Victory Park in Belleville established to celebrate WWI victory

The history of Victory Park at Five Points in Belleville was read aloud in 1991 during a dedication of the newly renovated Victory Station. A story by Julius Hill in the May 1991 issue of The View Publication reports the details.
Marie Roberts, whose husband Orlo Roberts was the first mayor of Belleville, read the brief history.
In 1919 the park was purchased for the city by a group of citizens donating a grand total of $2,500. It was named Victory Park to honor veterans returning from World War I.
However, she said, the local group in charge of maintaining the 2.89-acre park found the task difficult and later turned it over to the county in exchange for construction of the Comfort Station.
In 1985, then-County Commissioner Milton Mack turned the park and the station back over to the city as the county was amiss in maintaining it. Then, in 1986, the fund to remodel the building was started and the name was later changed from the Comfort Station to better harmonize with the park.
Mack said the county had assumed control of the park and the station in the late 1920s but had abandoned maintenance of it by the 1980s. He said he decided to run for county commission because the county was being unresponsive to the needs of this region.
After securing his seat on the county commission, he found County Executive William Lucas was amiable to letting the city take control of the park and station. He said after getting the county administration to approve it, it took about three months for paperwork.
Park Gregory, a member of the city’s Parks and Recreation Committee, was praised, along with his wife Edna Mae, for “turning an eyesore into a beautiful lakeside park,” in the words of then-Mayor Glenn Silvenis.
The Gregorys donated $50,000 to get the Victory Station renovation going.
Park Gregory said in the early 1980s, the doors on the station were locked and the grass was left to grow unchecked. When the city or a resident took the initiative to cut the grass, the county road commission would accuse them of trespassing.
That’s when Gregory called on Channel 4 in Detroit to do a brief segment on the condition of the park and station. Gregory said the piece by Mike Wendland was one of the first breaks for the city, as it was later given a 10-year lease on the property from the county.
Then, in 1985, Mack brought the city the full deed to the park at the dedication of the LaSalle statue.
Gregory said he started the fund drive to renovate the structure in 1987, as the building had no heat and faced rapid deterioration. In a year and a half, he said, the community responded and a total of $74,383 was raised through a letter-writing campaign. There were some construction funds left over, which were given to the city to help cover architectural costs.
Gregory noted in the 1991 View story that Victory Station was no longer simply two large bathrooms, but a 50-75-person, air-conditioned meeting room complete with a small kitchenette. Doors on the restrooms also open back to the park for quicker entry and exits. Also, the building can be rented on a per-hour basis from the city for small groups.
In 2022 the city learned it had received a grant through the county to renovate Victory Station yet again, along with improvement to the park.
Reportedly, a call for bids for the work recently was published by the city.