Belle Isle in February

It was a nice enough day today, so I decided to head over to Belle Isle to do my February shots.  I was hoping that there would still be some snow on the ground so it at least looked like Michigan in February.  But alas, that was not to be.  Oh well.

 Looking at the Scott Fountain from the west side of the island.  I would have to say that I love the looks of this fountain and I can't wait until it is shooting out water again.

 A closeup of the fountain.  Unfortunately, it was fenced off and that kind of distracts from the looks.

 Looking towards Downtown Detroit from the fountain.  Well at least the trees look like they should in February.

 Looking at one of the towers on the Casino.  It's not really a gambling place though.

 The side of the Casino.  I guess one of the things that I like about Detroit is the uniqueness of its buildings.

 Looking at the Nancy Brown Peace Carillon from across the river.

 A closeup of the Carillon.

 A shot of the Carillon with some of the vegetation that is kind of close to it.

 Looking down The Strand.

 Looking at the Alpheus Williams statue as you are heading towards the center of the island.  He was a General in the Civil War and held a variety of jobs in Detroit.

 Looking at the statue from the front.

 Looking at the statue from an oblique angle.

 This is the Belle Isle Police Station which was constructed in 1893.  I'm going to wager it is probably one of the more beautiful police stations in the state if not the country.

 Another shot of the Williams statue.

 This is a statue of Dante Alighieri who was the author of the Divine Comedy.  If I remember my history correctly, it was one of the first major western European works that wasn't written in Latin.  Also if I remember correctly, it was controversial because it depicted some of the major religious leaders in Hell.

One of the things I like about Belle Isle is that I am always finding new things as I wander to different parts of it.  This statue was close to what used to be the Belle Isle Zoo and is a statue of Johann Schiller.  He is the poet who wrote "Ode to Joy" which was later turned into the 9th Symphony by Beethoven.

So that's Belle Isle in December.  I hope you enjoyed.