Please Ignore This Giant Bronze Statue (and other stories from Detroit’s Belle Isle)
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- čas přidán 27. 04. 2023
- "Please take this money to build a beautiful public landmark. And also a giant statue. Of me," said the local Detroit nuisance.
The stories behind two of Belle Isle's most notable landmarks: a marble fountain funded by a scoundrel, and a marble lighthouse built in honor of a Great Lakes shipping pioneer.
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Key sources on Belle Isle, James Scott, William Livingstone, the memorial lighthouse, marble and limestone geology, and other topics from this video:www.michigan.org/property/bel...
www.jhsmichigan.org/gallery/2...
theclio.com/entry/122804
historicdetroit.org/buildings...
www.michigan.org/property/wil...
historicdetroit.org/buildings...
www.lighthousefriends.com/lig...
detroithistorical.org/learn/e...
champlainvalleynhp.org/wp-con...
Image Credits:
Most historical images came from the Library of Congress. Otherwise...
All beautiful paleoart by N. Tamura: spinops.blogspot.com/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JS...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JS...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JS...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
digitalcollections.detroitpub...
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You mentioned that the City of Detroit purchased Belle Isle in 1879. But more recently, the city sold it to the State of Michigan because it had become run down and the city couldn't afford to fix it. Now it's a state park run by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
There's something sad about the city not owning it anymore - though not quite as sad, in my opinion, as the People of Detroit no longer owning the art in the DIA. When people were worried about Belle Isle being sold to the state, all I could think was, "They're not going to float it up the river to the suburbs or anything." And it's still public space. We'd be way worse off had it been put under private control.
The systemic looting of Detroit by the State of Michigan began after 1968 World Series Victory as last supper.
In time for 2020 US Census changes with new technologies held back until then to replace human labor with robots.
I was born into it in 1963 and removed from Detroit in 1970 to watch it looted through the 2000s takeovers using Temporary Emergency Managers to seize control of city governments.
The island has not been sold, it is stilled owned by the City of Detroit but is being managed by the State Department of Natural Resources.
As someone who has been to that fountain several times, I can say that I'm not sure I ever noticed that statue or if I did I promptly forgot about it. So they definitely did a good job at hiding it.
Not sure if you know this but the Belle Isle Aquarium is the oldest public Aquarium in the United States.
You must go to the aquarium when it is open. It has been fully restored and was designed by Kahn. Beautiful interior tile work and lots of local fish species. The botanical house is also wonderful, but it is getting a major restoration. I think it will be at least a year before it re-opens.
Indeed
Has it re-opened?
Belle Isle has a LONG history, along with Bois Blanc Island downriver from there which was an amusement park taking up the whole island back then. So many stories about "Boblo Island" and the two "Boblo Boats" (Columbia and Ste. Claire) that carried people there for almost 100 years. Columbia is being restored in New York. Ste. Claire burned a few years ago during restorations. The Great Lakes were covered with luxury passenger steam boats like the "Tashmoo" which actually crashed against the Belle Isle bridge (MacArthur Bridge) back in the 30's and sank there. You could take a week-long steamer trip from Detroit all the way up to Mackinac Island....
also, Belle Isle's southern tip gets great sunset views of the city glowing in the golden hour.
You need to contact one of the shipping companies and get a ride from Marquette thru the Soo Locks and down the Detroit River. The stories that sailors tell are fascinating. Also, the next time you are in Detroit lookup the Wescot Mail Boat. They greet almost every ship going up or down the river and deliver “mail by the pail” … they have their own zip code.
Oh, man. That is an excellent idea. I'd love to do that someday. Also, thanks for the tip about the mail boat! :)
I've got a picture of my Grandpa as a little kid in the 1930's taken with the fountain in the background.
Oh, my gosh, that's great! What a fun thing to have.
