Belle Isle is a neighborhood in the city of Miami Beach on an island in

Biscayne Bay Biscayne Bay () is a lagoon with characteristics of an estuary located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida. The northern end of the lagoon is surrounded by the densely developed heart of the Miami metropolitan area while the southern end is la ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It is the easternmost of the Venetian Islands, a chain of artificial islands in

in the cities of

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

and Miami Beach. It is home to apartment buildings, a portion of the

Venetian Causeway The Venetian Causeway crosses Biscayne Bay between Miami on the mainland and Miami Beach on a barrier island in the Miami metropolitan area. The man-made Venetian Islands and non-bridge portions of the causeway were created by materials which ...

, a city of Miami Beach park, and a hotel. It is between Rivo Alto Island and the main

barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from ...

of Miami Beach.

History

Belle Isle was originally called "Bull Isle", and was later renamed. Unlike the other Venetian Islands, Belle Isle is not completely artificial. Like the Sunset Islands, Belle Isle was originally a rough mangrove hammock island sitting in north

near the Miami barrier islands, before the use of the term " Miami Beach". Before fruit farmer John S. Collins partnered with the wealthy investor

Carl G. Fisher Carl Graham Fisher (January 12, 1874 – July 15, 1939) was an American entrepreneur. He was an important figure in the automotive industry, in highway construction, and in real estate development. In his early life in Indiana, despite fa ...

to build the

Collins Bridge The Collins Bridge was a bridge that crossed Biscayne Bay between Miami and Miami Beach, Florida. At the time it was completed, it was the longest wooden bridge in the world. It was built by farmer and developer John S. Collins (1837–1928) wi ...

from

in 1913, the new luxury properties under development in Miami Beach and Collins' large avocado orchards were inaccessible except by ferry boat. When Collins dug the Collins Canal, work crews deposited dredged sand around the rough island at the mouth of the canal, increasing its land mass and defining its shape. The "improved" island, now cleared of mangroves and platted into small parcels of land for single-family homes, extended into

and allowed Collins and Fisher to build a relatively short wooden bridge across the bay by running the road over Belle Isle. The gateway to Miami Beach earned a reputation as an enclave for fashionable millionaires, such as Joseph H. Adams, whose sprawling estate occupied the southeast corner of the island. During the

Florida land boom of the 1920s The Florida land boom of the 1920s was Florida's first real estate bubble. This pioneering era of Florida land speculation lasted from 1924 to 1926 and attracted investors from all over the nation. The land boom left behind entirely new, planned ...

, Belle Isle and Fisher's nearby

Flamingo Hotel Flamingo Las Vegas (formerly The Fabulous Flamingo and Flamingo Hilton Las Vegas) is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The property includes a casino along with 3,4 ...

were the site of the famous Biscayne Bay Speed Boat Regattas. Fisher had successfully promoted automobile races in Indianapolis, and he used his skills to stage gasoline-powered speed boat races in the smooth waters of Biscayne Bay just south of Belle Isle as a spectacle to attract the wealthy and sophisticated tourists that he was seeking as a target audience for his new exotic vacation destination. In 1942, the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

turned a boat house on the Joseph H. Adams estate into the first "Marine Lab" for the

Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science The Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS ) is the University of Miami's academic and research institution for the study of oceanography and atmospheric sciences. Founded in 1943, the University of Miami's Rosenstiel Schoo ...

. Belle Isle was also the site of the All Souls Episcopal Church as late as 1947. On January 24, 2018, the Belle Isle Court Apartments the three story apartment building built in 1939, was demolished. A new development will be built on the property at 31 Venetian Way on Belle Isle, Miami Beach.

Community

Th
Belle Isle Residents Association
was established in December, 2004. Board meets approximately 6 times per year. General Membership Meetings are called as needed at a minimum of once a year. The association's mission is to "enhance the quality of life for the residents of Belle Isle", specifically regarding "security, traffic control, ease of parking, noise control, park beautification, cleanliness, open spaces, planning, development, licensing, permitting, and all issues that may affect the residents and their quality of life on Belle Isle".

Renovations

Belle Isle Park, in the center of Belle Isle, underwent a renovation project in 2006, including sidewalks, lighting and landscape improvements, picnic areas, and a dog park. A streetscape improvement project for the Venetian bridges was planned for 2008 and 2009.

Parking

Parking was free on Island Avenue on Belle Isle until 2005, when residents petitioned the city of Miami Beach to create a new residential parking zone in order to ensure parking for residents after the opening of the Standard Hotel. Island Avenue is now a residential parking zone, and you must buy a permit for Zone 14. The Miami Beach parking department office at 11th and Washington is temporarily closed during renovation of the city hall building, so the department is handling many permits by mail. Belle Isle residents can purchase a one-year residential decal or one visitor permit hang tag per household for $46.00 or a six-month pass for $23.00. Belle Isle residents can also purchase up to five scratch-off one-day visitor permits per month for $1.07 each. During park renovations, the city will need to close about 20 parking spaces at a time to make way for roadway construction. They will do the road work in sections, using
temporary 20-space parking lot
toward the East end of the park to compensate for the closed parking spaces.

References

External links