Clark Park

01 / The story of this place

Make time for these

Clark Park has served as southwest Detroit's main recreational green space since it opened in 1890 on land that had once been a ribbon farm running from the Detroit River to Tireman. Sitting in the heart of Mexicantown and the Hubbard Farms neighborhood, the roughly 30-acre park has long anchored a community that weathered decades of disinvestment and gang violence to become one of the city's most cited examples of neighborhood revival. Musician Jack White, who grew up nearby in southwest Detroit and played baseball on its diamond as a boy, donated close to $170,000 in 2009 to rebuild that same ball field. Today the park offers walking paths, ball fields, tennis and basketball courts, a recreation center and a seasonal outdoor ice rink, run with the nonprofit Clark Park Coalition.

1. Opened in 1890 on former ribbon-farm land
2. Heart of the Mexicantown and Hubbard Farms neighborhoods
3. Jack White played baseball here as a boy
4. White donated nearly $170,000 to renovate its diamond in 2009
5. Offers ball fields, courts, a rec center and a winter ice rink