In this episode of CuriosiD, listener Max Spayde asks the question:

Why is there a boat club and a yacht club on Belle Isle?

The short answer

The two clubs were each founded for different boat-centered sports. The Detroit Boat Club was founded as a rowing club—although many decades ago it developed a “pure” sailing program that’s motorless. And the Detroit Yacht Club was developed as a sailing organization that continued to build on its motor-powered sailing programs.

Belle Isle was an ideal setting for both because of its location on the Detroit River and its connection to the Great Lakes system.

Detroit Boat Club

The Detroit Boat Club was founded in 1839 after Detroit developer Edward Brush fell in love with rowing on a visit to the East Coast. It is the fifth oldest non-academic rowing clubs in the world and the second oldest in the country.

Rowing was the most popular sport in Detroit after the Civil War. There were more than 1,000 rowers in the city by the late 1870s with a boat house district that stretched from St. Aubin to McDougall. Hundreds of thousands of people would come to the river to watch rowing competitions.

Stephen Malboeuf is a rower at the Boat Club, its official archivist and its unofficial historian. He says at that time the sport wasn’t just for the wealthy.

“Both of the stove works—both the Detroit Stove Works and the Michigan Stove Works had boat clubs that were organized by their iron workers,” Malbouef said. “The railroads would have their employees…form boat clubs…and they’d compete in regular regattas.”

But that level of enthusiasm for rowing didn’t actually last that long, Malboeuf said.

“By the 1880s and as early as 1881 the rowers noticed that most of their spectators had abandoned the sport in favor of watching baseball.”

 The first professional baseball team was organized in Detroit in 1881. 

 “In 1879 You’ve got 30 clubs, and by 1893 you’re down to just two,” Malbouef said.

Detroit Yacht Club

The Detroit Yacht Club sets its founding in 1868 and its focus has always been sailing. Its early members are among the most notable names in the city’s history, including the Fords, Dodges, Scripps and Fishers.

The Yacht Club’s Mike Alberts says the DYC had two or three buildings before its current clubhouse. He says inventor Gar Wood was the commodore when the club built it in 1922 after Wood’s win at the Harmsworth Challenge Regatta in 1920 made him a rock star.  

Alberts says even though the Detroit Yacht Club was built by some of the automotive industry’s heavy hitters, boat racing was bigger than car racing in those days. And, he says the DYC was and still is a pioneer in freshwater sailing, power boat racing and competitive swimming.

But why Belle Isle?

In the mid-1880s, when clubs were looking for better positions on the river as it became more industrial, the Detroit Park Commission gave the Detroit Boat Club and the Detroit Yacht Club permission to build on the island. 

The clubs are actually not technically on the island. They built the foundations for the buildings next to Belle Isle. And gave them a pretty sweet deal.

“When the Park Commission originally approved the clubs to move to Belle Isle, each club had to furnish a $5,000 bond,” Malbouef said. He said that’s like $125,000 today.

“Then they’d pay an annual lease of $1 a year for property in Belle Isle.”

The one hundred year, one dollar a year leases ended in 1992. Malbouef says the Boat Club went from paying $1 to be on the island to 100,000 dollars overnight. 

Hitting rough waters

The boat club’s membership was around 250 by the 1990s– down from around 1400 in the 60s. It was leasing its building from the city on a month-to-month basis until 2014. When the state took over Belle Isle, the Boat Club got a 30 year lease. 

It hosted about 50 weddings a year before COVID – that money went into trying to keep the building in shape. But just after COVID part of a porch collapsed and the building was condemned. 

Now, a developer is working to restore the building so rowers, sailors and the community can use it.

That’s just a little bit of the histories of the Detroit Boat Club and the Detroit Yacht Club. We didn’t get into the part where they were sued to let Black members in. And Mike Alberts has a great story about the King of Norway.

But we answered Max Spayde’s question: There are two clubs because they were originally focused on different sports – and they made a deal with the city that made it possible for them to stay on Belle Isle for at least 100 years.

WDET’s CuriosiD series answers your questions about everything Detroit. Subscribe to CuriosiD on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

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More CuriosiD

The Belle Isle Casino has reopened for the first time since 2023. The Belle Isle Conservancy and the Department of Natural Resources closed the historic structure for $4.75 million in repairs to the interior and infrastructure.

The casino was one of the first structures build on Belle Isle, originally opening in 1887. But it doesn’t look like a traditional casino.

Amanda Treadwell is an urban field planner with the Department of Natural Resources and helped manage the renovations.

She says the word casino comes from the Italian word “casa.”

