Located on Jefferson Ave. and 15 minutes from downtown Detroit is a 982-acre (1.534 sq mi; 397 ha) island park in the Detroit River that separates the United States and Canada, managed by the. It is connected to the rest of Detroit by the MacArthur Bridge which is 2,193 feet. It is the largest island city park in the United States and the third largest island in the Detroit River
The island was founded in the 18th century, by French Colonist who named it Île aux Cochons (Hog Island). The French saw that it was a great asset to be a recreation facility so in the 1880s, urban park designer,Frederick Law Olmsted, design the park. One of Frederick's projects was the Belle Isle Casino building. Everyone thought it was a actual casino but is actually used for occasional public events such as concerts and birthday party. One of the highlights of Belle Isle is a beautiful botanical garden. Alot of couples go there to see the exotic trees and have picnics. They saw how much excitement was going on about the botanical garden so in 1952 Albert Kahn designed a greenhouse called Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory. Architect Cass Gilbert designed Belle Isle's James Scott Memorial Fountain and the William Livingstone Memorial Light, the only marble lighthouse in the United States, is on the east end of the island. Additional recreational options include a nature center, wheelchair accessible nature trail, fishing piers, playgrounds, picnic shelters, and handball, tennis and basketball courts, baseball fields, and even a cricket pitch. Belle Isle turned into the talk of the city. There was a canoe concession where you could rent canoes and stored private ones and just ride along the river and often stop to enjoy the concert at the Remick Band Shell.
Today Belle Isle is still up and running. People come there for family picnics, the Detroit Indy Grand Prix, go to the zoo or just to get out of the house. Belle Isle is the best park in the country.
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