Gateway Public Park of Windsor – A Work in Progress

NEW PHOTO GALLERIES Volunteers- 2007 Work-In-Progress- 2007 Work to be Done - 2008

A People Place As Gateway Public Park of Windsor began to take shape, people from the surrounding community were drawn to its peaceful setting to enjoy the flowers and the magnificent view of the Detroit River. Soon it was not uncommon for people to seek out the garden as a perfect spot for a workday lunch, to exercise with friends or have wedding photos taken. As the park grows, it is hoped that it will also become a popular picnic spot for families, a venue for outdoor concerts and a haven for our four-footed friends.

In 1999 CP Railway agreed in principal to allow the City of Windsor to convert an abandoned railway cut beside Cameron Avenue, from Riverside Drive to Elliot Street into an international garden, honouring Windsor’s twin cities around the globe.

Some cleanup work was done, park benches were installed and several flowering cherry trees were planted thanks to a donation from the Consul General of Japan.

But the entranceway, the land on the corner of Cameron and Riverside, remained a barren, unattractive, yet highly visible empty lot.

In 2002, Jack Renner, a local real estate agent and a resident in the immediate area, had experienced a very successful year in business and felt motivated to give something back to the community. A friend of the late Bert Weeks, an avid gardener and former mayor of Windsor, who had spearheaded the development of nine city parks during his long political career, Jack wondered if perhaps he could add to Weeks’ legacy.

Surveying the empty lot next to Cameron and Riverside Drive, he realized he had the perfect location for a new Windsor park and a fitting gateway to the international gardens. Jack decided he would create “Gateway Public Park of Windsor.”

With the blessing of CPR, the financial generosity of area businesses, the help of a local nursery, cooperation from the City of Windsor, sweat equity of the neighbourhood and friends, as well as Jack’s own considerable financial and physical contributions, the once drab and unsightly corner of Cameron and Riverside overlooking the Detroit River, has been transformed into a beautiful, community park.

But Jack isn’t finished. He and his volunteers have begun an ambitious landscaping plan for the banks of the railway cut all the way to Wyandotte Street and he hopes to create a dog park between University Avenue and Wyandotte.

Jack knows that in order to complete his vision, he’ll need further support from the community and to that end, he commissioned this website as a tool to catalogue the progress of the park to date and how interested parties can help, both financially and physically.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of strolling through Gateway Public Park of Windsor yet to enjoy the spectacular view of the Detroit skyline while seated on one of its many benches, this website will give you a good sense of what you’ve been missing. And perhaps you too will become one of Jack’s group of dedicated volunteers!