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I was on Belle Isle yesterday and the place looked pretty good. I was pleased with the new bike lanes and the work being done on the north end. I was quite surprised to see so much algae on the canals. I thought they would be better flushed out by the new bridge that allows more river water in.
I also noticed that the Newsboy Pavillion is gone. Hopefully only to have been disassembled for storage and future restoration.
Unfortunately the Newsboy Pavilion was demolished.
Additional discussion in this Belle Isle Neglect thread...
https://www.detroityes.com/mb/showth...e-Isle-Neglect
They're still working on the canals. There has been a large inflatable coffer dam next to the new bridge on the east end. It's restricting water flow into the canals. It was still there a couple of weeks ago. They also had some blocking inflatables under at least one pedestrian bridge over the canal. I couldn't get through in my kayak a few weeks ago.
The situation with the canals is a real mess, the Newsboy pavilion was demolished even though funds were being raised to refurbish it [[again), they are only now talking about what to do with the golf course and zoo areas, which are now sitting there overgrown and open to vandals, etc. The fountain looks beautiful, too bad it's sitting next to a giant paved wasteland pits area that gets used one weekend a year. One wonders what we've gained by giving the place away to the poobahs up in Lansing who have never ever given a damn about Detroit, Detroiters, or anything in Detroit.
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Originally Posted by ndavies
That coffer dam is a seasonal install and will be there until the water levels in Lake St Clair and the Detroit River drop.
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Originally Posted by EastsideAl
The Newsboy Pavilion was demolished because of extensive wood rot and termite infestation. That fund raising started in 2017 and barely raised $50k of the estimated $1M needed for a complete refurbishment. The money was used to cover the cost of producing architectural blueprints of the structure and removing architectural significant pieces before demolition.
The zoo and golf course were closed by the city in 2002 to save money. The fence around the golf course was removed so that land can continue joining the plants and trees around it. The zoo is secured but people ignore the no trespassing signs and climb the fence to get inside. They're usually met by a CO and handed a donation slip to the state treasury. Both are a low priority for the DNR because funds are still needed for repairs and deferred maintenance from when they started managing the island.
What's labeled as the “paddock” area was installed after the city council approved it in 2007. It's available for rent and also used by every DPD academy class for a 2-week driving course.
The city owns the island, it wasn't given away.
Walking on Belle Isle a few days ago and was dismayed to see algae covering all the water features on the island [[except the standalone koi pond between the aquarium and the conservatory). Truly looks awful! I hope they can move on getting the water moving along from the river intake on the east end of the island and remedy the situation soon! What a breeding ground for mosquitoes! Same with the standing water ponds on the lawn near the casino.
That said, the construction and other projects on the island bode well for some long-awaited improvements!
Nice photo. People must have gotten to the park via foot, ferry, horse and buggy, trolley, etc.
In those days people also went in droves to play baseball in Chandler Park which had lots of baseball diamonds.