FOBIA  Friends of Belle Isle Aquarium

FOBIA Position paper

We view the closure of the Belle Isle Aquarium by Mayor Kilpatrick as a major detrimental element to the well-being of Detroit, the larger metropolitan area and the State of Michigan.

FOBIA considers this unacceptable and will strive toward re-opening the Aquarium with the advent of a new city administration.

Furthermore, we propose that the Aquarium be separated from the Detroit Zoo and placed under the guidance of a responsible entity which would have the Aquarium's well-being in mind.

The closure of the Belle Isle Aquarium is a herald to the World that Detroit a no longer an acceptable place to live. The removal of basic institutions that make a city thrive will leave Detroit in the negative spotlight. National and international observers will conclude that Detroit is no longer a viable city, and the proportionate damage done by such conclusions will far exceed the small investment it would have taken to keep the doors of such institutions open.

Open for one hundred and one years, the Belle Isle Aquarium is the oldest continually operating aquarium in the USA. As a scientific institution, the staff has succeeded in maintaining a variety of near extinct species and has won the prestigious Edward H. Bean Award. The structure itself which is attached to the Botanical Conservatory, is an Albert Kahn building, listed in the National Historic Register.

Recent history: Some years back, the administration of the Detroit Zoo took over the running of the Belle Isle Aquarium, after which time the Aquarium began to suffer from neglect.
While huge sums were being spent on the main Zoo's infrastructure and new construction, little was spent on Aquarium upkeep and even less on publicity.

The Zoo director, enamored with the idea of a new aquarium and armed with an questionable impact study, convinced the Mayor that a new aquarium closer to downtown would be a viable option.
Unfortunately, the chief source of development funds for an new aquarium would be raised through the efforts of the Detroit Zoological Society, which is presently suffering from shortage of funds, due to the accelerated construction program at Detroit's Royal Oak Zoo.

Consequently, it is highly unlikely that we shall see such a project come to fruition in this decade.

This is a dark time for the Friends of Belle Isle Aquarium. We are essentially a government in exile, waiting for a time when logic and reason will again be the rule, rather than the exception in local government.