HISTORIC ABANDONED STRUCTURES - exploring Belle Isle Park’s various facilities - Detroit, MI

lyd wetzel
102 followers
1 Video View·Nov 3, 2025
Belle Isle Park in Detroit has always fascinated me. I got to return 10 years later and it’s even worse than it was! I know there are problems with funding and that some of the facilities function, but a lot of this park is neglected and or abandoned! They kept historic structures without renovation, which is really nice and like you’re stepping back in time. But will Belle Isle ever come back? Time shall tell!
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[Music]
[Music]
Now we are at the Bell Ale Beach.
I can't believe the last time I was here
was
2015 June. So it's coming up on 10
years. Back then there was a abandoned
water slide that has now been
demolished.
But looks like a couple of these uh I
don't know if they were restrooms or
what they were. They look like they are
abandoned. So, we are going to walk
around and see what we can
find. Here's the bath house. The
slide
was Wasn't the slide right here?
I think it was it was uh you know I'm
gonna insert a picture if I can find
one. It was
a It's like brown and tan, I think.
Detroit River.
And look how this bath house looks.
All the architecture on Bell Isle is
really
uh
classic and
old
and a lot of attractions on Bell Isle
have unfortunately gone into disrepair,
but there are some thriving ones. So,
it's kind of like when you come here,
you're kind of like, is it abandoned? Is
it driving? You kind of don't know what
to think. It's a very unique place.
Look at this
water. It's way too cold to
swim. But look how clear that
is. In about a month, maybe a month and
a half, that'll
be swimmable.
Let's look at these little houses here.
What was
this? What's in
there? Is that a desk?
What is this table?
I know. It's like they just leave these
abandoned buildings just sitting across
from stuff that's functioning. It's just
such a
bizarre
juosition. How's that a word for you?
Whoops. This is Oh, look at the way
the cement is cracking.
So, this would have been some kind of
restroom, but I don't understand why
it's here, cuz the bath house over there
has restrooms and everything. So,
guess there was two of them.
This looks like it would have been
concessions or something maybe.
some kind of attempt to protect the
roof. Like, what are they going to do
with these
structures? Beach is over there.
parking for employees
only. This is awesome looking. I like
this iron door.
[Music]
Okay, now we're at the
casino, which apparently
is under
construction. This was not closed last
time I was
here. I'm like, what is going on? Look
at this. Like, this sign has fallen into
disrepair. And look at this building.
boat houses like this,
too. So, upon
research, I found that the casino
is closed for renovation, but it will be
reopening this summer.
I also read that you
can make reservations
here.
Um, but it's not open to the public.
Such awesome architecture.
Look at this bridge.
Love the
designs. I just realized something. This
pavilion is called the Kresge Pavilion.
You think that has anything to do with
Kmart? I think probably that it
does. What are the odds?
How cool is
this? Look at this crumbling
ancient ruins found in Detroit and
Bellis.
Why does Bell aisle look like this? Is
it a money issue? Like this place if it
was kept up would be
amazing. The amount of things on this
island that have
closed. It's
sad, but just imagine if they had kept
all the old
architecture and kept it going the way
that it was originally built instead of
letting half of it
crumble. I mean, I know they are
trying, but you just can't help but
think
like what if these stairs weren't
crumbling? What if the zoo wasn't shut
down? You
know, this is the other side of the
casino. These trees are awesome. Look at
these
Look, everything here is under a
fence. All these
ponds and rivers that are here.
We're going to come up on the
fountain.
Back in
2015, it was
running. We're going to see if it still
is.
Here's the fountain. Google lists it as
temporarily
closed. Why is this fountain not
running? This fountain is like
the
thing that signifies Bell
Isle
and to not have it running and for the
casino to be shut down. Th those are two
of the things that you see right when
you drive on to it. So the fact that
it's not
running I'm kind of
like
questioning. Look at these turtles. This
is so
awesome. The amount of
detail. the artist who did this or
artists maybe.
And then over
there
skyline the lions would have spit water
out as well
as the turtles
and these are those
seahorses or
horses and the cherubs up there.
Everybody was spitting out
water. Still awesome.
But there I swear there's something
against fountains in the USA these
days cuz every mall, not every but 90%
of them don't have a fountain or it's
not running.
Oh, look the way the water's moving. You
can almost picture the fountain running.
Then we have statues too.
All right, guys. That will complete my
look at these
various points of interest on Bell Isle.
I hope you liked this. Let me know what
you think.
and I will see you on the next video.
