Riverside Park - Saginaw MI

Address: 3010 Maple St
City: Saginaw
State: MI
Zip: 48602
County: Saginaw
Number of visits to this page: 27907
Disclaimer:

Please note that location entries may feature older photos or post card views that may not represent the current appearance, features, addresses, phone numbers, or contact names of the attraction. This site is intended to be a historical as well as current record of various attractions but it is not always possible to have up-to-date information due to the vast number of locations featured here. We ask you consult the propietor for current information.

General Information:

I am using the address of the Greenpoint Nature Center as the address as that is basically where the park was. Nothing remains.

Source: Hoyt Public Library

New York had Coney Island on the seashore and Pittsburgh had Kennywood Park near the Monongahela River. Sandusky had Cedar Point on the shores of Lake Erie, and Bay City had Wenona Park on Saginaw Bay. But Saginawians enjoyed Riverside Park on the banks of the Tittabawassee River. Between 1894 and 1937 Saginaw's Riverside Park provided area residents with a place to enjoy a summer day. In 1903 Riverside Park officials boasted that the park was indispensable for Saginaw residents. That year, to further add to the publics enjoyment, a new Roller Coaster was built for the park by Ingersoll Construction of Pittsburgh, who had built a similar ride for Kennywood Park.

The thrilling "Circle Swing" was a popular sensation at Luna Park at Coney Island, and both Saginaw and Bay City had one of these popular rides. When Riverside Park built its circle swing in 1905 there were only 16 others in operation. Bay City's Wenona Park had installed theirs in 1902. It was said not a single accident had occurred up to that time. The passengers were buckled in and the centrifugal force kept them from falling out. When the speed was increased the cars were said to "whiz through the air at railroad speed." The carnival rides and amusements at Saginaw's Riverside Park rivaled those of similar parks nationwide. For Saginawians fun was at the end of the trolley line on the banks of the Tittabawassee.

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Info Updates:
5/16/2020 - Mike Keifer
Does anyone here know who now owns the property the ark was once on? I’m born and raised in the area but I’m way too young to have ever enjoyed the park. I love reading about Saginaw's history. I also enjoy metal detecting and would absolutely love to be able to spend some time there detecting. Thank you in advance for any information. love the FB page!.
3/26/2017 - Quinn D. Hickey II
Hello! My grandfather was Arthur Hickey owner of Hickey Oldsmobile in saginaw mi- his father- my great grandfather was the owner of Riverside park. My uncle Art Hickey Jr. was the last person in our family to own it. My grand father built a house out there and I'm not sure what has become of it- I spent many days out there as a kid playing around and explorering. As I got older I mowed there for me uncle and always found coins and tokens in the dirt. I've got lots of original pictures of the grounds back when the canoe club was still open. We also have in our family the original glass French doors that were inside the club- lots of awesome stuff. I'm proud to say it was my grandparents who created so much enjoyment for many generations. I currently am the owner of DJ'S Detailing in saginaw at 7711 Gratiot rd. Stop in anytime if you ever want to talk about the park or could give me a history lesson! I'm young- only 27 so I don't know much about it other than what I've been told throughout my life.
5/5/2015 - Pat McCarthy
We found the park by accident 45 tears ago when we were teenagers. We thought we had entered the Twilight Zone. A roller skating rink, stables, tack room and a fenced riding area, rides and remnants of rides all over the place. It was unbelievable. We went skating after finding some old skates that fit. There was a 10ft stuffed Polar bear in mint condition inside the rink near the entrance. We were going to steal it but that was just a Pipe dream We also found a 1947 olds in perfect condition under a raised building. It had a Hickey plate on it. Weird. Train tracks that led to a turn table told us how popular this must have been. I would love to go back and search the picnic area by the river with a metal detector. what a treasure trove that would be.
9/23/2012 - DK
GO, There are few remnants of the park. A big slab of cement where the roller rink used to be. I can tell where a boat landing once stood. As Lee suggested in a previous post, I talked with Herman at the Historical Society. I found I work with his daughter. He came out one day and walked the grounds. He was kind enough to give me copies of many documents detailing the history of the park. VERY COOL! What a place it was at one time. Now I get to see bald eagles across the river in the wildlife refuge.
3/26/2012 - Jerry Cox
My father, Jim M Cox, born in 1920, told me that there was a trolley line that went right out to Riverside Park along a route that would be South Michigan Ave and then past Merrill Park on Maple Street. He said that one of the rides went right out over the river. I can remember going to Riverside as a child in the '50s for one day special events, such as church or school or union picnic days. There were no remnants of the park then except for what used to be a roller skating rink. He said that, in its day, it was quite the place to be.
12/28/2011 - DK
I bought the property where the park used to be in August 2011. A new house was built there in 1977. The house that used to be the Canoe Club is still standing. It is in bad shape. I'm finding some bits and pieces of lamp posts in the river that used to be along the river. I'm sure a metal detector will soon become one of my favorite tools. Who knows what will be unearthed!.
11/25/2010 - TJW
A reply to David: Riverside Park was located near where Green Point Nature Center is today. If you go past the Green Point entrance, and past the golfcourse, the road bends to the right. At the end of the road is the river and is where the park was. The area is private now and there's a few homes back there. I recall my father saying that there used to be remnants of rides still laying around back in the late 50's.
9/13/2010 - David Conwill
Is modern-day Imerman Memorial Park the site of historic Riverside Park? Looking at a map, it would seem to be logical, as it's a site along the Tittabawasee that was likely accessible by streetcar in that era.
2/18/2003 - Web
1894 Riverside Park opens on Green Point. Merry-go-rounds, roller coasters, balloon ascensions, pavilion dancing - served by Union St. Railway. All vanished, without a trace.
 Photos:13
Riverside Park - Old Post Card View
Old Post Card View
Riverside Park - Old Post Card View
Old Post Card View
Riverside Park - Old Post Card View
Old Post Card View
Riverside Park - Old Post Card View
Old Post Card View
Riverside Park - Old Post Card View
Old Post Card View
Riverside Park - The River
The River
Riverside Park - The River
The River
Riverside Park - Swing Ride
Swing Ride
Riverside Park - Vintage Photo
Vintage Photo
Riverside Park - Walkway
Walkway
Riverside Park - July 1916
July 1916
Riverside Park - 1954 Aerial View
1954 Aerial View
Riverside Park - 2022 Aerial View
2022 Aerial View
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