rescue Plan Act funds, the City of Detroit Downtown Development Authority, the Knight Foundation, and the Kresge Foundation filling out the rest. Toronto-based Public Work served as architect. Detroit-based Turner Construction led the build. The DDP managed the project. The community-led 2017 master plan set the priorities. This was the first major transformation in the park's footprint since the 1980s, landing in time for the summer that included the Lions home opener, several free concerts, and the kind of foot traffic Capitol Park had been designed to handle but couldn't quite.
The history under the lawn is heavier than the new grass suggests. The triangle's geometry comes from George Washington, carved out of the city's 1807 Woodward Plan. A courthouse went up here in the 1820s. When Michigan became a state in 1837, the same building became the territorial capitol. Lansing took the capitol in 1847. The courthouse turned into Detroit's first public high school. It burned to the ground in 1893. The site has been public space ever since. It was also one of the last stops on the Underground Railroad before Canada. The Capitol Park Historic District has been on the National Register since 1999. The park itself runs about an acre.
Capitol Park has spent the last decade as the spiritual heart of the downtown loft district. La Lanterna, Eatori, Cannelle, Leila, SPKRBOX, Xhibition, and The Albert sit on the surrounding blocks. Parlay Detroit, Chaos Burger, and 3 Kings Sports Cards opened nearby in the lead-up to the reopening. Culture Detroit, the city's only Black-owned sneaker and designer streetwear store, sits in the corridor. The bars and apartments cluster tight to the park's edges. Larson has described the design as a district living room, a tagline that also reasonably describes how the surrounding tenants use the space. DDP took over park management in 2013, the year the city was sliding into bankruptcy.
Free programming starts now. Pilates in the Park kicked off two days after the ribbon cut. Community Yoga with Citizen Yoga runs Wednesday evenings through August 31. More events follow through the summer.
Capitol Park, Griswold Street between State and Grand River, behind the Westin Book Cadillac, Detroit.
