BELLE ISLE PARK

(Redirected from Belle Isle (Michigan))

'Belle Isle' is a 982 acre (3.9 km²; 2.42 sq mi) island park in the Detroit River managed by the Detroit Recreation Department. It is connected to the rest of the city by the MacArthur Bridge. It is home to the Detroit Yacht Club, the Detroit Boat Club, the Dossin Great Lakes Museum, a Coast Guard post, a municipal golf course, a zoo which was closed in 2002 and an aquarium which was closed in 2005 due to budget constraints. The city still maintains a Nature Center where visitors are able to traverse wooded trails and view wildlife natural habitats. The island includes a half-mile (800 m) swimming beach, the only beach in the city of Detroit.
The island was settled by French colonists in the 18th century, who named it ''Île aux Cochons'' (Hog Island). In 1845 it was given its present name. The island was landscaped in the 1880s by Frederick Law Olmsted, a prominent urban park designer. The 1908 Belle Isle Casino building is not an actual gambling facility but rather, is used for occasional public events. A highlight of Belle Isle is the combination of the America's oldest public aquarium (closed in 2005) and a beautiful botanical garden in the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory (1904), the nation's oldest conservatory. Both the casino and the conservatory were built by Detroit architect Albert Kahn, best known for developing open floor plan concrete factories. The island park was used as a military public relations effort during World War II. It was a reenactment of a pacific island invasion by the Navy and Marine Corps. The island was temporarily renamed Bella Jima and Detroiters were treated to the sight of an island invasion without the bloodshed. It was conducted after the invsion of Iwo Jima. Architect Cass Gilbert designed Belle Isle's ''James Scott Memorial Fountain''. Gilbert's other works include the U. S. Supreme Court building in Washington, DC.^[1]
The island was home to a large herd of European fallow deer for more than 50 years. However, this isolated population fell prey to disease at the close of the 20th century. In 2004, the last of the 300 animals was captured and moved to the zoo property where some will remain as exhibits when it reopens as a nature center.
Additional recreational options include a nature center, wheelchair accessible nature trail, playground, picnic shelters, and tennis and basketball courts and baseball fields. In the 1940s there was a canoe concession and a band shell, and canoe riders often stopped nearby to enjoy the concert.
Each year, Belle Isle is rented for one day for to the traditional Hindu festival of Rathayatra.

Contents

Auto racing

Photo gallery

See also

Notes

References and further reading

External links

Auto racing

Main articles: Detroit Indy Grand Prix

In 1992, a temporary street race circuit was constructed on the isle for CART races. The island hosted ten events at Belle Isle from 1992-2001. In 2007, the race is set to return as part of the IndyCar Series and ALMS.
The track is mentioned in the song "Speedway at Nazareth" by Mark Knopfler.

Photo gallery

See also

★ Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory

★ Architecture of metropolitan Detroit

★ Belle Isle Aquarium

★ Campus Martius Park

★ Detroit River Walk

★ Chene Park

★ Detroit River

★ Grand Circus Park

★ Hart Plaza

★ Detroit Boat Club

Notes

1. Lochbiler, Don (compiled).Detroit's fountain of mirth Rearview Mirror, ''Detroit News''. Retrieved on June 14, 2007.

References and further reading

★

External links

★ Belle Isle Park, Detroit

★ Detroit Yacht Club

★ Dossin Great Lakes Museum

★ Remote-controllable webcam on the island

★ Belle Island Coast Guard Post

★ Public Aquarium

★ Belle Island Botanical Society