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Capitol Park Detroit
There is perhaps no more enduring emblem of Detroit’s urban dynamics since the early 19th century than Capitol Park. Once the site of the original State Capitol Building, a schoolhouse, the last stop on the Underground Railroad that helped free 18th-century slaves, and the final resting place of Michigan’s first governor – this site has long embodied the city’s layered history. Yet over the past decades, almost no trace of these narratives has remained. During this time, the space shifted from park to transit hub to barren square, and in the process, Capitol Park lost the qualities that once made it feel like a true civic landscape.
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Location
Detroit, MI
Scope of Work
Park Masterplan and Landscape Design
Project Size
1.1 ac park
Role
Design Team Lead, Landscape Architecture
Client
Downtown Detroit Partnership
Collaborators
PEA Inc. (Local Landscape Architecture / Civil Engineering), Peter Basso Associates Inc. (Electrical), James Urban (Trees and Soil), Krzysztof Wodiczko (Artist Advisor), AW Hooker / Turner Construction (Cost Estimating)
PUBLIC WORK Design Team (Concept)
Marc Ryan, Adam Nicklin, Laura Ettedgui, Chester Rennie, Golnaz Jamshidi, Julia Nakanishi, Zoal Razaq
PUBLIC WORK Design Team (Detail Design & Delivery)
Marc Ryan, Adam Nicklin, Ben Matthews, Lukas Vajda, Julia Nakanishi

PUBLIC WORK was engaged to refresh and re-activate this significant public space in Detroit’s historic downtown district. Through rigorous stakeholder and community engagement, a concept emerged that recognizes and celebrates the park’s past while reinterpreting it through a contemporary lens on Detroit life. This was a strategic opportunity to replace hard surfaces with permeable, sustainable materials and native vegetation — restoring a park environment that creates an immersive green atmosphere while enhancing the district’s urban vibrancy with flexible spaces for thoughtful programming.

The park’s tree canopy is returned with a distinctive bosque of trees, rising in height toward the Detroit River and creating a greenspace capable of hosting diverse civic and community events while also offering a tranquil retreat for a growing downtown residential population. The adaptive landscape features Carolinian Forest species and supports biodiversity, mitigates climate impacts, improves air quality, and manages stormwater.

The park vision establishes a framework of elements that will be layered over time. With phase one of the foundational park design now complete—including a porous ground paving system, renewed tree canopy, catenary lighting, an event lawn, and a dog relief area—additional layers of activation (a food and beverage kiosk with public washrooms), interpretation (ground-plane art installations), and reinterpretation (programming and events) will be introduced sequentially to foster an ongoing dialogue about Detroit’s future.