1888+1923,1998 Belle Island (Isle) Bridges over Detroit River in Detroit, MI

1888: (Archived Bridge Hunter)

1923: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite, 163 photos)

Street View, Sep 2022

Michigan Memories posted   HistoricBridges also has this photo.
Belle Isle Bridge in Detroit in 1911

Charles Long: AI generated photograph

De Ettra Perry: Charles Long YOU ARE WRONG. I have seen the same sort of pictures 40-plus years ago

Adrienne McKinney Jones: Charles Long no it isn’t. The original bridge burned down in 1915 and was replaced by the MacArthur bridge in 1923 that stands today.

Andy Brogowicz: It's definitely a real photograph. Ferry dock for rides around Belle Isle at the left. Vacant Electric Park auditorium extending over the river on the far right.

Charles Long: Andy Brogowicz Probably chatgpt don't believe everything you see on Facebook is real these days 🤡

Andy Brogowicz: I believe what I know to be true about the Belle Isle bridge approach in the early 1900s, as well as the photo's documentation: "The Detroit River circa 1911. 'View of Belle Isle Bridge, taken from East Jefferson Avenue and looking toward Belle Isle.' 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company." What I don't believe is uninformed nonsense posted by folks like you.

William Day: They used to have swimming contests off that bridge. Pay so many $ s and first one to shore was the winner takes all. Big difference nowadays.

HistoricBridges

Bernda Petree Robb posted three photos with the comment:

On this date 136 years ago, the Firswt belle lsle Bridge was formally unveiled, on June 25, 1889.

It was a swing bridge, with a section that opened up parallel to the river in order to let boats pass. It served the city for just shy of 26 years, until April 27, 1915, when a steel cart used for heating tar tipped and started a fire on the old wood-and-steel span. The creosote blocks that paved the bridge made ready fuel to feed the blaze, sending huge, billowing clouds of black smoke into the air.

A temporary bridge opened a year after the fire, in July 1916, just west of the old bridge. It was known for its noisy wooden plank roadway. This structure remained in service until Nov. 1, 1923, when the permanent, current bridge - officially named the Douglas MacArthur Bridge - opened.

Photos of the bridge: Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library

Photo of the bridge on fire April 27, 1915 from a vintage postcard

Fred Leonard: My mother and uncle were on Belle Isle with their nanny when the bridge caught fire. Fortunately, Belle Isle also had a ferry and they were able to get back to the mainland. Unfortunately, my grandfather also took the ferry over to look for them but they finally did connect. I'm sure somebody will ask, "Why didn't they use their phones?"

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"Destroyed by fire April 27, 1915" [BridgeHunter_1888]

Matt, May 2024

C Hanchey Flickr

Douglas MacArthur Bridge - Belle Isle Bridge (Detroit, Michigan)

Historic Douglas MacArthur Bridge over the Detroit River between Detroit and Belle Isle. The open spandrel arch bridge was built between 1917 and 1923 and was originally called the Belle Isle Bridge. In 1942 the bridge was renamed the Douglas MacArthur Bridge.

The bridge is part of the National Register of Historic Places Belle Isle Historic District (NHRP listing 74000999). Belle Isle was added to the Michigan State Register of Historic Sites in 1979.

HistoricBridges
[Nathan has extensive commentary on both of these bridges and the temporary bridge that was used until 1923.]

HistoricBridges
"The structure is the longest arch bridge in the state of Michigan."
Actually, this is not an arch bridge. Because of poor soil conditions, it is a very early example of an arch-shaped cantilever bridge. See HistoricBridges for details. This design avoids lateral forces on piers and abutments.