Shorpy's Strikes again... [Belle Isle supposedly circa 1907]

**mikefmich** · October-12-11, 06:49 PM

Great human interest photo. Belle Isle supposedly circa 1907
http://www.shorpy.com/node/11443?size=_original

**Jimaz** · October-12-11, 07:38 PM

There was a similar Shorpy photo posted here before but I think this one's different. I love the Victrola in the foreground.

**mikefmich** · October-12-11, 08:25 PM

I think that boy was having flights of fancy.

**BagAJellyDonuts** · October-12-11, 08:31 PM

Too bad they didn't have the internet back then.

People could post complaints about the cruising.

**Pcm** · October-13-11, 12:32 AM

I hope this dude's girlfriend left him.

Name: Screen shot 2011-10-13 at 12.30.39 AM.jpg
Views: 1329
Size: 47.3 KB

**Scottathew** · October-13-11, 07:08 AM

Originally Posted by Pcm

I hope this dude's girlfriend left him.

LOL! I noticed that too! Perhaps she was bulking up in preparation for child bearing?

**Mikeg** · October-13-11, 07:31 AM

Originally Posted by Pcm

I hope this dude's girlfriend left him. Name: Screen shot 2011-10-13 at 12.30.39 AM.jpg
Views: 1329
Size: 47.3 KB

I think she did. He was terribly moody and kept mumbling something about needing to get into character.

**Whitehouse** · October-13-11, 02:30 PM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

There was a similar Shorpy photo posted here before but I think this one's different. I love the Victrola in the foreground.

I was having the same thoughts, could even be the same picture.

**mallory** · October-14-11, 08:16 AM

I'm loving that the guy in the foreground brought his own tunes! Guess he didn't hear that boom boxes were banned on Belle Isle.

**animatedmartian** · October-14-11, 10:51 AM

What would be the chances of multiple photographs from the same event over 100 years ago?

http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...art=;resnum=86

http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...art=;resnum=90

I've been trying to figure out where exactly this image is taken from...and it turns out neither bridge [[the one in the foreground and in the background) exist anymore [[that is, if these pictures are facing south). The bridge that exists now closest to the casino was built around the first Grand Prix races on Belle Isle, and the farther bridge was built recently in 2007-2009.

http://g.co/maps/vrgqq

It looks as though the Band Stand, the main bridge in the photographs, was demolished sometime before 1949. It's pictured in the below aerial [[1940) but it's not on the DTE aerial archives [[1949).

http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...rt=;resnum=115

It looks like it was a popular scene since there are permanent benches and a few postcards of the spot.

http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...rt=;resnum=196

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/det.4a10930/

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MICHIGAN-DET...#ht_1046wt_825

http://www.cardcow.com/170701/lagoon...roit-michigan/

http://www.cardcow.com/331744/canoes...roit-michigan/

People would get their canoes from up the canal.

http://g.co/maps/5mht2

Evidenced by attractive lady and Detroit skyline in the background.

http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...rt=;resnum=282

That building was then demolished and replaced in the 1960s [[looks like a boat holding place or something, can't tell on aerial pictures) only to be demolished in 2005-6.

Sorry, I went into a curious mystery and learned a whole lot. Forgive me if this was known already.

**Ray1936** · October-14-11, 11:25 AM

Good research, maritian. Isn't it amazing how some item you note on the internet whets your curiosity and gets you digging into the 'net for more info?

**animatedmartian** · October-14-11, 11:52 AM

I think it's even more amazing how much history some locales have. And also how much of it is preserved through photographs since quite a lot has been demolished and changed. How awesome would it be if canoeing made a come back on Belle Isle? Or at the very least having that grandeur it had during the first half of the century. Ah, imagination is running away...

**gnome** · October-14-11, 12:02 PM

I agree with Ray, AM, great work.

**EastsideAl** · October-14-11, 02:12 PM

Here is the earlier Shorpy picture of the same scene:
http://www.shorpy.com/node/9167?size=_original

I like this picture because it shows a group of guys in the foreground who I believe are from the then-new Eastern High School [[note the "EHS" pillow on one of the boats, and the other boats with Indian-themed pillows). My paternal grandparents met as Eastern High students in the early '20s, and my grandfather played on the 1922 Eastern Indians city championship football team.

Also, you can see a great lineup of early autos parked off to the right.

Thanks for your detective work animatedmartian. I particularly like the shot of the old boat rental building. I am just old enough to have rented canoes from both it and its successor building.

**Islandman** · October-14-11, 02:24 PM

Very nice, AM. I particularly liked the shot of the very attractive lady.

