Miller-Showers Park

The land that is now Miller-Showers Park was purchased from the Showers Brothers Company in 1930 (southern portion), and from Jacob W. and Loretta Miller in 1931 (northern portion). Each parcel was purchased for $1. In early records the area is referred to as “Showers Miller Park.” 

Quick Park Information

• Features: native prairie and wetland plants, benches, stormwater detention ponds and creek, interpretive signs, limestone sculptures, Bicentennial gateway
• Size: 9 acres
• Trail: .6-mile, asphalt surface Clean Water Path around perimeter of park
• Restrooms: no restrooms available
• Parking: asphalt surface parking lot on 17th Street between Walnut Street and College Avenue, with parking for 11 vehicles plus two designated handicap parking spaces.
• Property rules and hours of operation for Bloomington's city parks

Public Art

“Axis” by Dale Enochs

• The sculpture was named the winner of the All-American Sculpture Competition and celebrates Bloomington's designation as an "All-American City" in 1982 by the National Civic League. "Axis" was installed in Miller-Showers Park in 1985, and remained in its original location in the southwest corner of Miller-Showers Park throughout the park renovation of 2002-03.

“Red, Blond, Black & Olive” by Jean-Paul Darriau

• "Red, Blond, Black & Olive" was selected for installation in Miller-Showers Park through a competition by a committee of artists, businessmen, Bloomington citizens and Mayor Francis X. McCloskey. It was placed in the center of Miller-Showers Park in 1980 and moved to its current prominent location on the north end of the park in 2002.

Bicentennial Gateway

• The Bicentennial Gateway is a wall approximately 52' long and 10' high, composed of stacked limestone blocks. Powder-coated aluminum letters spelling "BLOOMINGTON" are mounted to the limestone.The letters are backlit at night with soft white light.
• About the Bicentennial Gateway project

History of Miller-Showers Park

• Not much is mentioned about this parcel of land until 1956, when the Park Board made plans to install a “stone with inscription” to read “Showers Park Area.” 
• Miller Showers Park in the late 1960s had a playground and a small picnic shelter in the center of the park. According to Park Board minutes from the 1970s, the Park was also a local hangout and trouble spot, and was frequently vandalized. A Master Plan for the park was developed in 1974, and the park was intended to be an aesthetic “main entrance to the city.” 
• Miller-Showers Park was completely renovated in 2002–04 as part of the Parks and Recreation Department’s 2001 $6.2 million General Obligation Bond. Improvements included mass earthwork to create the current ponds that retains stormwater draining from more than 170 acres of downtown Bloomington. These ponds, plus sanitary and stormwater utility relocations, were required due to fast-running stormwater runoff that caused massive erosion in the park and polluted Cascades Creek. 
• A “grand opening” tree planting ceremony was held at the park on October 9, 2004.
• Miller-Showers Park was awarded a Community Enhancement Award in October 2004 by the Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, and was presented with an Outstanding Project Award by the Indiana Urban Forest Council in October 2005.
• The City of Bloomington Utilities (CBU) has the responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the detention pools at Miller-Showers Park for the purpose of stormwater management. A dredging project to remove an estimated 2,900 cubic yards of sediment from 5.56 acres of open water in two ponds at Miller-Showers Park took place in June and July 2024.