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Park, Belle Isle, since 1845

Belle Isle

Still standing, photographed 2025

Belle Isle Park in Detroit, Michigan, 2025 Photo: WMrapids, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Opened
1845
Standing
181 years

Belle Isle has stood on East Jefferson Avenue and East Grand Boulevard in Belle Isle since 1845, 181 years and counting. Who built it, what makes it special and how to see it for yourself.

On the map

More photos of Belle Isle

Belle Isle, Grand Canal, Detroit, Michigan. 1 photomechanical print : photochrom, color, 1898 Photo: Detroit Publishing Company., public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Belle Isle, river-environed park, Detroit, Michigan, from Robert N Dennis collection of stereoscopic views (extract), 1880 Photo: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Crop of Napoleonic map made under the direction of George Henry Victor Collot showing surveyed lots around Detroit, 1796 Photo: George Henry Victor Collot, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

What is there now

Standing and open

We checked building permits, sales, listings and the city's blight and demolition files on October 24, 2026. Nothing new at this address in the last two years.

The story

By Victoria Jackson, Editor in Chief Updated

Belle Isle opened in 1845, when Detroit was still a river town of timber, brick and church steeples.

It joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

It still stands and still opens its doors.

Next time you are nearby, stop at East Jefferson Avenue and East Grand Boulevard and look up.

Belle Isle Park, known simply as Belle Isle, is a 982-acre (1.534 sq mi; 397 ha) island park in Detroit, Michigan, developed in the late 19th century. It consists of Belle Isle, an island in the Detroit River, as well as several surrounding islets. The U.S.-Canada border is in the channel south of Belle Isle.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Timeline

  1. 1845 Built
  2. 1974 Listed on the National Register February 25, 1974
  3. 2026 Today 181 years and still standing

Where it is

East Jefferson Avenue and East Grand Boulevard

On this map

  1. Belle Isle This place
  2. Belle Isle Athletic Pavilion 350 ft
  3. Samuel Francis Smith Memorial Flagpole 0.2 mi
  4. Belle Isle Elephant House 0.3 mi
  5. White House 0.3 mi
  6. Levi L. Barbour Memorial Fountain 0.4 mi
  7. Belle Isle Bath House (second) 0.4 mi
  8. Belle Isle Police Station 0.4 mi
  9. Alpheus Starkey Williams Monument 0.4 mi

Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors

More from Detroit in the 1840s

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. Belle Isle Park in Detroit, Michigan, 2025 Photo: WMrapids, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  2. Belle Isle, Grand Canal, Detroit, Michigan. 1 photomechanical print : photochrom, color, 1898 Photo: Detroit Publishing Company., public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  3. Belle Isle, river-environed park, Detroit, Michigan, from Robert N Dennis collection of stereoscopic views (extract), 1880 Photo: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  4. Crop of Napoleonic map made under the direction of George Henry Victor Collot showing surveyed lots around Detroit, 1796 Photo: George Henry Victor Collot, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  5. One of Argonne's famous white deer makes a rare appearance on a misty morning, 2009 Photo: Argonne National Laboratory, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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.