In and Around Detroit

Sunday, September 6, 2015
After church and lunch at Beth's home, Dean, Beth and Jason joined us for a trip to Belle Isle. It was very hot and humid (summer in Florida type heat!) so in the beginning our plan was simply to drive around the island in our air conditioned car just to see how it was improving. BUT it wasn't long before we were wanting to park and check out various spots beginning with the Scott Fountain that is now working again and had been the scene of an earlier wedding - the chairs were still set up.

Here are Beth and I looking down on the entry level fountain.

And this is a view from the fountain looking back toward downtown Detroit.

From there we drove the short distance to the Dossin Great Lakes Museum that had been reopened so we decided to go in and see it.  WOW!  We were impressed with how that has been fixed up.

The hall when you enter has been set up to look like the inside of the Gothic Room on the old City of Detroit pleasure cruise ship built in Detroit shipyards to carry about 1400 people on trips from Cleveland to Buffalo.

This is a model of the old sidewheeler and the Gothic room was on the top forward deck behind the wheel house.

The museum gave some of Detroit's history of boat building, water transportation, and water activities of all sorts from the Coast Guard to hydroplane races as well as the early history of the Indians and French who first settled the area.  

Below is a picture of Beth in the canoe that is part of the display about the early Indian, trapper and French life of Detroit.

This display was a fun spot for kids to get a feel for some of the fun water activities in a boat either piloting a hydroplane, sailboat (in a  race), or ice boat race.

This map and several displays reinforced the important part Detroit played in transportation along the waterways that eventually reach Diluth, Minnesota on the west end and the Atlantic Ocean of the Eastern end.

And these signs along the water front tell the story of distances that involved.

There was a section all about the Edmund Fitzgerald which was built in Detroit and went down in Lake Superior in a storm with some of the running radio communications with ships in the area searching for it.  Outside is the rescued anchor from the ship.

The Miss Pepsi hydroplane driven by Chuck Thompson and sponsored by the Dossin's and winner of many of the races is on display in a side building

A fireboat went by in front of the building shooting off all of its water hoses giving many of us a beautiful, cooling view.

Out in front we could see a beautiful view of the Conservatory which is also now open.

And a short distance back from there was this view of the Carolan Tower.  There was no evidence that it is back in working order though.  We never heard it playing.

By the time we left the museum there wasn't much time left before all of the other buildings would close so we quickly drove to the lot for the Aquarium and Conservatory so we could at least enjoy a quick inside view.  The aquarium cleanup is progressing well and all of the tanks are filled with a variety of fish from all over the world.  I always loved the tiled walls and ceilings and underground feel you had inside and that still exists.

Right next to the building is this beautiful pool and garden which is part of the Conservatory.

And out in front of the Conservatory is this beautiful lawn and garden where a wedding had obviously just come to an end as they were still in the midst of taking pictures in the area.

Inside were displays of a variety of types of flowers

More work is needed to bring it back to its original beauty but it sure was still impressive enough

Outside we could get another shot of the Carolan (my mother liked to tell people that it was at an outing to listen to one of the first concerts given that she told my dad I was coming and therefore named Carolyn)

The water ways all around the island use to be a fun place to canoe.  During my dating years I spent many a date canoing and then attending a Detroit Concert Band concert at the music shell by the water.  We never did get to that spot.

There were lots of picnickers and sun bathers and plenty of people playing in the water in the beach  area across from the downtown skyline.

The Detroit Yacht Club was as beautiful as ever with plenty of boats in its marina but the Detroit Boat Club needs lots of work though the area for the rowing/skulling is obviously in good shape and well used.

We then left the island and headed east on Jefferson just to see how it is doing.  Work is being done in various spots to spruce that area up but when we got off of that and into the east side neighborhoods where I grew up there were lots of very sad looking areas including my home where I grew up which was empty with a tree leaning on the corner of the duplex where my grandparents lived and doors to both sides just standing open.  The roof and paint seem to still be in good shape so hopefully someone will rescue it before it becomes yet another of the disasters in the city.

  The elementary school that I attended is shuttered and obviously not being used but the building still appears to be in decent shape and most of the homes around it are as well.  Who knows what will happen to Arthur Elementary

We drove back to Ferndale and we treated Beth and Dean to dinner out at the local pub - Rosie O'Gradys before returning to their place with a hamburger for Jason (he didn't want to come) so they could go and get Scott at his girlfriends where he'd been for the day and we could head back to our motorhome an hour away.