If you ever get back to Detroit, Albert Kahn is a name worth exploring. More than a lighthouse on Belle Isle, Kahn was a prolific architect in the first half of the 20th Century. He designed the Fisher Building, Hill Auditorium on the U-M campus and other commercial and residential buildings. Most importantly, Albert and his brother Julius developed reinforced concrete as a building medium that became the standard for automobile factories of the era. Those included Ford's Highland Park factory, and the Packard Motor Co. plant on East Grand Boulevard. The Packard plant was the original "Motor City" before all Detroit adopted the name.
Also Minoru Yamasaki - best known as the architect of the World Trade Center in NYC - built some of his favorite work on the Wayne State campus. His firm was headquartered here in Detroit.
I absolutely love you. You have such an infectious excitement about Michigan and history that has me more interested in my state. Thanks you for what you do and for being you.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate you saying that.
@@AlexisDahl its my pleasure.
I used to live a few blocks from Belle Isle and had no idea that statue existed 😅
BTW If you're looking for more interesting Detroit history, check out the Purple Gang. During prohibition, the Detroit border with Canada was one of the largest paths for alcohol into the US. The Purple Gang controlled it and we're ruthless enough that Al Capone didn't want to challenge them.
They were even suspected of being involved in the Lindbergh baby kidnapping.
Whoa. That... is wild. I will look forward to reading more! Thanks!
You may also notice that the sign on the Canadian Club (Hiram Walker's) grain silos is facing Detroit and NOT Windsor. This was done to attract Americans over the border to Canada where Prohibition didn't exist. My grandfather and some other relatives used to buy cheap used Model T's to drive liquor across the river when it froze over in the winters. If the vehicle fell through the ice, it was more of a loss to have the liquor go down than the vehicle.
@@marceld6061 What's more -- On a river boat tour about French history along the river, we were told the church there with the electric-lit cross was used to signal when it was safe for the rumrunners to come over! LOL. It was/is a Catholic church.
(That might've been the only thing I really learned on that tour - not because it wasn't full of great info, but because I'd already read a fair amount of Detroit history.)
The island used to have a zoo a couple decades ago. It was small and precious. Belle Isle is one of my most favorite places in the city. Thank you for this.
She actually had a picture of the stablehouse included! Another abandoned spot...
@@georgekn3mpDon't forget about the aquarium
@@williamwright1281 with those green tiles!
The aquarium is still open
Theres a Belle Isle in the middle of a river in Richmond VA, too!
As a fellow Michigander, I thoroughly enjoy all of the information you give us about our state. This is all fascinating! Have barely been up north and don't get to Detroit very often. I'm in Kalamazoo. I did get a quite in depth tour around Detroit several years ago by family who live and work there and have access to a lot of places. The ornate designs and structures from its heydays are quite breathtaking.
I have been to Belle Isle so many times. I've even passed that lighthouse at least a dozen times. I didn't know any of the stories you told. Thank you, it makes the memories more special.
Keweenaw Arborist friend here. I grew up playing on Belle Isle as a kid, then got to prune the trees in the conservatorium. We had to climb up on top of the glass dome and descend from the rafters to do it! There's a lumbermans museum there recently started by arborists where you can learn more about that history Thanks for featuring Belle Isle. Good memories.
Wow. Another awesome video. Detroit has an amazing history. When you were talking about the geological origins of marble, it reminded me about something most people don’t think about too much - all the ancient salt deposits under Detroit and all the salt mining going on for decades under people’s feet. Anyway, thanks for this!
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Also, yes! I've wanted to make something about the Detroit salt mine for years (and keep hoping they'll get back to me about the couple of emails I've sent, ha ha). Hopefully someday!
This!!!
Hey welcome! I am from Detroit and work in Detroit. You showed my building in your video! Belle Isle is a huge part of most Detroiters childhood😊 There used to be a drive through zoo never reopened and huge slide that they recently reopened.
I used to live right on the St.Claire River in Port Huron. (I was in marching band there, too.) 😊. We had binoculars and a book listing freighters. We’d check them off as we observed them.
