Belle Isle Aquarium

The Belle Isle Aquarium was designed by famed Detroit architect, Albert Kahn, and opened on August 18, 1904. It is the oldest aquarium in the country and has served the Detroit community as a beloved attraction for generations. In 2005, the city of Detroit announced that the Aquarium was to be closed due to lean economic times for the city. The building remained closed to the public until the Belle Isle Conservancy reopened it on September 15, 2012. "Momentum" is truly the best term for what is happening in this historic building! A work-in-progress, the aquarium continues to grow and flourish as new exhibits and fish are added, tanks are restored, and history is preserved for generations to come. The closure of the aquarium in March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic presented an opportunity to significantly renovate the facility. Over 16 months, the Belle Isle Conservancy invested $1.2M in improvements to the aquarium. The improvements include enhancing the quality of the visitor experience, upgrading exhibits, stabilizing critical life support systems, and modernizing behind the scenes infrastructure.