LoginBelle Isle Casino reopens after much needed restoration
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.
Listen: Belle Isle Casino reopens after much needed restoration
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.
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