Palmer Park (Detroit)

Palmer Park
Palmer Park's Merrill Humane Fountain, July 2013
LocationDetroit, Michigan
Coordinates42°25′35″N 83°07′05″W / 42.4263°N 83.1180°W / 42.4263; -83.1180
Area296-acre (120 ha)
Created1895
Operated byCity of Detroit
OpenAll year
StatusOpen

Palmer Park is a 296-acre (120 ha) public park next to Detroit, Michigan's Palmer Park Apartment Building Historic District. It is named for U.S. Senator Thomas Witherell Palmer, who initially created the park when he donated 140-acre (57 ha) for a city park in 1893 on the condition that the virgin forest be preserved. A 2014 review of Library of Congress records confirmed the existence of a long forgotten sketch for part of Palmer Park by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. The park includes a historic log cabin, a public disc golf course, tennis courts, hiking and biking trails and a large pond known as Lake Frances.