DOSSIN MUSEUM

Dossin Great Lakes Museum

Program: Museum/ Archive

Designed: William Edward Kapp (1961)

Style: Mid Century-Modern

This museum is the premier maritime museum in metro-Detroit celebrating the regional vast shipping history. It features exhibits such as one of the largest collection of model ships in the world and a that passed by Belle Isle every day.

Attendance: 50,000 year

Managed: Detroit Historical Society

Watching the Ships Roll In

The museum is an outreach branch of the Detroit Historical Society on Belle Isle. Its main mission is to show the story of the Great Lakes, with emphasis on Detroit’s role in the maritime history of the region. To accomplish this the building is undergoing a $4.9 million renovation in an attempt to connect the building more directly with the rest of the island and the magnificent Detroit River.

Along the cove next to the museum, a new beach and kayak launch make the Detroit River accessible from the museum for the first time in its history. The museum will also be adding a riverfront patio space in order to make it a more enticing rental location. Once completed, it will be the only facility open to the public on the south side of the island providing additional capacity for events and