Mary Bailey of the Detroit News, writes, "Atwater was named for Reuben Attwater (the spelling was different but early Detroiters didn't seem to care) and because the street was "at the water." Attwater was Secretary of the Michigan Territory in 1808 and was acting governor in the absence of Gov. William Hull in the 1800s."
The William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor (formerly named Tri-Centennial State Park and Harbor) is a state park in Michigan, and the state's first to be situated in an urban area. Located just east of downtown Detroit along a portion of the city's International Riverfront, it covers 31 acres (130,000 m2) on the Detroit River, and includes a 52-slip harbor of refuge. A 63-foot (19 m) conical brick light-house tower marks the harbor entrance.
The park consists of the former city-owned St. Aubin Park and Marina and an adjacent reclaimed brownfield. The park area was taken over by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in 2004 as Tri-Centennial State Park. Phase I of the park's development, which included refurbishing the marina and construction of the light tower, opened on May 20, 2004. Construction of the 6-acre (24,000 m2) Phase II, or expansion, phase of the project began in summer 2008 and concluded in summer 2009. The Phase II project encompassed a parcel of post-industrial property adjacent to Rivard Plaza.
On October 22, 2009, Tri-Centennial State Park was renamed in honor of Governor William G. Milliken.[1] The Lowlands section of the park was officially opened to the public on December 3, 2009.