Oh, man, that sounds so fun! I might have to start doing that. 🙂
On the big things floating..... I always thought it was amazing that an ocean going freighter could sail inland as far as Minnesota. One of the funniest things I saw in the UP was at the Soo Locks, watching from the observation deck. A little two person sailboat cycled thru the lock. It looked like a rubber duck in a bathtub
And they say we're "landlocked." I guess we technically are? Perhaps because the Erie Canal is human-made? Or rivers don't count?
The story behind the Scott statue is awesome
I grew up in Detroit, and spent about half my life on Belle Isle. You can go there all the time, and still always notice or do something new.
Alexis: Where you were standing at 1:23 would have gotten you arrested in the 1950’s and 1960’s. During the cold war, where you filmed, there was a Nike missile station. As a child visiting Belle Isle in the 50’s and 60’s I clearly remember, at the far downriver end of Belle Isle, at least two Nike Ajax or Nike Hercules missiles standing pointed skyward within a barbed wire enclosure, an armed guard entry post and prominent KEEP OUT signs. There were some 16 tactical missiles stations within the greater Detroit and Michigan area. The Nike System was designed to protect Detroit, known as the WW 2 arsenal of democracy, from incoming Soviet attacking nuclear bombers, tactical missiles and later ICBM’s. In the early 1970s, the Nike missile program was obsolete and the base and missiles were removed. So enjoy those yellow daffodils you see there today and remember what was there before. Respectfully, W.S.
Wow. Thank you so much for sharing about this. I'm very glad to have learned about this.
One of my highschool friend's dad worked on Belle Isle. So, before prom, my friends and I got to wander around the aquarium/conservatory, and even the track that was set up for the Grand Prix pretty much unsupervised before we took our photos.
I love your positive energy! You make everything fascinating just with your enthusiasm. 😊
Hey, thank you! I appreciate that.
I wanted to visit that Island. Thats sooo cool. Thank you so much! Much love from KY
This is so great! Been all through Wisconsin, starting Michigan. Fayette Historic State Park was awesome!
Ooh! That park is on my list!
Fond memories. I remember going to the zoo and aquarium on Belle Isle as a kid. My mom worked on Belle Isle when she was in high school and the head horticulturist at the conservatory gave her plant clippings. So I have ivy and some other plants growing around my house that have their "roots" from Belle Isle.
Great job kiddo. I have been to the island just once on a cold rainy winter day while taking a break from a job site my brother and I was working on. Never really got out of the truck. I was feeding french fries to some birds who quickly told all their bird friends who came in such numbers that Alfred Hitchcock would have been shocked. lol
I recently discovered your channel and have greatly enjoyed catching up on your videos! I'm Canadian, in the town of Bruce Mines, Ontario, about 1 hour from Sault Ste Marie. Not quite Michigan but not too far away. Bruce Mines has an long history of copper mining so I found your videos of mining very interesting. Keep up the good work! 😊
I love your style of storytelling. Looking forward to more.
A few years ago, my wife and kayaked around Belle Isle's canals and into the Detroit River, visited the aquarium, and several of the sites. It was a fantastic day.
So pumped you went to Belle Isle! The history is fascinating and your storytelling just makes it so much fun! We’re going to fly in this summer for an entire Michigan tour inspired by your work! Thanks for everything you do- you’re beyond awesome!
Oh, man, that's amazing! I'm so honored. I hope it's a great trip! ☺️
Make sure to check out all the housing projects that are in ruins while your in detroit, if you have small children they will love it.
try to get to The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Dearborn if you get a chance. It's full of automotive history.
I had read that the citizen's of Detroit considered making his statue out of soap. He never stipulated what it was made of.
Oh, my gosh! Now there's an idea.
I didn't know I was going to be doing this tonight but I'm glad I did. You're great and I love local history. My adopted home of Oklahoma City also has a Belle Isle district that has a crazy history of being a theme park during the roaring 20s with all the good history of that in OK. Keep being awesome.
Aw, thank you! Also, that's so fun about your local Belle Isle district. Love a good 1920s theme park!
@@AlexisDahl I like your work because it makes me feel like @99percentinvisiblepodcast with of lofty tone and more personal delivery. So good. Thank you.
