Triumph: Purchase of Belle Isle
Although Belle Isle seems like an obvious choice for a park setting today, it almost never came to be. Many Detroiters wanted a large, urban park by the 1870s, but disagreements over where it should be located and what it would cost thwarted progress on the issue. In 1879, the Michigan legislature passed a law allowing Detroit to issue bonds to purchase Belle Isle, ostensibly for a railroad bridge over the Detroit River. The Common Council proceeded to spend $200,000 to purchase the island from the descendants of Barnabas Campau. Some Detroiters were outraged at such a wasteful expenditure. Today, Belle Isle is the largest city-owned island park in the nation. Having been run as a state park since 2013, the island welcomed 4.1 million visitors in 2016, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
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