Vacant lots transformed into playground

Playscape at the Minock & Whitlock Park - Photo by Frank Nemecek

It wasn't long ago that a series of vacant homes occupied a small stretch of land on the southeast corner of Minock and Whitlock Streets in the Warrendale neighborhood. The City of Detroit eventually demolished those abandoned structures; leaving empty land in its spot instead.

While everyone in Warrendale seemed to prefer the empty land to the burned out houses that once stood there, its emptiness still haunted the neighborhood.

After years of being occupied by nothing more than assorted pieces of trash that were deposited there by the wind, a group of voluneters from the In Memory Of Community Garden managed to raise the money necessary install playscapes at that location. What was once nothing more than an eyesore on the westside of Detroit, is now a safe and fun place for children to play.

This transformed land has been christened the Minock & Whitlock Park after the intercection where it sits. It joins the nearby In Memory Of Community Garden and the In Memory of Orchard as public green spaces in the neighborhood.