Belle Isle Casino - Detroit, MI
Posted by: 
scrapcat
N 42° 20.099 W 082° 59.732
17T E 335601 N 4688898
Not THAT kind of casino! Once said to be the finest casino in the United States, this casino is used for public events and providing shelter for picnickers.
Waymark Code: WMD9BT
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 12/08/2011
Views: 10
The original casino built on this site (a Queen-Anne wood structure built in 1887) was destroyed by fire.
Famed architect Albert Kahn, "the man who built Detroit", designed the replacement (finished in 1908) which still stands. Kahn, a darling of all the great auto barons, is noted for designing over a 1000 well-known structures in and around Detroit including the Belle Isle Aquarium and the Belle Isle Conservatory.
According to Detroit1701 (
visit link)
"He designed it to provide views of the Detroit River and Canada, and to be an eating-place where patrons would be cooled by breezes in the era long before air conditioning. The style likely reflects architectural ideas flowing from Kahn's trip to Italy since it is a Renaissance Revival Building constructed from brick with a terra cotta roof. Note the two-story arcaded veranda with its graceful and soothing arches. And then there are the two impressive and high decorated square towers that Kahn designed for the Detroit side of this Casino."
Photos were taken in a field facing Southeast (towards Canada) approximlatey 300 ft from the casino.