Windsor Stadium

About

Across Matchette Road lies Malden Park, a former city dump-turned-park, with a huge 300-foot (90 m) hill, providing views of the Windsor and Detroit skylines, as well as sights of the River Rouge and Zug Island factories. On a clear day, visitors can even see the Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station and the office towers of Southfield, Michigan far off in the distance. Fireworks are also launched from the hill at certain times during the year. Malden Park also contains a number of small artificial lakes, a restroom, woodland trails, and war memorials, tributing Canada's soldiers during both World Wars.

Close to Malden Park, is the large inter-connected park system that is the Ojibway Prairie Complex, popularly known as "Ojibway". The Ojibway Prairie Complex is a collection of six closely situated natural areas in Windsor. The largest of the parks is the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve, which is not a city-maintained park, but a provincially maintained one. It is connected via the bike trails (such as the West Windsor Recreationway) to neighbouring Ojibway Park and Spring Garden Natural Area. Although some city maps display Titcombe Road as a street that goes through, connecting Matchette Road to the west, and Malden Road to the east, it actually was abandoned in the 1960s, and is now a bike trail, ending at two parks and parking lots.

In the Sandwich Towne neighbourhood, the Parks and Rec. department maintains two medium-sized parks, the Mill Street Park (complete with windmill and pier), and the Chewett Beach Park (McKee Park), just west of the Ambassador Bridge. The beach at Chewett Beach/McKee Park used to allow swimming until recently, when it was completely redesigned, keeping only the small boardwalk and boat launch. Swimming was strongly recommended against, due to the pollution of the Detroit River and currents caused by passing ships.

This collection of parks is now one park, but at one time was several that blended seamlessly together. It goes by many nicknames, such as "Riverwalk", "Riverfront Park" and the "Riverside Park". The parks were gradually converted from numerous rail yards into one long connected park, 3 miles (4.8 km) long, from the foot of the Ambassador Bridge, to Hiram Walker 's Canadian Club distillery. The vast majority of the park allows people to fish along its edge. Caution must be taken while riding a bicycle along the Riverwalk trail, due to young children, crowds of people walking, people walking dogs on the bike paths, occasional sharp curves of the bike trail, and the large number of Canada geese and other migratory birds that rest and walk along the parkland and trails. Because of this, a city-posted speed limit of 20 kilometres per hour (12 mph) is in effect on the trail.

Assumption Park and the Windsor Sculpture Park

The first part of the park starts at the foot of the Ambassador Bridge and includes portions of the Windsor Sculpture Par, and a parking lot for people to park their vehicles. The former name of this park was "Ambassador Park", a name now given to the park between the University of Windsor and the Sculpture Park. The park also contains two service centers, a drinking fountain, and a Vietnam War memorial. This park also connects to the Fujisawa Botanical Gardens, a gravel trail and grassed area still under conversion from railway bed, extending south to Wyandotte Street.

After the Caron Ave Pumping Station, the park transitions into the Dieppe Gardens, a beautiful and well-maintained garden and grassed area between the hotels along Riverside Drive, and the river. Many ships dock along the Gardens, and (Like Mill St. Park, Jackson Park, and the Sculpture Gardens), is a popular destination, especially for news crews. The park also contains several beautiful and varied war memorials, as well as a monument dedicated towards peace (The UN Peace Memorial).

Shortly after Dieppe Gardens, the park quickly transitions into a large parking lot for visitors, as well as the large pavilion of Civic Terrace, where small concerts and the annual Busker Festival street performance takes place. It is also the home of the yearly Windsor-Detroit International Freedom Festival. The name of this park is, appropriately " Riverfront Festival Plaza ", with the large open paved area named "Civic Terrace".

It also connects to City Hall Square via a smaller plaza and park across the street from Riverside Drive. in front of Festival Plaza are two large ramp structures that are currently being rehabilitated. They are the former decks for loading railroad cars onto ferries, to cross the river to Detroit. They are due to be open to the public by spring of 2007, and are a tribute to our former railroad service along the riverfront. There were similar docks just east of the Sculpture Garden, but they have since been removed, being converted into parkland. The City intends on having plaques about the decks and railroads installed (two are already installed, along with over 30 other plaques along the entire Riverfront Park system), along with benches for people to sit on and enjoy the scenery.

The Festival Plaza also contains The Spirit of Windsor, a Pacific Type 4-6-2 Steam Locomotive. Its Engine number is #5588 and stands where the train station used to be. CN Rail built the engine in Montreal in 1911, and retired it in 1962. The train was donated to the city as a gift for its parkland, and commemorated in 1965. The park also offers coin-operated viewfinders, which allow you 2 minutes of viewing through large binoculars at the Detroit Skyline for just 25 cents. These viewfinders are located along Dieppe Gardens and Festival Plaza.

The Plaza was the site of the former Northern Belle paddleboat casino from New Orleans that the city chose over 3 other boats (one was also a luxury ocean liner from Greece ), to house its Casino until Casino Windsor was finished, and the Art Gallery of Windsor was converted back into an art gallery from a temporary casino. The remnants of its docking platform are still visible, as they have been converted into storage rooms and restrooms.

After the parking lot at the foot of Aylmer Avenue (Northbound) and Glengarry Avenue (Southbound), the park transitions into Great Western Park. Until as recently as 2000, there was a large turntable, that used to turn locomotives, a relic of Windsor's railroading past.

The Great Western Park contains wide open space for playing many games, along with benches, and completely re- landscaped gardens and bays. The Great Western Park also contains a service center with murals of railroading-related scenes.

These gardens, including a magnificent curved waterfall and plaza are dedicated to a former Windsor Mayor from 1975–1982 who got the ball rolling for the entire riverfront park system in the mid-1970s. They contain a terraced garden, plaza, font, waterfall, reflecting pool, and a small bridge around a bay, also linking the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel pumping house, via a securely locked door. It has many trees and lamps along the trails to add to the already wonderful scenery. Bert Weeks Memorial Gardens was designed by Windsor architect Michele Di Maio to symbolize Weeks's life; the font above the waterfall represents his birth, the waterfall his political career, the reflecting pool his retirement and the ending of his life is marked by small waterfall at the foot of the plaza. A striking noon mark in the centre of the reflecting pool symbolizes Weeks's career as a watchmaker. A bronze bust of Weeks, sculpted by noted local sculptor, Christopher Rees, (deceased) stands on the west side of the garden. A plaque below the bust describes Weeks's life (he died in 1990) and his many contributions to the City of Windsor.

Clifford and Joan Hatch Wildflower Garden

This wildflower garden is located directly west of the end of the park, along the Hiram Walker Canadian Club distillery, and contains several bays and gardens of wildflowers. A restroom was built into the hill-side below the bike trail, with the roof providing a very large and beautiful overhang/lookout to observe the river and Detroit Skyline.

Jackson Park, Queen Elizabeth II Gardens, and Windsor Stadium

Its walkways are brick-laid, compared to typical concrete, asphalt, tarmac, or even gravel in other parks. The park even used to hold an actual World War II Lancaster bomber. Mounting public pressure caused City Hall to finally take down the bomber, listening to the public's requests to fully restore the bomber and protect it from the elements, and from any further deterioration.

The Queen Elizabeth II Gardens are located in Jackson Park, and are sunken gardens, with flowers, rocks, and a former reflecting pool.

The former Windsor Stadium, used for football, rugby, and soccer, is adjacent to Jackson Park. Former tenants include the Windsor AKO Fratmen and Windsor Stars.