CONSERVATORY

Anna Scripps Whitcomb

Conservatory

Program: Nature Conservatory

Designed: Albert Kahn (1904)

Style: Beaux Arts

Attendance: 118,000 year

Managed: Belle Isle Conservancy

One of the oldest continually running conservatories in the U.S., the Belle Isle Conservatory was built in parallel with the aquarium next door. It carries the name of Anna Scripps Whitcomb, a philanthropist and avid gardener. The site boasts 13 acres of formal perennial gardens, seasonal floral beds, a lily pond garden and five sections of flora.

The Emerald of the Crown

The design of the conservatory was inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and the Crystal Palace in England. Originally the building was called the Horticulture Building, but it was later rededicated to Anna Scripps Whitcomb and received her donation of 600 orchids in 1955.

In 2009 the Belle Isle Conservancy was created through the merging of several organizations that were maintaining the island. Based on the Conservatory, the conservancy has always been primarily funded and maintained by volunteers and continues to be so.

Belle Isle Aquarium

Program: Aquarium/ Educational

Designed: Albert Kahn (1904)

Style: Beaux Arts

Attendance: 174,000 year

Managed: Belle Isle Conservancy

The Belle Isle Aquarium is the only aquarium in the state of Michigan and the oldest continually running aquarium in the country. Physically connected to the Conservatory, they opened the same day and the two share many programs and benefactors.

Life Underwater

The north façade of the red brick building is covered with a beautiful Beaux Arts entrance made of in terracotta.

Accentuating it all, a decorated arch is topped with a keystone bearing a molded relief of Neptune and a dedication to the City of Detroit above. The interior of the building has a vaulted ceiling covered entirely in green tiles to make visitors feel they are underwater.

The aquarium has 60 exhibits with a total tank volume of 32,000 U.S. gallons and was home to over 1,500 fish of 146 species. The building was shortly closed off between 2005 and 2012 during the restructuring of Detroit’s finances. During that time, operation was shifted from the Detroit Zoological Society to the Belle Isle Conservancy. Today, he aquarium continues to fascinate old and young generations alike...