The Belle Isle Aquarium was designed by famed architect, Albert Kahn, and opened on August 18, 1904. Its Beaux Art style entrance decorated with stone facade incorporated two spitting fish and the emblem of Detroit. The aquarium interior had framed cypress tank-lined walls that were filled with fresh and salt-water fish. The water contained in many of these tanks was brought directly from the ocean for the aquarium. The Aquarium closed in 2005; it was the oldest continually-operating aquarium in North America. The Aquarium reopened on September 15, 2012 through the Friends of the Belle Isle Aquarium. In January of 2012, the Friends of the Belle Isle Aquarium merged with three other organizations to form the Belle Isle Conservancy.
