News Article

October 6, 2016 [Detroit]- The McGregor Fund and the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy will unveil a new gathering space along the Dequindre Cut Greenway on October 13 that was commissioned by the Fund to honor the legacy of its former president C. David Campbell, who passed away in 2014.  Campbell was also a founding member of the Conservancy’s Board of Directors. 

The Campbell Memorial Terrace is a small-scale outdoor performance space that features a covered stage and tiered concrete seat walls for spectators.  It is located at the base of the Lafayette Street ramp between Orleans and St. Aubin.  Steps and ramps allow universal access to the site, while lush landscaping provides a colorful and welcoming destination for visitors. 

Leaders from both the Fund and the Conservancy expect that the Terrace will become a popular destination for impromptu performances by members of the community or for scheduled programs and special events.

“David Campbell loved Detroit, so it’s an honor to remember him with this beautiful space,” said Mark Wallace, president & CEO of the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy.  “He also loved art, music and dance.  The Campbell Memorial Terrace will be great for intimate performances, and I’m sure kids who encounter it on their way to the riverfront will enjoy putting on their own impromptu shows.”

A private ceremony to celebrate the opening of the Terrace will be held Thursday, October 13.  Media attendance is encouraged from 4 to 6 p.m.  The general public will have a chance to enjoy programming at the Terrace during the October 22 Harvestfest Detroit celebration along the Dequindre Cut as the space is programmed with musical performances for children.

Campbell was a much-loved and respected leader in the nonprofit community for more than two decades.  He became executive director of the McGregor Fund in 1995, stepped into his role as president in 1999, and served as president until 2014.  Campbell served on the Conservancy Board from its founding in 2003 until 2014. 

The Campbell Memorial Terrace is made possible by a $1 million gift from the McGregor Fund to the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy.  The Fund approached the Conservancy following Campbell’s death in 2014 with the idea of commissioning a community space and honoring him by creating a new destination that the public could enjoy.  Work began on the project in the spring of this year.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with how the Conservancy has embraced this project,” said Kate Levin Markel, president of the McGregor Fund.  “David Campbell was unfailingly interested in meeting new people.  He also appreciated both the natural world and the joy of experiencing a wide range of music, film, dance and theater. The Campbell Memorial Terrace elegantly combines these varied interests and attributes in one place, open for all to enjoy, in any manner of gathering, free of charge.”

The Campbell Memorial Terrace is located along the two-mile Dequindre Cut, a paved pedestrian greenway that stretches from Atwater Street at the Detroit Riverfront to Mack Avenue in Eastern Market.  The Dequindre Cut serves as a lynchpin of the Link Detroit greenway project, which features 20 miles of connected urban pathways extending from the Detroit Riverfront to Eastern Market, and linking to the cultural institutions of Midtown and beyond to Hamtramck via walking and biking paths.