I think the ramp is for launching & retrieving small boats and also perhaps for sliding heavier items down to the boat instead of carrying down the stairs. Just a guess.

News Flash: Broad Ripple Park Convicted by Two Federal Agencies.

The FTC cited Broad Ripple Park for deceptive practices. Shorpy photographic evidence introduced at the hearing showed NO ripples.

OSHA cited the park for a ramp exceeding the federal ramp incline standard, and lack of a handrail alongside stairs, also as proven by Shorpy photographic evidence.

Park owners were afterward heard to mutter something about sending Shorpy up on Cripple Creek, if they could find out who or what Shorpy is.

I lived in Broad Ripple from 1982 to 1999. Broad Ripple Park had many incarnations over the years. For the first half of the Twentieth Century, it was the White City Amusement Park. The streetcar line had a turn-around there. In the middle years, it had the world's largest outdoor swimming pool. Johnny Weissmuller once swam there. (Today, there are tennis courts where the pool was.) There were years of decline, and then in the late 80s, it was refurbished.

I miss the shady, bungalow-lined streets of Broad Ripple, and walks along the Central Canal Towpath. I don't miss the bars, restaurants, and hair salons.

Guessing the ramp was an early version of ramps for the walking impaired. Looks a little steep, but ok.