Belle Isle (Michigan)
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Belle Isle refers to two different islands in the U.S. state of Michigan.
Belle_isle_detroit_full.jpg
Belle Isle, Detroit
Belle Isle is a 982-acre (3.9 km²) island in the Detroit River that is a park managed by the Detroit Department of Parks and Recreation. It is connected to the rest of the city by the MacArthur Bridge. It is home to the Detroit Yacht Club, the Dossin Great Lakes Museum, a Coast Guard post, a municipal golf course, and a zoo, which was temporarily closed in 2003 due to budget constraints. The island includes a half-mile (800 m) swimming beach, the only beach in the city of Detroit.
The island was landscaped in the 1880s by Frederick Law Olmsted, a prominent urban park designer. The 1908 Belle Isle Casino building is no longer an actual gambling facility, but 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. Both the casino and the conservatory were built by Detroit architect Albert Kahn, best known for developing open floor plan concrete factories.
Whitcomb_Conservatory.jpg
The island was home to a large herd of European fallow deer for more than 50 years. 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.
The island park has suffered from Detroit's economic difficulties. The Belle Isle Zoo was closed in 2002. The Belle Isle Aquarium, opened in 1904, was closed in April 3, 2005 by the city government for budgetary reasons.
Belle Isle, Isle Royale National Park
Belle Isle is a small island just off the north shore of Isle Royale at the head of Belle Harbor. It is the site of a primitive campground and is visited every second day during the peak season by the island-circling ferry.
External links
- Belle Isle Park, Detroit (http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/recreation/centers/M/belle_isle/belleM.htm)
- Detroit Yacht Club (http://www.dyc.com/)
- Dossin Great Lakes Museum (http://www.glmi.org/)
- Remote-controllable webcam on the island (http://www.glmi.org/webcam/)
- Belle Island Coast Guard Post (http://hometown.aol.com/budatlitho/division10/belleil.htm)
- Public Aquarium (http://travel.michigan.org/detail.asp?m=2&p=B564)
- Belle Island Botanical Society (http://www.bibsociety.org/sys-tmpl/door/)