Belle Isle | Detroit Yacht Club
Yesterday was the perfect spring day to drive along the shores of Lake St. Clair in
Grosse Pointe and Detroit--- it was a bit cool [53 degrees] however, the sun was shining, the grass is turning green, the trees are budding and there were spring flowers in bloom! Keith's mom is a member of the 55+ Club at Bethany Lutheran church and she invited me to go with her to the Belle Isle Conservatory and Detroit Yacht Club. I asked mom if she would mind if my sister in law Sandy joined us. Sandy picked mom up and then came to my house. My hubby thought it would be best for me to drive to Lakeshore Drive [that turns into Jefferson] down to Belle Isle. I love driving around Belle Isle. Belle Isle hosts the Detroit Grand Prix and there are cement barriers installed along a portion of the sides of the three lane, one way road. The speed limit is a whopping 20mph. I must admit it was hard not to go over the speed limit just a-lil-bit-----until I saw the state police car parked off to the side ahead of us. Back to sight seeing, and looking for our venue. I pointed out a few landmarks for Sandy, as she had never been at Belle Isle before. A future fieldtrip back the island is definitely in order. We met 55+ Club members at the lobby of the conservatory. Sandy had a chance to meet the members before the tour.
The Anna Scripps Whitcomb conservatory, designed by architect Albert Kahn, opened on August 18, 1904. The conservatory is the oldest continuously run conservatory in the United States.
In April 1953, Anna Scripps Whitcomb gave her 600 orchid plant collection to the conservatory.
A gorgeous collection of Amaryllis, Easter Lilies and Begonias.
Turtle fountain at the edge of the Lily Pond in the courtyard.
After our visit to the conservatory we had reservations at the Detroit Yacht Club for a Docent guided tour and lunch.
The Detroit Yacht Club is a private marina and sailing club. The DYC is the largest yacht club in the United States.
Gar Wood was an engineer, inventor, motorboat builder and businessman whose passion was powerboat racing. He was the first man to travel over 100 mph on water. Gar Wood built ten Miss America speedboats, broke the water speed record five times and topped the record at 124.915 mph, 2 miles per minute with Miss America X ---- powered by four supercharged Packard V12 1800-horsepower aero engines. Gar Wood won five consecutive Gold Cup Races and he won the Harmsworth Race nine times.
The U-10 Miss America X currently resides at the Packard Proving Grounds in Shelby Township, Michigan. Here's somewhat of an ironic and interesting tid-bit of history---in 1922, Jesse G. Vincent the chief engineer of the Packard Motor Company, broke Gar Wood's five time Gold Cup winning streak with the Packard-Criscraft---- it was the first boat to have the Chris-Craft moniker.
The next 55+ Club outing is going to be at the Detroit Public Library on Woodward Ave. I can hardly wait. The Skillman Branch has the National Automotive History Collection and there's a Packard Motor Company Collection with over 13,000 images of cars, trucks, aircraft, buildings, factories and events. Hmm, me thinks we will have to go there several times to just to scratch the surface!
Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed day.
Marcie
Grosse Pointe and Detroit--- it was a bit cool [53 degrees] however, the sun was shining, the grass is turning green, the trees are budding and there were spring flowers in bloom! Keith's mom is a member of the 55+ Club at Bethany Lutheran church and she invited me to go with her to the Belle Isle Conservatory and Detroit Yacht Club. I asked mom if she would mind if my sister in law Sandy joined us. Sandy picked mom up and then came to my house. My hubby thought it would be best for me to drive to Lakeshore Drive [that turns into Jefferson] down to Belle Isle. I love driving around Belle Isle. Belle Isle hosts the Detroit Grand Prix and there are cement barriers installed along a portion of the sides of the three lane, one way road. The speed limit is a whopping 20mph. I must admit it was hard not to go over the speed limit just a-lil-bit-----until I saw the state police car parked off to the side ahead of us. Back to sight seeing, and looking for our venue. I pointed out a few landmarks for Sandy, as she had never been at Belle Isle before. A future fieldtrip back the island is definitely in order. We met 55+ Club members at the lobby of the conservatory. Sandy had a chance to meet the members before the tour.
The Detroit Yacht Club was designed by architect George D. Mason who also designed the Detroit Masonic Temple (the worlds largest Masonic Temple) and the Gem Theatre.
The Detroit skyline from the DYC.
Pewabic Pottery tiles line the pool and walls in the pool room.
Commodore Garfield Arthur Wood (Gar Wood)
The U-10 Miss America X currently resides at the Packard Proving Grounds in Shelby Township, Michigan. Here's somewhat of an ironic and interesting tid-bit of history---in 1922, Jesse G. Vincent the chief engineer of the Packard Motor Company, broke Gar Wood's five time Gold Cup winning streak with the Packard-Criscraft---- it was the first boat to have the Chris-Craft moniker.
The next 55+ Club outing is going to be at the Detroit Public Library on Woodward Ave. I can hardly wait. The Skillman Branch has the National Automotive History Collection and there's a Packard Motor Company Collection with over 13,000 images of cars, trucks, aircraft, buildings, factories and events. Hmm, me thinks we will have to go there several times to just to scratch the surface!
Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed day.
Marcie
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