ISAAC WARREN PARK

 

 

Once a weed-covered, city-owned, vacant lot near the northeast corner of Detroit and Warren Roads, since 1975 the Isaac Warren Park is now a beautiful oasis enjoyed by many.

 

While the pocket park was the Lakewood Garden Club’s bicentennial gift to the city, many Lakewood organizations participated in the planning process. The Lakewood Historical Society suggested several names for the park, and Lakewood residents were invited to participate by voting for the name.  They chose Isaac Warren, an original stockholder in the Connecticut Land Company, who settled in the Madison-Warren area in 1822.  One of his seven children, Joseph, was a Revolutionary War hero killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill.

 

The landscape design was completed by Lakewood horticulturist William Zmich.  Recycled materials were used when possible.  In the summer of 1975, city employees began excavating the land to lay a curved flagstone path made from old pieces of sidewalk.  Old telephone poles being replaced on Detroit Road were transformed into split rail fences for two sides of the park.  Five permanent benches were installed for visitors’ comfort.  All of the planting was done by members of the Lakewood Garden Club.

 

Today, the park is landscaped with trees, shrubs, flowers, and ground cover including, honey locust, dogwood, forsythia, rhododendron, viburnum, hydrangea, lilac, rose bushes, and a multitude of perennials are supplemented with several flats of annuals planted every spring.  From spring through fall, Lakewood Garden Club members meet at 10:00 a.m. Monday mornings to garden in this beautiful park.  So many people enjoy this garden and are grateful to have it in the center of Lakewood!!  We have an opportunity to hear from so many of them on the Monday mornings while we are gardening.