Belle Isle

While Frederick Law Olmsted is best known for his work on New York's Central Park, Detroiters known him as the architect of their favorite park, Belle Isle, which is roughly twice the size of Central Park and receives a fraction of the visitors.

Gadling 2009

As a public place owned by the city, a commons enjoyed by all residents and visitors, Belle Isle is priceless.

Tiya Miles: An Emergency Manager Would Put Belle Isle at Risk Tiya Miles 2012

The loss of Belle Isle to private purchasers, beholden only to themselves, would be a sad addition to this lamentable list.

Tiya Miles: An Emergency Manager Would Put Belle Isle at Risk Tiya Miles 2012

Within its abundant grounds, Belle Isle shelters 230 acres of old growth forest with a variety of 200-year-old tree specimens.

Tiya Miles: An Emergency Manager Would Put Belle Isle at Risk Tiya Miles 2012

In the French colonial period, Hog Island Isle aux Cochons, as Belle Isle was then known, was used as a public commons where settlers loosed their livestock, mainly hogs, to roam freely.

Tiya Miles: An Emergency Manager Would Put Belle Isle at Risk Tiya Miles 2012

Mistinguette Smith, founder of the Black/Land Project, who recently visited Detroit to interview black women about their views of land, found that Belle Isle was a focal point of these women's stories.

Tiya Miles: An Emergency Manager Would Put Belle Isle at Risk Tiya Miles 2012

In the 1940s and 1950s, black east-siders made Belle Isle their own by gathering at the park for socials and church picnics.

Tiya Miles: An Emergency Manager Would Put Belle Isle at Risk Tiya Miles 2012

In the French colonial period, Hog Island Isle aux Cochons, as Belle Isle was then known, was used as a public commons where settlers loosed their livestock, mainly hogs, to roam freely.

Tiya Miles: An Emergency Manager Would Put Belle Isle at Risk Tiya Miles 2012

The loss of Belle Isle to private purchasers, beholden only to themselves, would be a sad addition to this lamentable list.

Tiya Miles: An Emergency Manager Would Put Belle Isle at Risk Tiya Miles 2012

In the French colonial period, Hog Island Isle aux Cochons, as Belle Isle was then known, was used as a public commons where settlers loosed their livestock, mainly hogs, to roam freely.

Tiya Miles: An Emergency Manager Would Put Belle Isle at Risk Tiya Miles 2012