Massive outdoor renovation begins at Dossin Great Lakes Museum

Work begins Monday on a massive construction project at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle. 

The Detroit Historical Society will break ground on the first part of a four-phase, $4.9 million outdoor enhancement project. 

Upgrades include a riverwalk and observation telescope, an event patio and a memorial garden, which will feature the anchor from the Edmond Fitzgerald. The freighter sank in 1975 and was immortalized by Gordon Lightfoot's song, will be highlighted in a Lost Mariners Memorial.

Phase one will be completed in November. The museum will remain open in the interim.

Other phases are expected to be completed by 2021, including a riverfront trail and a landscape that would approximate the natural setting of Belle Isle before it became a park.

The Historical Society has raised $1.9 million and seeks support for the rest of the project.

The Associated Press contributed to this report