Abandoned casinos: Belle Isle Casino in Detroit
24 september 2022
The former US auto city of Detroit is less than 500 metres from Canada. The natural border between the two countries is the Detroit River. In wide places in that river there are some islands. One arose a long time ago when the Americans decided to dig a canal. An unexpected cleverness that now makes the island not belong to Canada.
In 1845, the inhabitant of the island, an American general, organized a large picnic party there. It went down in the history books as one of those celebrations that people talked about for years. Enthusiastic visitors found a name change in its place. The name of the island, Ile aux Cochons, they changed to Belle Isle to Isabelle, the daughter of the general.
The wooden Belle Isle casino
The owner of the island was the city of Detroit. The party on the island gave them the idea to make it a recreational island. They brought the city park architect Frederick L. Olmsted to Detroit in 1880. He previously designed the almost equally large Central Park in New York. The first building to get a place in the new park was the wooden Belle Ilse Casino, designed by Detroit-based architectural firm Donaldson & Meier.
It was opened in 1887. Many Detroit residents then spent their free time in the park and casino . Others held their business meetings. The "See you at the casino" remark became a winged statement in turn-of-the-century Detroit.
The weather can be extreme in Michigan. Hot summers and extremely cold winters alternate. As a result, the small wooden building began to lose its luster after a few years. In addition, the population of Detroit grew and was richer. The city council decided to build a new larger casino.
First it was seen whether the old Belle Ilse Casino could be dismantled, because it was famous throughout the country. But it would be too expensive. Many were watching with emotion as workers began demolition in March 1908, while a start had already been made on the construction of a new larger casino.
The New Belle Ilse Casino opened in May of the same year. The building, designed by architects Van Leyen & Schilling from Detroit, directly continued the tradition as a meeting place. It was one of the most popular attractions on the island, where several buildings now stood.
Such as since 1904 the Belle Ilse Aquarium and the Belle Ilse Conservatory, a greenhouse with botanical garden. In 1949 there would be another Maritime museum in a large old sailing boat (type schooner). Five years later, however, that was already closed due to the poor condition of the boat and years later replaced by a large building.
Detroit with its auto industry was for many years one of the richest cities in America. And the Belle Ilse Casino took advantage of that. It remained the most popular attraction of the island. People came for all kinds of reasons, almost always for a recreational purpose. However, gradually both the city and the casino lost their attractiveness.
The Belle Ilse Casino is still in use. But visitors to the island, including tourists, now come mainly for the aquarium, which was renovated in 2012. And for the huge collection of orchids in the Conservatory, which, by the way, is currently closed for renovation.
There have been regular plans for pop concerts and such events on the island over the years. But these plans always ended up being canceled prematurely or at the last minute. Causes were then usually the operating costs, the weather or the soil conditions of the island.
The island is mainly in the news today because someone is trying to swim across the 500 meter wide river. From America to Canada or vice versa. Almost always, the Coast Guard must then be deployed to rescue the swimmer, who has misled himself on the strong undercurrent. And on the heavy freight traffic on the river, one of the world's busiest waterways.
Belle Ilse Casino has always been a casino in the ancient meaning of that word. In the past over a hundred years, a casino with roulette tables and slot machines was regularly mentioned. But each time there was too much opposition that insisted on preserving a family park with an old-style casino with versatile use.
After the demise of the Detroit auto industry, the operation of Belle Isle also fell into a bit of a slump. As of 2014, it is a state park, which Michigan administers. She rents the island for this purpose from the municipality, which remains the owner. Again, a real casino was mentioned as a source of income. But this time, too, it was ultimately rejected.
The discussions about it led partly to the fact that the gambling laws were revised. Gambling is legal in Michigan at designated locations from a certain age. Outside of that, it's illegal and you can get a year in prison for as little as $ 50 in illegal gambling winnings.
Online gambling has been legal since the end of 2019, if you play at gambling companies in Michigan. There are severe penalties out there. The Belle Isle Casino.