“Meaning house or community space, and so that’s something that we are happy to celebrate again today by welcoming the public back here,” Treadwell said.

The casino functions as a gathering space, and is often rented out for events such as weddings, birthday parties, and more.

Improvements to the building included repairs to structural beams, adding ADA-accessible walkways, and restoring the stained-glass ceiling on the second floor.

WDET’s Bre’Anna Tinsley spoke with Amanda Treadwell about the project.

Interview has been edited for length and clarity

Bre’Anna Tinsley: Can you talk a little bit about some of the changes and the upgrades that were made? You were talking about some stained glass that’s on the second floor.

Amanda Treadwell: Well, there’s been quite a bit of deferred maintenance for this building. So we really worked from the rooftop. Literally threw down the gutters, down spouts into the basement, did a lot of work stabilizing the building and keeping it weather tight, but we did do a lot of interior finishes as well.

And like you mentioned, one of that was the stained-glass medallion that’s on the second floor. It’s a beautiful stained-glass piece surrounded by clear glass, and it’s you can even see it in this first floor. There’s the glass ceiling below that.

Back in 2020 we were noticing that some of the glass was coming separated from the lead, and so to preserve it, all the pieces were taken out. They were all taken apart and releaded or put back together, and then those panels were replaced.

Fun fact for people visiting the casino is that that corrugated clear glass and the panels around it, our artisan was looking all around for that glass, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois. We couldn’t find a match, and at that time, we were looking working on the design for the conservatory dome reglazing project, and we said, “You know what? That looks just like the glass we have a whole storeroom full of … in the conservatory. Let’s check it out.” And it was a match. So it was kind of neat that we were able to repurpose it that way. And as you might know, the dome has all new tempered glass now, so it was nice to be able to keep some.

BT: So what are we hoping the DNR is hoping to see happen with this building now in the future, now that it’s restored?

AT: Expect more community, public and private events here, so can reach out to our events folks, and they can help you plan your celebration weekly, the events planner would come and say, “When is this going to wrap up?” Because she had, like, a long waiting list of people who had been looking forward to having their weddings and reunions.

Here, it’s such a beautiful space and has a gorgeous view of the skyline of Detroit and the river. So it’s a real special place.

The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority says there will be a $5.75 toll for cars crossing the Gordie Howe International Bridge. That’s $4.25 cheaper than the Ambassador Bridge. 

Commercial trucks, oversized and larger passenger vehicles will be charged $8.90 cents per-axle. There will also be discount passes available for frequent crossers. The so-called “Breakaway” program will offer 25% cheaper tolls for passenger vehicles, while trucks receive more than 20% off. 

The Gordie Howe Bridge still has no opening date, but officials say plans to open it early this year remain on-track, despite President Trump threatening to block the span from opening last month. 

Additional headlines for Thursday, March 12, 2026.

Measles in Michigan 

Health officials are reporting Michigan’s first measles case of 2026. The Detroit Free Press says an adult who had traveled to Florida exposed people in various locations in Wayne and Washtenaw counties between March 4 and 8.

Measles is highly contagious and spreads through the air. Officials say anyone who is not vaccinated is likely to get ill if exposed.

Measles rates are on the rise across the country as vaccination rates are declining. 

Preventing sexual abuse in church

The Archdiocese of Detroit announced a plan to prevent sexual abuse in church. The Detroit News reports new policies include fingerprinting clergy and volunteers who work with children and appointing a monitor for those removed from ministry who will coordinate with law enforcement.

Archbishop Edward Weisenburger announced the initiative in a pastoral letter posted to the archdiocese website Wednesday.

Belle Isle Casino reopens on 313 Day

Belle Isle Conservancy is hosting a full day of free activities for 313 Day, including the reopening of the Belle Isle Casino. The casino has been closed since 2023 for infrastructure upgrades thanks to $4.75 million in relief funding.

The 313 Day events are also part of the Conservancy’s rebrand for the island. The Belle Isle Aquarium, Nature Center, and Dossin Great Lakes Museum will have extended hours. The Music On Belle Isle Group is also hosting activities under the Flynn Pavilion form 3-7 p.m.

Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Some people welcome winter in Michigan with open arms, while others watch the calendar until spring’s warmth returns.

One way to overcome the long, cold winter here in Michigan is to get outside and try some new activities.

Laura Herberg, reporter for Bridge Michigan, joined The Metro to walk us through the Michigan Dreaming Winter Bucket List.

12 activities made this year’s winter weather fun bucket list, with dog sledding in the Upper Peninsula taking the top spot and drop-in hockey on Belle Isle representing Southeast Michigan.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

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