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Lost building, Belle Isle, 1893 to 1950

Belle Isle Pavilion

Demolished in 1950

[Pavilion, Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Mich.] Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
Opened
1893
Torn down
1950

Designed by Spier & Rohns

The Belle Isle Pavilion stood in Belle Isle from 1893 until 1950. Here is what it was, who made it and where to find the spot today.

On the map

Then and now

What stands there now

Then

[Skating pavilion, Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Mich.] Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress

Today

An open, grassy lot

Map data: OpenStreetMap contributors

An open, grassy lot

Detroit's Belle Isle Pavilion, designed by Spier & Rohns, stood on this spot for 57 years. It came down 76 years ago. Today the spot is a open, grassy lot.

Walk the block on the map
  1. 1893 Opens Belle Isle Pavilion
  2. 1950 Comes down Belle Isle Pavilion
  3. 2026 Today Open, grassy lot
How we know what stands there
  • OpenStreetMap open, grassy lot at the map point

Checked October 25, 2026. We never guess: a site no source speaks for shows no answer.

More photos of Belle Isle Pavilion

[Skating pavilion, Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Mich.] Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
[Pavilion, Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Mich.] Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress

What is there now

An open, grassy lot

  • Today Source: OpenStreetMap
  • Belle Isle Pavilion came down Source: Historic Detroit
See then and now

We checked Wikidata, Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Rebuild Detroit's landmark records and the county parcel records on October 25, 2026.

The story

By Victoria Jackson, Editor in Chief Updated

In 1893, as Detroit's lumber, stove and shipbuilding money went into brick and stone, the Belle Isle Pavilion went up in Belle Isle.

The design came from Spier & Rohns.

It is gone now, demolished in 1950, and the map pin below marks where it stood.

Timeline

  1. 1893 Built Designed by Spier & Rohns
  2. 1950 Closed
  3. 1950 Demolished
  4. 2026 Today 76 years since it came down

Where it is

Loiter Way, just east of Muse Road

On this map

  1. Belle Isle Pavilion This place
  2. Jerome H. Remick Band Shell 230 ft
  3. Belle Isle Band Shell 0.1 mi
  4. Floral Clock at Water Works Park 0.1 mi
  5. Newsboys Fountain 0.1 mi
  6. Belle Isle Band Pavilion 0.2 mi
  7. Spanish American War Memorial 0.2 mi
  8. Belle Isle Casino 0.2 mi
  9. Belle Isle Casino (old) 0.3 mi

Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors

Who made it

Spier & Rohns
Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

Spier & Rohns

Architectural firm, Detroit, founded 1884. Designed Gethsemane Evangelical Lutheran Church (1891) and 7 more in Metro Detroit

Also by Spier & Rohns

More from Detroit in the 1890s

Around the block

It is in Belle Isle. See the neighborhood's homes, pros and story.

Photo credits

Every photo on this page is used under its license, named here with its author and a link to the original.

  1. [Pavilion, Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Mich.] Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
  2. [Skating pavilion, Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Mich.] Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
  3. [Pavilion, Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Mich.] Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress

Sources

Facts only, gathered from these sources. The story above is written by Rebuild Detroit. Every photo names its author and license where it appears.