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I took these wandering around Belle Isle recently.

 

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Very stately!

Wow, nice looking park.

Has the Belle Isle Zoo gone extinct?

I dig the casino and I ain't talkin' MGM!

"You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers

Whenever I'm biking around Detroit, I'm always sure to do 1 loop around Belle Isle. 

 

But this:

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Is where the wind absolutely kills me.  Getting there is easy, heading back not so much.

 

^My mother's first memory was of being walked across this bridge, looking up at her mother, and worrying about her mother's hat blowing off in the breeze.

 

In other news, I believe Belle Isle ranks as the largest City Park in the US.

Actually, a park in Phoenix has that claim.

"You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers

What a tragedy!!!

A few 1970 photos from my personal archive:

 

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The first five are from the (still very much intact and completely capable of kicking the Columbus Zoo's ass) Detroit Zoo. As for the last one, look at all them boats! The Boat Club is long since decommissioned, though the Yacht Club is still swinging (it is, right?)

^Confirmed.

 

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/617/what-is-the-largest-city-park-in-the-u-s

 

I think where I got confused is I'd heard a comparison between Belle Isle and Central Park; Belle Isle is bigger, and designed by Frederick Law Olmstead as well.

 

http://www.iexplore.com/cityguides/Michigan/Detroit/Where+to+Go

 

Still, even in its diminished state, Belle Isle is amazing.

 

btw central park is the most well known, but only the fifth biggest park in nyc:

 

Top Ten Largest Parks:

 

  1. Pelham Bay Park Bronx 2,765 acres

  2. Greenbelt, Staten Island 1,778 acres

  3. Flushing Meadows/Corona Park, Queens 1,255 acres

  4. Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx 1,146 acres

  5. Central Park, Manhattan 843 acres

  6. Marine Park, Brooklyn 798 acres

  7. Bronx Park, Bronx 718 acres

  8. Alley Pond Park, Queens 655 acres

  9. Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk, South and Midland Beaches, Staten Island 638 acres

  10. Forest Park, Queens 544 acres

 

***

 

about time we had a nice leisurely belle isle thread. very good. put me in a summery mood on a cold rainy day. and thanks rob for the vintage shots too!

 

 

Looking Good!

Looking Good!

 

 

If only that were true.

Well, Belle Isle DOES need some work (the Casino, the grounds near the fountain, roadway improvements) but it's still a wonderful park for being Detroit's only "real" park, it's fantastic and ingenious.

"You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers

^ Those bathrooms were demolished and rebuilt I believe.  It appears they sunk a bunch of money on it too since it is built of stone, brick, and slate.

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