Belize Park is a small half acre neighborhood park on the corner of Fountain Street and West Summit Street. View the Ann Arbor Parks and Nature Areas map for location context. The park is located in a small low area where it feels protected from the street.
The park offers a play structure for young children and open space for them to play. A short hill is great for sledding in the winter. There is a seating area with benches, a picnic table, and water fountains for adults, children and leashed dogs.
Tall trees provide plenty of shade in spring, summer and fall. In the back corner of the park is a rain garden. This garden collects runoff rainwater so the plants can slow and clean the water before it enters our water system. The surrounding neighborhood is residential, with some houses dating back to the late 1800s.
Park NoticesUnless otherwise posted per City Council resolution, when a park is closed, no person shall remain in or enter it other than to quietly sit or walk.
Refer to Chapter 39 of the City of Ann Arbor Code of Ordinances for park regulations and rules. |
Park Hours6 a.m. – Midnight |
Amenities
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The nearest bus stop on W Summit Street is about a one minute walk from the park.
Visit TheRide for route and schedule details or check out the parks ride guide.
Ann Arbor's city parks sit on the ancestral and traditional homelands of several indigenous Native peoples. Read a land acknowledgement from the city and learn more about the early history of the land here.
As with some other Ann Arbor city parks, Belize Park did not come on board fully formed. It was pieced together from two land purchases at different times and with some outside funding. The park was dedicated June 16, 1975. At this time, the park consisted of the property at 742 Fountain Street, which the city had acquired in 1974. Funds for purchasing that property came from a portion of the city's 1966 voter approved 2.5 million dollar park bond issue. This was matched by fun ds from a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant.
A small piece of land was added in 1992 when the city purchased the adjoining property at 517 Summit. The city sold most of it to become affordable housing but retained the portion that would come to hold Belize Park's rain garden.
You might wonder, why the name 'Belize Park' for a park in Ann Arbor? It has to do with sister cities. Ann Arbor has several sister cities, and Belize City, Belize is one of the earliest ones.
While at Belize Park you might notice commemorative words carved into the park's wooden retaining wall. In 1965 two people were tragically killed in a fire that occurred at Essie Logan's house that stood on that site. This house had most likely had stood there since the late 1800s. The words on the wooden wall read: “In memory of Essie Logan who resided here." Both 56 year old Mrs. Essie Logan and four year old Michael Brown tragically died in the fire. The fire department crew responded, but rescue efforts failed.
The neighborhood around Belize Park— now commonly known as Water Hill— for a long time was known as the West Side and had a strong connection to Kerrytown. Some statistics on changes since 1970 in those two neighborhoods are shown here.
In 1820 the hill holding Belize Park's neighborhood was named Buttercup Hill. That name seems to have disappeared from usage as houses were built.
The recent name Water Hill likewise draws attention to the hill holding Belize Park's neighborhood. This name came about from a music festival held there in the 2010s. Belize Park served as an island of peace away from the crowds. It was in many ways a very unique music festival.
In the past, a brook flowed and gurgled through Belize Park and fed into streams running a mill. A feature of Belize Park now captures the streams of water flowing there in heavy downpours.
This just touches on the history woven into the fabric of Belize Park. Learn more by reading Belize Park History written by Martha Hill in 2022.
The rain garden was rebuilt in 2016 to address flooding in the neighborhood. This project won the Rain Garden Leadership Award in Public Stewardship presented by the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner.
Looking to make an impact in a park or nature area? Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation provides volunteer opportunities for almost every interest, ability, and commitment level.
Discover parks and find amenities through the City of Ann Arbor Park Finder. This map allows you to search park names or search by amenity type or keyword.
A2 Fix It is an online system you can use to report any maintenance issues or other problems during your park visit. When reporting an issue in a park please include detailed location information in the "details and description" section near the end of the request process. Pictures that provide location context are very helpful.
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