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The Scott Memorial Fountain is the jewel of Belle Isle - and a monument to a womanizing scoundrel. Socialite James Scott was said to have been lazy, eccentric, a prankster, and a real rapscallion. He had inherited his money from his father -- a successful real estate tycoon -- and spent his days not working like the rest of his fellow Detroiters, but often gambling it away and being an all-around man about town. He also made wise real estate investments that only added to his fortune. But he was a perpetual bachelor and frequently entertained women of “less moral fiber.“ In his “The Buildings of Detroit: A History,“ William Hawkins Ferry writes that Scott “had a reputation for being a vindictive, scurrilous misanthrope. ... His enemies were legion, for he seemed to delight in feuds, lawsuits, and practical jokes.“ When he died in 1910, his vast estate was left to the city to build a monument for the people. Of course, his gift came with a catch: The city also had to erect a