**EastsideAl** · October-14-11, 02:46 PM

The view in this picture is indeed looking south down the canal from just to the east of the Casino. The bandstand bridge was just to the south of where the more northern of the 2 footpath bridges that animatedmartian mentions is today. The bridge in the background of this picture is the Casino Way/Muse Rd. Bridge that was demolished sometime in the 1980s or early 90s. The railings from that bridge, complete with 2 plaques in the center that are also visible in this Shorpy picture, have been reused on the footbridge that replaced it, which is the southerly one of the footbridges that cross the canal there now. I believe that this picture was taken from the still-extant [[though heavily reconstructed) Central Ave. bridge

More on the footbridge and the preserved railing:
http://www.historicbridges.org/beam/...ino/photos.htm

The earlier Shorpy canal picture I linked to above faces the opposite direction, up the canal towards the Central Ave. Bridge. I think it was taken from the Casino bridge shown in the background here. In a thread on this board about that earlier picture, Stosh posted a wintertime picture of the area that makes the location a bit clearer. In this picture a structure with a distinctive roofline can be seen in the deep background behind the bandstand. This is a picnic shelter that is still standing today just to the east of the canal and the northeast of the Central Ave. bridge.

This post has been heavily edited by me upon a reconsideration of the original photo, which revealed a terrible error of orientation on my part.

**Mikeg** · October-14-11, 03:01 PM

The canoe rental building on Belle Isle [[minus the pretty girl), taken on Sept. 5, 1956.
[[full size)

**EastsideAl** · October-14-11, 04:02 PM

OK, now I'm really beating this horse to death [[hey, it's a slow Friday, no Tigers game, etc...) but here is a photo that makes the geography of the whole area clear. This is from 1931 and I'm pretty certain from the orientation of the street and the canal [[which remains the same today) that this is looking north with the Casino just out of view to the lower left. The now-gone Casino Way/Muse bridge is in the foreground [[note that the railings and plaques match those preserved on the present-day footbridge), then looking up the canal comes the bandstand bridge, and then the still-extant [[though widened in 1947 and reconstructed in 2009) Central Ave. bridge.

The seats along the bank are still there, as they also appear to be in the 1940 aerial shot that animatedmartian linked above - I wonder if they were still having concerts there by that time?

**EastsideAl** · October-14-11, 04:59 PM

Same area today:

Name: belle isle canal + casino google 2011.jpg
Views: 976
Size: 57.2 KB

**Jimaz** · October-14-11, 06:17 PM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

There was a similar Shorpy photo posted here before but I think this one's different. I love the Victrola in the foreground.

The similar photo was in this year-old thread.

**animatedmartian** · October-14-11, 06:21 PM

Nice work EastsideAl. Guess we're all learning a little history lesson today.

**yaktown** · October-14-11, 06:40 PM

Shorpy's? Wow, you really are from Michigan!

**Orthophonic** · October-14-11, 06:51 PM

Originally Posted by Mikeg

I think she did. He was terribly moody and kept mumbling something about needing to get into character.

Name: Capture.JPG
Views: 849
Size: 36.6 KB

This other guy on the left was already in character, and his neighbors are clearly not too pleased.

**Rochelle St.** · October-14-11, 07:03 PM

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

What would be the chances of multiple photographs from the same event over 100 years ago?

http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...art=;resnum=86

http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...art=;resnum=90

I've been trying to figure out where exactly this image is taken from...and it turns out neither bridge [[the one in the foreground and in the background) exist anymore [[that is, if these pictures are facing south). The bridge that exists now closest to the casino was built around the first Grand Prix races on Belle Isle, and the farther bridge was built recently in 2007-2009.

http://g.co/maps/vrgqq

It looks as though the Band Stand, the main bridge in the photographs, was demolished sometime before 1949. It's pictured in the below aerial [[1940) but it's not on the DTE aerial archives [[1949).

http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...rt=;resnum=115

It looks like it was a popular scene since there are permanent benches and a few postcards of the spot.

http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...rt=;resnum=196

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/det.4a10930/

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MICHIGAN-DET...#ht_1046wt_825

http://www.cardcow.com/170701/lagoon...roit-michigan/

http://www.cardcow.com/331744/canoes...roit-michigan/

People would get their canoes from up the canal.

http://g.co/maps/5mht2

Evidenced by attractive lady and Detroit skyline in the background.

http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...rt=;resnum=282

That building was then demolished and replaced in the 1960s [[looks like a boat holding place or something, can't tell on aerial pictures) only to be demolished in 2005-6.

Sorry, I went into a curious mystery and learned a whole lot. Forgive me if this was known already.

What of the red Casino way bridge?
The plaque on it claims it was built in 1893 by the King Bridge Co., Cleveland OH.
Is this one of the bridges in the photos?