After the fire of 1805, Campus Martius was the focal point of judge Augustus Woodward's plans to rebuild the city. It is where the "point of origin" of Detroit's coordinate system is located. Seven miles north of this point is Seven Mile Road; eight miles north is Eight Mile Road, and so on.
The precise point of origin is marked by a medallion embedded in the stone walkway. It is situated in the western point of the diamond surrounding the Woodward Fountain, just in front of the park's concession building.
The new Campus Martius Park was dedicated on November 19, 2004. It includes two stages, sculptures, public spaces and a seasonal ice skating rink. Adjacent Cadillac Square Park opened in the summer of 2007.
The park's skating rink is designed to resemble the one at Rockefeller Center in New York City and is actually larger in size than the Rockefeller rink. Campus Martius Park is the home of the annual Motown Winter Blast, an event that has drawn more than 450,000 people to the downtown area every year.
The original park covered several acres and was a major gathering area for citizens. The park was lost in the 1900s as the city's downtown was reconfigured to accommodate increased vehicular traffic. Hart Plaza, along the riverfront, was designed to replace Campus Martius as a point of importance.
But as Hart Plaza is a primarily hard-surfaced area, many residents came to lament the lack of true park space in the city's downtown area. This led to calls to rebuild Campus Martius
across from the new Compuware Headquarters.
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