Broadway Park: Renewing Ann Arbor's Public Riverfront

Broadway Park is the spot where the Michigan Central Railroad connected Ann Arbor with the rest of the country. Ever since the tracks were laid and the first locomotive chugged through in 1837, the train shaped the landscape and the land uses of the Old Fourth Ward and Lower Town. The character of the area was soon one of manufacturing and commerce: the rails were used to export goods produced by the river industries and to import cargo from elsewhere. Passengers also rode this line, discovering great mobility between cities and regions. As a stop on the line from New York and Detroit to Chicago, Ann Arbor became an important trading post and an attractive place to visit.

The first rail station built by the Michigan Central Railroad, used from 1845-1886.

The reputation of the University and Ann Arbor's growing wealth during the second half of the 19th century encouraged the city to build a grand railway gateway in 1886. Designed in the Romanesque Revival style, the beautiful station was made of locally quarried stone. Today, the station houses The Gandy Dancer, a restaurant that honors the building's railroading history and offers dramatic views of the passing trains.

The second Michgan Central Railroad Station, 1886.

In 1878, a second rail line, the Ann Arbor Railroad, was constructed as a north-south route from Toledo, through Ann Arbor and up to Northern Michigan. The tracks cross the Michigan Central Railroad near the Huron River and the Argo Dam. The Ann Arbor Railroad ran freight and passenger service until the 1970's, but today only several freight trains a day can be heard passing through town.

Ann Arbor Railroad bridge, late 1800s.

The railroad conveyed many benefits on the city of Ann Arbor. Goods manufactured at the mills and factories were shipped across the country, increasing the wealth of the city and its business owners. Many university students traveled by rail, and invited speakers were treated to an elegant arrival.

The North Central Neighborhood (Fourth Ward) in 1888. (Click to enlarge.)

Lower Town in 1888. (Click to enlarge.)

But the railroad also produced negative effects. Laborers were poorly paid and harmful environmental conditions degraded the quality of life for residents of the Fourth Ward and Lower Town. Tramps and hobos lurked around the tracks looking for work or waiting to "ride the rails" to the next town. They slept in a triangular spot next to the tracks, the site of Broadway Park, which in those days was called "Hobo Park."

Since the 1950s, rail movement has been less active, and rail corridors along the river started to be used for recreation. A few passenger trains and several freight trains run on the tracks daily. Though the landscape and land uses no longer need be determined by the workings of the railroad, Broadway Park has remained trapped between the railroad and the river. Its inaccessibility is an infrastructural challenge that must be addressed to make the park useable and worthy of the site's history and ecological role along the river.

The Michigan Central and Ann Arbor Railroads