Peter Wetherill Stroh

Peter Wetherill Stroh (1927-2002) was a Detroit business leader, civic activist and philanthropist. A great grandson of the founder of The Stroh Brewery Company, he became Chairman and CEO of the family business while at the same time maintaining a strong passion for the rehabilitation of Detroit's waterfront. His efforts began in the 1970s with the company's purchase and redevelopment of the Parke Davis complex into Stroh River Place at the foot of Joseph Campau. Among many civic posts, Stroh served on the board of Detroit Renaissance for over 25 years., While chairman of the Greater Detroit American Heritage River Initiative, he championed U.S.-Canadian cooperation to designate the Detroit River in the late 1990s as the only river system in North America with both Canadian and American Heritage River status. In recognition of these and other conservation achievements, Stroh received the Michigan Environmental Council's highest environmental award, the 2001 Helen and William Milliken Distinguished Service Award. He also provided key leadership with Congressman John D. Dingell to create the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, the first of its kind in North America. , , An environmental visionary, Stroh was a founding trustee of Conservation International and served many boards, including the Nature Conservancy, the National Audubon Society, and the Atlantic Salmon Federation. An avid outdoorsman whose fishing adventures took him worldwide, Stroh was as content with a pair of binoculars observing waterfowl as he was in the corporate offices of the company which bore his name. Stroh believed that the river's shoreline should be accessible to the public and friendly to wildlife, and the Detroit RiverWalk is a culmination of that vision.