Burns Park Elementary - Ann Arbor

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Burns Park (located on Wells) can refer to the park or the school located on its grounds. The park is a great place to hang out and enjoy park like activities, especially with kids. Sledding is definitely easy-peasy, but "Magic Mountain" is fun. Lots of room to move around and play. When I was a kid we would swing on the flag pole; but they've shortened the rope so you can't do that anymore. We'd also try to scale the building walls. But they've mortared up the brick ridges so you can't do that anymore, either.

There is a fun playground behind the school, with the usual assortment of swings, monkey bars, and slides. The park itself has 4 tennis courts, 2 softball/baseball fields, and a basketball court. The large ring of trees in the field used to be the boundary of a horse racing track.

The area used to be a fairground, and in 1910 it was renamed after Professor George Burns, a former Ann Arbor Commissioner. Until 1925, there used to be trolley barns at the park, but they burned down, and Tappan Junior High was built there. In 1951, Tappan moved to a new location, and the building became Burns Park Elementary. The 3-story brick building is still used today.

Burns Park Elementary (1414 Wells St.) is a part of the Ann Arbor Public Schools system, teaching over 400 kids from Kindergarden to 5th Grade. The school mascot is the Penguins. Burns Park students continue on to Tappan Middle School.