By: K. Michelle Moran | Grosse Pointe Times | Published October 21, 2025
DETROIT — One of the signature projects of the nonprofit Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park, will mark its grand opening this weekend with special events for all ages, including a concert by The Jacksons.
Named after late businessman and philanthropist Ralph C. Wilson Jr., who lived in Grosse Pointe Shores, the 22-acre park is located at 1801 W. Jefferson Ave. in downtown Detroit. The grand opening — which will include the Detroit Harvest Fest — will run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 25 and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 26. More than 30 food trucks will be on hand for people to purchase food and beverages, children can don Halloween costumes for trick-or-treating, there will be games and crafts as well as live entertainment including dancers and concerts, and much more. Family-friendly and free activities will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days and include a Pick-and-Take Pumpkin Patch where children ages 12 and younger can select a free pumpkin to take home or decorate on-site. There’s no admission cost and the park is open to the public.
The Jacksons — featuring original members Marlon and Jackie — will perform at 4 p.m. Oct. 25 on the Summit Main Stage.
“When Ralph Wilson Park opens … it will be a world-class gathering place for all,” Detroit Riverfront Conservancy CEO Ryan Sullivan said in a press release. “The park’s design has been community-led since the beginning, and Detroiters of all ages have contributed ideas and inspiration that have come to life in this park. We are thrilled to welcome everyone to this public space during the weekend of October 25 & 26. There is truly something for everyone to enjoy.”
While parking isn’t normally expected to be a problem for park visitors, the large crowds expected for the opening weekend means some people will have to look for something other than a spot on the street. Attendees can use the JOE parking garage or park anywhere along the Detroit People Mover route and get off at the Water Square station. Rides on the People Mover are free. Visitors can also park at the Michigan Central Train Station — located near the other side of Wilson Park — and enter from that side.
Detroit Riverfront Conservancy Board Chair Matt Cullen, of Grosse Pointe Shores, said the entire riverfront project “has been transformative to Detroit,” but the park is a special piece in that transformation. He credits the generosity and vision of Wilson and the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation with making the park possible. Cullen said other sponsors have stepped up as well.
Wilson Park features a 5-acre play garden with a 23-foot-tall bear-shaped slide, the William Davidson Sport House with athletic facilities such as two regulation basketball courts, and a 2.5-acre water garden with a lagoon that will be a quiet spot to see wildlife like the minks and herons that have already taken up residency there. The lagoon is fed by the Detroit River and the water cycles quickly, Cullen said. There is soft engineering across the length of the park along the river — as opposed to a metal or concrete seawall — and it’s been designed to be more conducive to fish and other wildlife. Cullen said a couple of areas in the park are designated for fishing, so anglers will be able to take advantage of these conditions.
“It’s much more ecologically friendly,” Cullen said of the park’s design.
With the park’s completion, Detroiters and visitors will be able to move from Belle Isle to Eastern Market to downtown Detroit to Michigan Central traversing the Riverwalk and associated greenways, such as the Dequindre Cut and the Southwest Greenway.
“The parks (on the river) are amazing, but the connectivity is even more important,” said Cullen, noting that the Joe Louis Greenway goes all the way into Hamtramck and Highland Park.
Waterfront properties often get gobbled up by developers for pricy housing — making them inaccessible to all but the homeowners — but as the projects of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy demonstrate, the scenic beauty of a water view can be shared by private residents as well as the general public. As Cullen noted, their projects are coinciding with housing and hotels.
“You can have a beautiful waterfront that’s available to everybody and (still) create economic opportunity,” Cullen said.
He said the Great Recession enabled the conservancy to purchase long-vacant factories and silos that had occupied the waterfront, creating an opportunity to replace the industrial facilities with scenic public space.
“There aren’t a lot of places that will have what we have — 5.5 miles of access along the riverfront,” Cullen said.
Construction on the park started in the summer of 2022. Like Belle Isle, Wilson Park is expected to become a destination for Detroit residents and visitors from outside the city.
“I think it’s going to be a place for every generation to come together and for the whole community to come together,” Cullen said. “And I don’t think we’ve ever had anything like that before.”