Heritage Park Creation Fund

Dream BIG        Play at HOME

Help us make a dream come true.

Heritage Park is the concept for a comprehensive community recreational, cultural, and educational facility with a central focus on Michigan’s history and heritage.  The grounds of the park will be laid out in the shape of our great state with water features in the areas where the great lakes are.

Entrance to the park will be through the arcade/art gallery building.  The facade of this building will be a depiction of outstanding architecture from across the state.  Inside the building there will be an indoor water play area and general arcade area that includes private party rooms for birthday parties.  The snack bar will feature healthy alternatives grown in Michigan in addition to the usual fare. The black light play area will have a 9 hole mini glow golf course, a virtual glow bowling area and a laser tag arena. The gift shop will feature items by Michigan artists and agricultural bounty.  The most unique feature of the building will be the artist’s workspace.  On the first level will be the workspace that will have glass walls for the public to view an artist at work.  The second level will be a lounge area for the artist to have privacy.

The second level of this building will feature two museum style galleries.  One will be an art gallery with a permanent exhibit of Michigan’s art history as well as an area for rotating modern works.  The other will be a history gallery which could be an annex of the Michigan Historical Museum or home for the City of Lansing museum. 

The arcade/art gallery building will be at the ‘southern border’ of  the map layout.  When exiting the building to the left a statue of ‘Tony the Tiger’ will mark Battle Creek. A mini Meijer Garden will represent Grand Rapids.  West of that is a display from the coast guard museum in the area of Grand Haven.  North of that area is a grove of fruit trees in the area of Fruitport.  A ring of tulips will mark the area of Holland. The entrance to the log ride will be near Muskegon.  

If you exit the building to the right, you will walk down I-94 through U of M to Detroit where you can dine in the Renaissance Restaurant, a mini version of the Detroit landmark Renaissance Center.  There will be a multi-purpose theater for live productions as well as an small scale version of the Spirit of Detroit. Batting cages will mark the area of Michigan & Trumble and will be filled with Tiger memorabilia.  In the water that represents Lake Erie, there will be a remote control boat rental.  You will be able to control your boat up the river to Lake St. Claire.  In the transition area between metropolitan southeast Michigan and the more rural parts of the state, there will be an 18 hole miniature golf course modeled after Oakland Hills south course.  

As you walk north from the arcade/art gallery building, passing through an MSU display area,  you come to the auto era area with more ride attractions.  The centerpiece of this area is a beautiful 3 story carousel in the area of St. Louis.  There will also be the entrance to the go carts which have the bodies of corvettes and mustangs.  The antique auto ride will have 1903 Olds and 1915 Model T bodies, the same as the ones in the Michigan Historical Museum.  There will also be a Tilt-A-Whirl, a Ferris wheel and a brand new thrill ride.  To the east of this there will be a beer sales area near Frankenmuth. The Bay City area will be the entrance for the waterpark thrill area.  

Further north will be the Lake Houghton spray area.  The rest of this area will be for picnics and filled with pine, birch and other native trees.  There will be replica lighthouses in the areas near the lakes and a beach play area on Lake Huron.  There will be a stand of cherry trees to mark Traverse City near the entrance to the lazy river ride. 

There will be a mini Mackinaw Bridge that will take you to the Upper Peninsula.  The bridge will go over the lazy river ride and ‘Sleeping Bear Island’.  This area will be known as “Dad’s World”.  There will be a building that looks like a hunting lodge on the outside.  Inside will be a sports lounge that features recliners and several large screen TV’s.  There will also be a separate smoking lounge.  Outside there will be grills and billiards tables. This will be the smoking picnic area.  The UP area will also have the Keweenaw mining experience.   

The wide variety of activities outlined here will allow visitors of all ages to enjoy their time at Heritage Park and learn about our great State in the process.