Project Background:

In the early to mid 1900s, the edge of the Fox River was the industrial center of Oshkosh. From 1868 to 1950 Wisconsin 

Public Service (WPS, originally the Oshkosh Gas Light Co.) converted coal into gas, through coal gasification in this 

industrial area. The resulting new energy source was welcomed by residents and businesses that used the gas to replace 

other, less efficient fuels. Over its years of operation, the plant produced coal tar, a by-product of the coal gasification 

process, which infiltrated the property’s soil and ground water. In 1950, a pipeline was built to transport natural gas 

into the city, rendering the facility obsolete. WPS performed a cleanup of the site in 2002, using thermal treatment and 

capping, and the city purchased the property in December 2003. The city used an EPA Brownfields Cleanup grant to 

enable reuse of the property as a park. EPA funds were used to reconstruct the environmental cap and pave the parking 

lot as an engineered control.

key accomPlishments:

•	 With assistance from an EPA Brownfields Cleanup Grant awarded to the City,

the environmental cap was essentially removed, the surface of the waste 

re-graded and an improved cap installed.

•	 Designed and constructed innovative trench system to allow tree plantings

to be incorporated in the park design without impacting the integrity of the 

environmental cap.

•	 Leveraged more than $4 million in funding from public and private sources.

outcome:

Riverside Park is currently a recreational and entertainment hub for Oshkosh residents. Its public Leach Amphitheater 

(with capacity for 7,000) hosts large summer concerts including the annual Waterfest, which draws over 60,000 visitors, 

as well as other sporting events like the Oshkosh half-marathon. The City of Oshkosh leveraged more than $4 million

in public and private donations to make this redevelopment possible. Sources of funding for this project include the 

Wisconsin Department of Natural Reources’ Greenspace and Public Facilities Grant, Capitol Improvement Program 

funding, and more than $2 million in private donations.

Former Manufacturing Gas Plant Developed into

Public Performance Venue and Greenspace

brownfields

at-a-glance

RIVERSIDE PARK Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Assessment and Cleanup Grants

EPA-560-F-10-220

July 2010

address: 10 Court Street, Oshkosh, WI 54901

ProPerty size: 7 acres

Former use: Wisconsin Public Service Manufacturing Gas Plant 

(coal gasification)

current use: Park, river walk, parking lot, and ampitheatre with a 

performance pavilion and concession building

For additional data and geographic information for this and 

other Brownfields Grants, please visit EPA’s Cleanups in 

My Community - http://iaspub.epa.gov/Cleanups/

ePa grant reciPient:

The City of Oshkosh used $55,000 of its

Brownfields Assessment grant awarded 

in 2003 and a $200,000 Brownfields

Cleanup grant awarded in 2004.

Project Partners:

Oshkosh Area Community 

Foundation, Wisconsin Department 

of Natural Resources, Leach Family 

Foundation 

FOR MORE InFORMAtIOn: Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields or call EPA Region 5 at (312) 886-3058 

Musical group the BoDeans play to a packed house 

at the Leach Amphitheater.