If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I love seeing abandoned places. It fascinates me to see areas that were once bustling with people now nothing but a shell of what they used to be. I’ve written about the old Jackson Motor Speedway, which sits in the middle of the woods, and Deer Forest, Michigan’s premier amusement park, before Michigan’s Adventure.
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But this place takes the cake for scale and location. Many people are familiar with the Belle Isle Nature Center in Detroit, but you may not know that an entire abandoned zoo lies in ruin just behind the nature center.
A Brief History of the Belle Isle Zoo
According to Abandoned Online, the Bell Isle Zoo opened in 1895 and began small, with only a few bears and deer, before quickly expanding in 1905 to include deer, prairie dogs, and more. The zoo’s continued success led to the addition of a new area, the Belle Isle Children’s Zoo, based on nursery rhymes.
This, however, closed 9 years later. The central zoo remained popular, prompting the city of Detroit to initiate a $4.5 million overhaul of the complex in 1976. The zoo reached its peak attendance in 1980, but due to competition from the Detroit Zoo and underfunding, it slowly faded into irrelevance. It closed in 2002 and has sat abandoned ever since.
The Ruins of Belle Isle Zoo Are Demolished
For over 20 years, the zoo has been slowly taken over by nature and tons of graffiti, while the rest of the island has developed around it. While residents are sentimental about the zoo and its ruins, the area it occupies is prime real estate.
That’s why Meagan Elliot, the president and CEO of the Belle Isle Conservancy, has conducted studies and surveys to see what people want in that space. Overwhelmingly, people want more trails and better access to canals, according to reporting by The Detroit News.
Belle Isle Zoo Appears On The Big Screen
Oddly enough, when one chapter closes, another opens. If this area of the abandoned zoo looks familiar to you, it’s because it was featured in the 2011 movie Real Steel, featuring Hugh Jackson. The fight takes place early in the movie, when Jackman’s character, Charlie, and his son, Max, are training with their robot, Atom.
This scene was filmed 11 years after the zoo closed. Meanwhile, the YouTube channel Mobile Instinct filmed a 2019 tour of the zoo, providing incredible aerial footage showing exactly where the scene was filmed.
While it’s sad to see something this unique being demolished, the next chapter for Belle Isle sounds very exciting. Demolition is already underway. RIP the Belle Isle Zoo (again)…