Peeling Back the Years

This past December, the City of Allen Park received notification that it had been awarded a $25,000.00 landscape grant from the America In Bloom – Canadian National (CN) Railroad’s CN EcoConnexions Grant Program for the Allen Park Historical Museum. The museum is located at the corner of Englewood and Park avenues. The city received the same grant in 2022 for the Brand Park Vietnam Veterans and Beyond Memorial and the Champaign Park Blue Star Memorial landscape projects, which were completed in 2023.

The grant will help to overhaul the landscaping at the museum with new shrubs, perennials, trees, concrete walkways, and a patio area with bench seating that can be used for small community gatherings. The project will also include a new flagpole, upgraded lighting for the flagpole, and a GFI outlet near the evergreen trees so it is easier and safer to add Christmas lights. The estimated cost of the project is $66,150.00. Construction is slated to start after July 1 and be finished by November 15.

This landscape project will be the culmination of some long-awaited and much-needed restoration that has included a new roof in 2019, with grant funding from the Allen Park Citizens Civic Fund (APCCF), and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding in 2022 and 2023 that included the removal of the gray paint from the bricks, painting the wood trim, building two new porch overhangs, and removal and replacement of four exterior doors.

When the Historical Museum landscaping project is finished, city leaders and the Historical Commission envision the museum site as a place where residents and visitors will come to learn more about this 135-year-old building and Allen Park history as they stroll along the landscaped walkway areas showcasing the newly restored architectural details.