Description:                                

Located three miles from the downtown via the MacArthur Bridge, Belle Isle Park is Detroit"s popular 1000-acre urban sanctuary, which attracts more than four million visitors annually. The island was officially designated a public park in 1879 after the city of Detroit purchased the property for $200,000 from the heirs of a wealthy Detroit family.

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In 1883, Frederick Law Olmstead, architect and designer of New York City"s Central Park, was commissioned to design the park. Legend has it that the park was named after Isabelle Cass, daughter of General Louis Cass, Governor of Michigan in the 1800s. Others believe that the name was selected because it translates from French, (Detroit"s founders) as "beautiful island."


Today, Belle Isle Park is a favorite spot for picnicking, fishing, and recreation. The island is home to a number of popular attractions: Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory; the Belle Isle Nature Center; the Belle Isle Aquarium, the nation"s oldest freshwater aquarium; the Dossin Great Lakes Museum; the Belle Isle Zoo; Scott Fountain; and the Floral Clock, complete with 22,000 plants and flowers.


Recreational facilities include racquetball and tennis courts, a golf course, baseball fields, a waterslide and beach area, children"s playscape and picnic shelters, a new renovated driving range and practice facility (home of the first tee program). The island also offers breathtaking views of Great Lakes" freighters accessing the Detroit River.


Belle Isle Park can be accessed from East Jefferson Avenue near East Grand Boulevard. Admission to the aquarium and conservatory: adults, $2; children, $1. Admission to the zoo: adults, $3; senior citizens, $2; children 2-12, $1. Open May-September.

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