In love with your enthusiasm. So refreshing Local history !
Long time metropolitan Detroit resident in the past, thanks for this brief. Decent editing also kept it moving along. I'm starting my own thing on CZcams, and appreciate your channel!
Belle Isle is said to be the largest municipally owned island park in the United States. Also, aided by a good map, you will discover that the island runs East/West and the only part of the US where the United States is North of Canada! People for instance born in Hamtramck Michigan were born North of Canada.
Is that really only true of Belle Isle, though? I remember in the 90s seeing a plaque over on the Canadian side that said it was the spot where the US was due north of Canada, and I believe it was much closer to the Ambassador Bridge.
"It's story time!" Truer words were never spoken.
man i love that island. been there in my childhood to visit the aquarium and run 5ks. last year i visited for the final indycar race that was held there, as it’s being reallocated to the streets of downtown right across the river, and around the renaissance center! that’s this weekend so i’m stoked!
anyways though a long time tradition of the Belle Isle Grand Prix was the winner jumps in the fountain! sad we’ll never have that tradition anymore but another fun story about that beautiful work of art :)
Belle Isle is great this time a year i love going there and havent been there in a few years
You could teach us about dishwasher warranties and I would enjoy them. But love the MI knowledge!
Alexis’ enthusiasm for the subject matter is infectious! 😊
Thanks! Never thought I see Belle isle again! It was a meeting place for high school teens in the late sixties and early seventies. Wasn't interested in it's history but the bridge was rumoured to have been a site where cement overshoes were used.
Great video Alexis, thanks for sharing these stories. The next time you're "downriver" you should visit Grosse Ile, there are many interesting stories to be found there.
I love Grosse Ile! And would love to learn more about it. Any recommendations for where to start?
@@AlexisDahl It has been over 45 years since I lived there (it was my childhood hometown) but I'd look into the Pagoda on West River Rd, and the Wonder Well to start. The Pagoda is said to have some interesting history surrounding it, and the wonder well was a natural Sulphur spring near the south end of the island. They made fireworks there back in the day,. I don't know if either place is still there though. There was once also a railroad bridge from the island to Canada. When I lived there, you could still see some of the pilings near East River Rd.
@@eherrmann01 And the airport on Grosse Ile was once a U.S. Naval Air Station. 🇺🇸⚓️
I thoroughly enjoy your presentations whatever they may be. You’re a curiosity about everything is contagious and your enthusiasm is boundless! Thank you.
Excellent video! As someone who lives in the area I never knew about the history of Bell Isle. I also love all your videos about Michigan in general as you have really taught me a lot about the state I live in.
I love these videos so much! Even though i don’t live in Michigan your videos are always so entertaining!! Always look forward to them :)
Aw! Thank you! That's a high compliment. :)
Thank you for sharing. I really enjoy what you are doing and also enjoy your contagious enthusiasm !
Thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to say that. It's encouraging!
Alexis, my husband and I recently found your channel and you are amazing. We're really loving all your videos. Just watched Belle Island video, very interesting. We're from Oregon and were through Upper Peninsula last summer and wish we had known about you then, as we might have known some other places to visit. Thank you for your lovely stories.
Grew up in Cleveland in the 60s and 70s and visited Detroit several times (touring the River Rouge Ford plant and spending time at the Detroit Race Course). Seeing the video of Detroit and Windsor reminded me of the many hours I spent listening to CKLW, "The Big 8" while driving in my 1965 Chevy Impala. Thanks so much for the video. And the memories.
Moved to Detroit from Houghton Michigan. Definitely got some culture shock and took some to get use to living here.
Thanks for this video series
Ha ha, as someone who grew up in Metro Detroit and then came up to the Upper Peninsula, I know a bit about that feeling!
Thank you for another interesting story. Many of us appreciate your efforts. Good job.
Thank you for sharing your adventures and the stories you find.
Love Belle Isle! Recently lived very close, myself and my kids spent a ton of time there last summer and its truly a wonderful place!
