In 1823, the population of Detroit had increased to the point that the US Congress transferred governance of what was then the Territory of Michigan to the governor and legislative council.

The buildings within the Historic District surrounding the park were built primarily during the first three decades of the 20th century for commercial and business purposes.

[2] Several famous architects, including Albert Kahn and Gordon W. Lloyd, contributed buildings in a range of styles, from Victorian to Beaux-Arts to Art Deco.

[4] Finney was strongly sympathetic to the abolitionist cause, and used his barn to hide escaping slaves before their final trek across the river into Canada.

[5] On the 199th anniversary of his birth, October 27, 2010, Mason was reburied for 4th time in a newly built vault in the pedestal the bronze statue.

Two years after the destruction of the state capitol by fire, multiple streetcar lines were looped around the new park with large boarding platforms constructed on Griswold and Shelby streets, transforming it into a major transfer station.

[9] Not long after the restructuring of the DSR as the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT), the station was demolished in 1979, though the area around the park continued to be used as a major bus terminal.