Another Big Slide Coming To Downtown Detroit

Downtown Detroit was already on the map for the Belle Isle slide controversy. Word is out on yet another side, being built at Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park at West Jefferson Avenue and Rosa Parks Boulevard, which is expected to open next year.

The 20-foot slide shaped like a brown bear is a part of the new 22-acre Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park

The new 22-acre Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park at West Jefferson Avenue and Rosa Parks Boulevard is expected to open to the public next year.

The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy broke ground on the park in May 2022, with plans for a sports house pavilion with basketball courts, a water garden lined with trees and greenery, with direct access to the Detroit River where visitors can sit and dip their feet, an expansive lawn for special events and programs, and a 4-acre playground- and yes!- home to a 20-foot bear slide and other animal-shaped play structures.

Shut down last summer after a few attempts to bring joy to those who rode it. It actually caused more pain than fun, but thankfully they are reopening it and we have all the details. Here is the full story on the return! Here's a look back on one small problem with the slide.

Hopefully this time it will be open longer. The last time they opened the Giant Slide it was only open for about 2 weeks before being shut down due to safety issues.

The 20-foot Giant Bear slide is set to open when the park is finished in 2025. As for the Belle Isle slide, no date has been officially set for its next victim, er, I mean the next patron.