I love your videos. I'm a Michigan ex-pat, though not by choice - work took me away from home and hasn't let me move back yet. Maybe in a few years when I retire? In the meantime, I enjoy watching videos and reading about my home and learning things I never knew. Thanks for all you do to keep this old Michigan girl happy with some Pure Michigan stories.
I love your content and all the thought and hard work you put into it to help teach us more about Michigans history. It’s truly remarkable too see the structures like you shown us and just how much money and how wealthy Detroit was in the early 1900’s. Keep up the great work
Thank you! I appreciate that a bunch.
Excellent story well told. Your enthusian for learning is both an example and infectious. Thank you for this illustration of a place I am not likely to ever visit. The Keewanah Peninsula is definitely on my list for my next cross country drive.
My great grandfather helped build the lighthouse on Portland Isle, Dorset, England. I've been over twice and fell in love with England. Thank you Grandfer Peter. (That's what my mother calls him) lol
your videos are great! I love learning about Michigan!
I love Belle Isle, I work on the mainland just off the island.
Fascinating! I never knew this about Belle Isle.
As someone who has lived most all of my life in Detroit, I thank you.
Another wonderful video that makes me want to take a look at all of the wonderful sites shown by Alexis throughout Michigan. That lighthouse is especially remarkable and one of a kind - I want to see it. It reminds me though of the first lighthouse ever built in Egypt by Ptolemy 1 in about 300 B.C., Pharos of Alexandria. I remember a distant picture of it in my mind and believe it was also built with granite.
Ya just don't know. As a kid from Detroit in the 70s, Belle Island was amazing. Huge population of albino axis deer and the aquarium is just a sight to be seen.
A thing about "Hog island" or shall I say Hog islands. Often in the early days of European settlements they would brings breeding pairs of hogs and drop them off on Islands. Maybe the most famous is the Ossabaw Hogs down off the Carolina Coast. The water offers a natural fencing on the islands and it lets the settlers create a easy livestock pen.
Also Alexis, have you checked out Fort Wayne, The Petroglyph's in the Thumb or done a episode on all the old Indian trails that we just know as roads now? Love the Channel. Love your Energy.
A few years ago, the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix was run on the island. I was there for one of the events. Hopefully, the island has been returned to the park it was intended to be. It appears as though it has based on your walkabout and video.
I have always had a love of seeing what is around the next corner. The best part is finding out the story behind what I have seen. Please continue to share your discoveries with us. I look forward to your next post.
I know exactly where you filmed the beginning! I remember sitting on that beach just wondering about the murals in those blocks of concrete! Spent so much time looking at them I would recognize them at a glance.
This was a great video, informative and not over stuffed, a place like Belle Isle has so much going on it can be overwhelming. Take care!
“Once in a Great City” is a fantastic book about midcentury Detroit. It tells four parallel stories about the city in 1963 specifically and gives a great insight into the city at its height.
“Detroit: a Biography” is a great wider history of the city from its founding.
“Detroit: an American Autopsy” is also an interesting book about the city by a local muckraker named Charlie LeDuff. It was published around the time of the bankruptcy and is a sort of ruin erotica but it comes from a place of love. LeDuff loves his city in a….complicated way.
Thanks again you are delightful and I appreciate all of your hard work (making these videos isn't easy people!) I enjoy learning new things and knowing that America is still out there.
Awesome video! Belle Isle is one of my favorite places to run, but it was great to hear these stories. I’ll definitely run around the fountain and scoff at the statue the next time I’m there
Great show and very informative, its what I have come to expect from one of your presentation. Keep trucking Alexis.😁
Great video!! I'm so glad you got out to Belle Isle!
Always a pleasure to see a video from you!
This is such a great video, educational and entertaining! I work at Belle Isle and you taught me quite a bit. I hope you enjoyed your visit!
I was born in a suburb of Detroit in the early 1950s, I have fond memories of my parents taking me to Belle Isle on the weekends that we didn't go to Windsor (our other favorite place). Thanks so much for rekindling some forgotten memories or adding some missed detail a 5yo wouldn't have noticed.
