Park Address: 800 Broadway St, Ann Arbor MI 48104
Hours and Rules
Open 6 a.m. - midnight with quiet hours starting at 10 p.m. Refer to Chapter 39 of the City of Ann Arbor Code of Ordinances for park regulations and rules. Smoking is prohibited.
Overview
Broadway Park is a five acre park off Broadway Street along the Huron River, north of downtown. View the Ann Arbor Parks and Nature Areas Map for location context. The park space is mostly used as a fenced-in dog park, 1.37 acres in size, with separate areas for larger and smaller dogs. The park, nestled between the Huron River and the Kerrytown area, provides a green space with plenty of tall maple and oak trees. The park contains a sculpture made out of repurposed canoes entitled Turbine, which is part of the Canoe Imagine Art series. Broadway Park connects to Argo Park & Nature Area and Riverside Park via the Broadway Bridge.
Access and Parking
There is no parking at the park. There is some street parking along Depot Street, down the stairs from the Broadway Bridge, which has sidewalks connecting to the park.
There are sidewalks along the Broadway Street bridge for foot access. All of the surrounding streets have sidewalks. There are no bike racks at the park.
The park is a short walk from Wheeler Park, Riverside Park, Argo Park & Nature Area, Longshore Park and Plymouth Parkway Park.
Public Transportation
There is a bus stop just across the Broadway Bridge, a very short walk from the park. Visit The Ride for schedule and route details or check out the parks ride guide.
Using a Phone? - Click for a GPS Tracker and Wayfinding Map
Amenities
Volunteer
There are many opportunities for volunteering and getting engaged with the Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation Services Unit. GIVE 365 and the seasonal Adopt-a-Park Program offer volunteer opportunities with many levels of commitment.
Report a Problem - A2 Fix It
To report any maintenance issues or other problem during your park visit, please report through A2Fix It. Keep in mind that parks are large spaces and A2 Fix It requests can be hard to find without detailed information. When reporting an issue in a park please include location details. There is a details and description section near the end of the request process to help you provide this. Users can also utilize the pin (website) or X (mobile app) feature to provide specific location information inside the park. Please consider including a wide angle photo, which helps staff find and fix the problem.
Gifts and Donations
Information on donating to the parks and the Guide to Giving can be found here. If you have a park improvement idea, a great place to start is through Adopt-a-Park and the proposing a special park project guide. For information on donating a tree through Adopt-a-Park, the tree donation guide can help you get started.
History
Ann Arbor's city parks sit on the ancestral and traditional homelands of several indigenous Native peoples. Read a land acknowledgement from the city and learn more about the early history of the land here.
The land that is now known as Broadway Park was acquired by the city. This was done mostly through condemnation of several properties from 1902 to 1915. Mayor Royal S. Copeland had a vision of a "green sward" of land along the river. In 1902, however, the land on both sides of the river was split between many owners and filled with junkyards and factories. The park was formally named "Riverside Park" in 1907, although that name did not stick. The park across the river became known as Riverside Park in 1934, a name it still carries. From around 1934 through 1973 the park was unofficially referred to as "Hobo Park." This was due to the hoboes that would arrive in Ann Arbor via the train station looking for work. The park was officially named Broadway Park in 1973. Read more about the history of Broadway and Riverside Parks in this Ann Arbor Observer article from the AADL.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the city struggled with maintaining the water levels just past the Argo Dam. This led to more erosion at Broadway Park and other areas along the Huron River. In one instance, two people in a canoe nearly died when their canoe was sucked through the dam in a sudden surge of water. An article from the Ann Arbor News in 1987 details efforts to manage the water levels. Today, canoers, kayakers and rafters float past Broadway Park after embarking from Argo Park.
In 2015 a sculpture entitled Turbine was installed in the park as part of the Canoe Imagine Art series. Turbine was created by by Missouri State Western University artists J. Neil Lawley, Heather Andrews, Jake Proffit, Dustin Lafromboise and Hausman Metal Works. This series includes four art pieces installed along the Huron River in Ann Arbor parks. All of the works are made out of old canoes from the Ann Arbor Liveries. These works of art were voted on by the public.
The fenced-in dog runs, which now make up most of the park's land usage, were built in 2016.
Dogs enjoying the new dog park at its grand opening in 2016
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