Ice Skating on Belle Isle and the Flynn Pavilion
Update: The Friends of Belle Isle Annual Meeting will be on Wednesday, March 10th, 6:00pm, at the Flynn Pavilion. Detroit City Council President Charles Pugh will be speaking. It is open to the public as well as members.Looking through the windows of the Eero Saarinen-designed Flynn Pavilion, I had a lovely daydream that I could go in and get hot chocolate, rent skates, and join the few other brave souls ice skating today. Instead, I took pictures, and once home, huddled under a blanket and read about it (from a delightful and informative book published by the Friends of Belle Isle called Island In The City, How Belle Isle Changed Detroit Forever, by Janet Anderson).
The Pavilion was built in 1949 as a replacement for the old ice skating concession building, an ornate Victorian cupcake. It was renovated inside and out a few years ago, and is the home of the swan paddleboats in warm weather. Supposedly, it will someday house ice skates again, as well as bikes (and possibly canoes/kayaks) for rental. The building can be rented for special events through the Detroit Recreation Department (more info here).
It is a wonderfully transparent space, open to the vista of the pond and river beyond.You can still bring your own skates and glide on ponds and canals, if you have experience with outdoor skating and judging the thickness of the ice. If it's been snowing, best to bring your shovel to clear a patch of ice, and your own hot cocoa.
This young lady appeared to be getting the hang of her new skates....
These guys were waiting for a few more friends to arrive and had started a hockey game before I left.
This gentleman had the canals to himself, except for me and the dogs invading his solitude.
These guys were waiting for a few more friends to arrive and had started a hockey game before I left.
This gentleman had the canals to himself, except for me and the dogs invading his solitude.
There are more wonderful old postcards and photos of crowds of skaters from the park's heyday on the terrific relaunched Buildings of Detroit website.
Looks like a beautiful place to spend time. With my weak ankles, skating is lost on me, but it's a popular pursuit here...
ReplyDeleteIt's even better in the summer, although much busier! You don't have to skate to enjoy...it's great for dog adventures on foot.
ReplyDeleteWe used to skate on a lake with a very rickety old pavilion (now rebuilt) and your pictures brought back those memories. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteSoirette
It's a pleasure to hear from someone else who remembers the lost art of skating outside on a pond.
ReplyDeleteIt's alive in 2011. There's a nice smooth patch cleared out and a big circle that connects. We'll need a snowblower to get the circle back. Just wicked we could warm up in the pavilion!
ReplyDeleteI saw people having a skating party last weekend! Whoever cleared ice, you're my hero. Maybe we could get Wheelhouse Detroit to move to the island and do wintersports in their offseason. Snowshoes, cross country skis, skates? It would be wicked to warm up in the pavilion. And awesome and rad. Just wish it was open, too. ;>)
ReplyDeleteBack in 2000-2001 former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick got federal funds to renovate the Flynn Pavilion and he squandered it. No surprise. The money was supposed to enable ice skating and canoeing on Belle Isle. I was at the meeting at the Flynn Pavilion that day with all interested heads of government.
ReplyDeleteHere it is 10 years later and no ice skating. Really Ticks me off.
Here's more facts: You can see the report and the photos online. MACAnnualeport_193024_7.pdf They acquired $500,000 National Park Service Grant in 2002. I was at the grant ceremonyWhat has been the status of those funds? I hope the money is being used to do what it was supposed to be for. If I could upload the photo I would.
ReplyDeleteHi, I found this wonderful site googling for information on the ice tree.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter had her 6th birthday party at the Flynn Pavilion (guerrilla style) late last January, so it was probably us you saw out on the ice (I had to get up early to spend three hours shoveling snow off the ice so the party could happen).
The story with the Flynn Pavilion, like the Children's zoo, is sadly another one of our former mayor's many small corruptions (with big effects) that will likely go unnoticed because of the bigger ones that suck up all the attention. We have inquired about renting the Flynn Pavillion through various city and park departments, but it seemed like no one wanted to bother to go through the paperwork. Lately I have been seeing more activity there though.
One thing I wanted to note: I skated at Belle Isle with my kids a few dozen times last winter. Several times we were accosted and ordered off the ice at the Flynn Pavilion by a nasty Detroit police officer. Once he was so mean he made my daughter cry. He threatened to write me a ticket and I told him to go ahead, because I knew there was no ordinance forbidding ice skating on city ponds (and especially not at the park's SKATING pavilion). I'd called his bluff and he told me if we went back on the ice he would arrest me and send my kids to child protective services.
Long story short, my attorney(wife) called his boss (the lieutenant) and we straightened everything out. YOU CAN SKATE ON BELLE ISLE PONDS NO MATTER WHAT THIS NASTY PATROL OFFICER SAYS.
Now we just have to wait for the ice to freeze again! It was about 1.5 inches thick before this recent warm front.
Luckily I have not encountered the nasty patrol officer! Occupy the Flynn Pavilion with ice skates in tow? You name the date, I'm there.
ReplyDeleteIts really good to hear such great stories about anything in the city of detroit. Thank you all for sharing them.
ReplyDeleteIm a resident of the city that frequents Belle Isle but does not ice skate.
Glad to hear you've enjoyed the site. Hope to posting new content again soon.
ReplyDeleteDo you know if the State of MI is considering open up the Pavilion for ice skaters in the winter 2015?
ReplyDelete