First time seeing one of your videos, after seeing a few shorts you did for SciShow and thinking "who is this very enthusiastic lady telling me cool stuff?!" and I'm glad I looked you up and subscribed to this channel!
I'm 72 and enjoyed belle isle since I can remember. Great video zThanks
You sure have an excitement about you that makes me ( and clearly many people) want to hear more even though I don't live anywhere near there. I really enjoy your videos:)
Take care 💚
You could d a whole series on Bell Isle, it sounds like! Also the River Rouge is interesting, the way it was developed for the Ford plant and all. And I've heard Delray used to be a national scale pot-ash fertilizer plant? Some interesting ideas for Detroit area.
Once again Alexis, your story telling skills shine with a mixture of the obscure and detail. It's always a pleasure listening to your enthusiastic history lessons of Michigan. Thank you so much!
I live near here and love driving around the island often with my husband! I love that you enjoyed it!
I used to visit the Aquarium and Children's Zoo on Belle Isle as a kid. Miss those days.
Thanks for preserving the history of our state it's truly appreciated! And congratulations on making it safely through Detroit
thank you . excellent addition to memories visiting belle isle in 1966.
So glad to see your back! And hog island is beautiful if your hungry, swans probably aren't as good! Lol Went to Vermont and New Hampshire in September, and plans was to stop by, when coming back through Canada, and see some of your adventures. But plans changed and I came back to Illinois via Ohio. During the two years of Covid I took a geology course. Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont have been some of the best Granite/😐Marble! White Marble is unique! Great stuff as usual!!
But have plans still to go to Canada and see your sites!
Thank you for sharing this history about Belle Isle!!
Try to get down here in the summer; the island is a Metropark, now, and the the whole place comes alive in the spring and summer, especially on the weekends…thanks for saying nice things about one of the city’s highlights…
Fun fact: the race circuit used on belle isle actually went backwards from the direction of traffic normally, at least for most of the lap.
Fun fact: 3 drivers were car jacked the last time they raced there. It was during the caution after thieves took the lug nuts off one of the cars trying to steal the tires.
Loved the expanded video contribution of your most recent effort keep expanding your skills
They could have had James Scott holding up bird feeders
Ha ha! I had a good laugh at that. Thank you.
The story of James Scott is one of my favorites to tell people visiting Belle Isle! I’m really glad to see you telling it.
Frederick Law Olmstead also designed the grounds and gardens at the Biltmore estate in Asheville N.C. It's beautiful. If you haven't been there, I highly recommend it.
I always enjoy your videos and always learn something. I absolutely love your enthusiasm and am always inspired.
So cool - thanks 😎 As a kid, my dad lived just across from the bridge that leads to Belle Isle, and spent a lot of time there. As kids ourselves, our family went there often. Good stuff! 👍
I hope you can return to Belle Idle when everything is open. You would ADORE the Aquarium, Conservatory, and Nature Center. They are AMAZING & such fun! And the Dossin Great Lakes Museum will inspire another great video. You would love it all! Such an excellent park. While you’re there, go to the Milliken State Park on the waterfront. So many wonderful sights there. Enjoy!
The fountain looks similar to Buckingham fountain and I love watching your knowledgeable presentations!
Thank you!
Keep them coming you are fun to watch. Your enthusiasm rubs off.
Hey! Not sure why the algorithm recommended this, but cool video and now subscribed. Curious for your future videos. Great style, editing, and story telling. Cheers.
Another great tale. I really enjoyed it
All the years I've lived here I never had a chance to explore the islands nooks and crannies. Partly because when the city owned it it pretty run down and really wasn't a safe place to do that and then i lived out of state for several years. I had never seen the fountain working till i visited the island after the dnr took it over after moving back. I had never noticed that statue till watching this video and never knew there was a lighthouse on the island either. Your videos make want to get out and explore my home state more. Definitely need to get to one of the dark sky parks this summer.