Famous people's places / Detroit – Downtown

Capitol Park

A downtown square on the site of Michigan's first statehouse, where Governor Stevens T. Mason was reburied in 1905 beneath a 1908 bronze statue.

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Capitol Park sits on the site of Michigan's first state capitol building, built here in 1823 and destroyed by fire in 1893, years after the government had already moved to Lansing. In June 1905, the remains of Michigan's 'Boy Governor,' Stevens T. Mason, were brought back from New York and reburied on this square, and in 1908 a bronze statue by sculptor Albert Weinert was unveiled over his grave, cast partly from melted-down cannons from Fort Michilimackinac. Around 1955 the grave was moved to make way for a bus terminal, and it stayed displaced for decades until a 2010 renovation of the park restored Mason's remains and statue to a new resting place on the square's east side, where they remain today. The park itself is now a pedestrian plaza ringed by restored historic buildings.

Site of Michigan's first state capitol, built 1823, burned 1893
Stevens T. Mason reburied here in 1905
Bronze statue by Albert Weinert unveiled in 1908
Grave relocated within the park in 2010

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Stevens T. Mason 1811–1843 · territorial secretary, first governor of Michigan
Buried here
Downtown square on the site of Michigan's first capitol; his remains were reburied here in 1905 and a bronze statue stands over the grave.

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Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25

An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.