Saurian
New member
Belle Isle, Michigan *pics*
Having some fun with my new digital camera... Here's some random pics from my trip to the Belle Isle Conservatory... I sized 'em down to 25 percent of normal, as they were HUGE pictures...
http://usera.imagecave.com/Saurian/Belle_Isle/
The Conservatory is a very old, very large greenhouse, built in 1904... It's my happy place where I can go to chill out when I can't get up north... Also good for getting out of the winter blahs...
1. On the way to the Detroit Zoo via I-696
2. Zoo's in winter hours, oops... Heading into Detroit down I-75
3. The Lizard on the Dashboard
4. Skyline of the RenCen in the fog
5. More of the same.
6. The Douglas MacArthur Bridge... Only way onto Belle Isle
7. This tattered banner once proudly boasted of the Belle Isle Aquarium's 100th anniversary... Like the aquarium, only tattered memories remain
8. The closed Belle Isle Aquarium... Remaining open through the Great Depression the race riots, and endless wars, it was a budget shortfall that closed it down a year ago.
9. Built the same year as the aquarium... It's OLD!
10. View from the side of the Conservatory.
11. The lily pond garden between the Conservatory and the Aquarium
12. Tropical House (Right Wing)
13. Children's Temperance Fountain. In the 50s, Anna Scripps Whitcomb donated her orchid collection (we're talking like 600 plants) to the Belle Isle Botanical Society... When the conservatory was renovated, and the original wood beams were replaced with aluminum, it was rededicated to her... These are her orchid plants, rotated out with the ones in the greenhouses so they are always in bloom.
14. My brother next to a palm tree
15. Me next to the central display in the showhouse
16. The Showhouse Poinsetta Display. This room is completely changed 6 times a year...
17. Cactus House (Left Wing)
18. Fernery (Off Cactus House)
19. Looking back into Cactus House
20. In the central dome area
21. Looking up at the Dome
22. Fountain in the middle of the Formal Gardens
23. Inscription on the Fountain
24. Panorama from the very back of the Formal Gardens
25. The peacock sundial
26. Center Dome of the Conservatory
27. Looking into the closed aquarium
28. Front doors of aquarium.
29. Street sign on Belle Isle... The entire island was redone with these fancy signs, statuary, the works... All the burnt out party stores and such were torn down, and it was all fixed up, only to fall into disrepair again. While it's not as bad as it was, it's obvious that neglect exists. The Strand is the main drag around the island.
30. US Coast Guard station on Belle Isle... But wait, what's this?
31. Jeeps!
32. The William Livingstone Memorial Lighthouse. I don't know who this guy was, but he gets a lighthouse named after him...
33. Inscription.
34. And finally, a gratuitous shot of Admiral Bird. He belongs to my family, and is enjoying a peanut butter cookie. He does like his cookies
So, that's a taste of Belle Isle Park... The Detroit area does have a few nice things about it, you just have to know where to look... If anything, it's a nice taste of spring for ya
Having some fun with my new digital camera... Here's some random pics from my trip to the Belle Isle Conservatory... I sized 'em down to 25 percent of normal, as they were HUGE pictures...
http://usera.imagecave.com/Saurian/Belle_Isle/
The Conservatory is a very old, very large greenhouse, built in 1904... It's my happy place where I can go to chill out when I can't get up north... Also good for getting out of the winter blahs...
1. On the way to the Detroit Zoo via I-696
2. Zoo's in winter hours, oops... Heading into Detroit down I-75
3. The Lizard on the Dashboard
4. Skyline of the RenCen in the fog
5. More of the same.
6. The Douglas MacArthur Bridge... Only way onto Belle Isle
7. This tattered banner once proudly boasted of the Belle Isle Aquarium's 100th anniversary... Like the aquarium, only tattered memories remain
8. The closed Belle Isle Aquarium... Remaining open through the Great Depression the race riots, and endless wars, it was a budget shortfall that closed it down a year ago.
9. Built the same year as the aquarium... It's OLD!
10. View from the side of the Conservatory.
11. The lily pond garden between the Conservatory and the Aquarium
12. Tropical House (Right Wing)
13. Children's Temperance Fountain. In the 50s, Anna Scripps Whitcomb donated her orchid collection (we're talking like 600 plants) to the Belle Isle Botanical Society... When the conservatory was renovated, and the original wood beams were replaced with aluminum, it was rededicated to her... These are her orchid plants, rotated out with the ones in the greenhouses so they are always in bloom.
14. My brother next to a palm tree
15. Me next to the central display in the showhouse
16. The Showhouse Poinsetta Display. This room is completely changed 6 times a year...
17. Cactus House (Left Wing)
18. Fernery (Off Cactus House)
19. Looking back into Cactus House
20. In the central dome area
21. Looking up at the Dome
22. Fountain in the middle of the Formal Gardens
23. Inscription on the Fountain
24. Panorama from the very back of the Formal Gardens
25. The peacock sundial
26. Center Dome of the Conservatory
27. Looking into the closed aquarium
28. Front doors of aquarium.
29. Street sign on Belle Isle... The entire island was redone with these fancy signs, statuary, the works... All the burnt out party stores and such were torn down, and it was all fixed up, only to fall into disrepair again. While it's not as bad as it was, it's obvious that neglect exists. The Strand is the main drag around the island.
30. US Coast Guard station on Belle Isle... But wait, what's this?
31. Jeeps!
32. The William Livingstone Memorial Lighthouse. I don't know who this guy was, but he gets a lighthouse named after him...
33. Inscription.
34. And finally, a gratuitous shot of Admiral Bird. He belongs to my family, and is enjoying a peanut butter cookie. He does like his cookies
So, that's a taste of Belle Isle Park... The Detroit area does have a few nice things about it, you just have to know where to look... If anything, it's a nice taste of spring for ya
Last edited:
