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William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor

State Park in Wayne County, Michigan

Summary

State Park in Wayne County, Michigan

Field	Value
name	William G. Milliken State Park
and Harbor
photo	William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor.jpg
photo_caption	View of the harbor and lighthouse (October 2017)
photo_width	280
photo_alt	Harbor
map	USA Michigan#USA
map_caption	Location in Michigan
map_width	280
relief	1
coords
coords_ref
elevation	584 ft
location	Detroit International Riverfront, Detroit, Michigan
area	31 acre
designation	Michigan state park
established	2004 (renamed in 2009)
free_label	Named for:
free_data	Governor William Milliken
administrator	Michigan Department of Natural Resources
website

and Harbor

The William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor (formerly named Tri-Centennial State Park and Harbor) is a public recreation area located on the Detroit River just east of downtown Detroit, Michigan, on a portion of the city's International Riverfront. The state park's 31 acre include wetlands, paved trails, and a 52-slip harbor of refuge. A 63 ft conical brick lighthouse tower, designed as a scaled-down replica of the Tawas Point Light, marks the harbor entrance.

History

The park consists of the former city-owned St. Aubin Park and Marina and an adjacent reclaimed brownfield. The park area was taken over by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in 2004 as Tri-Centennial State Park to commemorate the founding of Fort Detroit in 1701. It was Michigan's first state park to be situated in an urban area. Phase I of the park's development, which included refurbishing the marina and construction of the light tower, opened on May 20, 2004. Construction of the 6 acre Phase II, or expansion, phase of the project began in summer 2008 and concluded in summer 2009. The Phase II project encompassed a parcel of post-industrial property adjacent to Rivard Plaza. On October 22, 2009, Tri-Centennial State Park was renamed in honor of Governor William G. Milliken. The Lowlands section of the park was officially opened to the public on December 3, 2009.

Ecology

Much of the William G. Milliken State Park has been redeveloped as restoration wetlands, intended to mimic the riverine wetlands that once bordered the Detroit River. The Michigan DNR hopes that these wetlands will be an attractive location for migratory birds. Ninety-seven percent of the former Detroit River wetlands have been lost to development; the de-development of Detroit in the 2000s created an opportunity for wetlands restoration.

Access

The William G. Milliken State Park's official address is 1900 Atwater Street, on the near east side of Detroit and adjacent to the Jefferson Avenue corridor. In 2010, the city completed construction of the "Dequindre Extension" which connects the park to the Dequindre Cut.

Activities and amenities

The park offers shoreline fishing, a picnic area with sail-covered pavilions, and a 52-slip harbor with transient and seasonal tie-ups.

References

"William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor". Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
"William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor". Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
"When were Michigan state parks and recreation areas established?". Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
"Milliken State Park and Harbor". Detroit RiverFront Conservancy.
(December 3, 2009). "Milliken State Park is officially open". Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

state-parks-of-michigan protected-areas-established-in-2004 parks-in-detroit detroit-river 2004-establishments-in-michigan tricentennial-anniversaries

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