This thrilling park closed its doors for good in 1981, but not before providing visitors with decades of fun. "[2] The Michigan Supreme Court fined the company $25 for the discrimination they presented towards Ray. In 1958 the island was the site of joint Canadian-American war games, addressing a hostile force presence with amphibious units from around the Great Lakes. One of the three original blockhouses still stands on the southern end of the island. Larry Benaroya, his associate, and his Northern Capital took control of the property; Mancini was fired, and the ownership group put it back on the market in January 1994. Gone are the roller coasters, but there are plenty of. If youre interested, check out Patrick Livingstons book Summer Dreams: The Story of Bob-Lo Island, published by Wayne State University Press in 2008. This is what the more than 100-year old steamer looked like a few years ago. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Though not all is lost. ", "Small fire breaks out on SS Ste. By 1920 the famous amusement ride, the Whip was installed on the island and the first season alone paid for the maintenance and the purchase of the ride. - Sally. Boblo (or Bob-Lo) sparks memories for many adults who spent summers riding the ferry to Boblo Island, visiting its amusement park or just enjoying a picnic. Not a single lot was sold between 9/11 and May 2004. I am only 12. The kitchen and dining space of the tri-plex. It broke my heart to see the way everything looks these days. Only about a third of a milea 5 to 10-minute walk, depending on your speedfrom the ferry dock on the west side of the island, east on Bob-Lo Island Boulevard, to the marina on the other side of the narrow island. The price is a little over $300k. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. It's located in Amherstburg, Ontario. Well later that same summer (1972) I went with 2 of my brothers, one older and one younger with our Mother. Photo courtesy of the Detroit Historical Society. Boblo Island looks much different today, and if developers reach their goals, it will be almost unrecognizable to past thrill-seekers If it wasnt for him to have done that for everyone, our world would never have known how peaceful, relaxing, fun, and most of all memorable a park could be. What's with those GIANT PIE PANS in Traverse City & Charlevoix? Ferry passengers could be going to the island to patronize the restaurant. The Carousel Building, built in 1905 to house the first amusement ride on Bob-Lo Island, served as a convention hall and later, the roller-skating rink (beginning with the 1940 season) before ending up as a theater. One such an example is Boblo Island Amusement Park initially opened on Bois Blanc Island in Ontario in 1898. Some of the most popular rides were "The Nightmare," "Sky Streak, "Screamer," and "Wild Mouse.". Here's what we saw as we recently explored the amusement park area. We went alot and when my family''s jobs had company picnic it would always be Bob Lo. The place just went completely downhill. You support the mega millionaires who dont care about anything else in life except their bank accounts. Series: DOCUMERICA: The Environmental Protection Agency's Program to Photographically Document Subjects of Environmental Concern, 1972 - 1977, via National Archives and Records Administration, Photo: Courtesy of the Detroit Historical Society, A glass blower puts on a demonstration in the craftsmen's area - 1970s, A child takes a spin on a ride at Boblo Island - 1970s. Hoffmeister and Friese had an agreement that established . [1] Other smaller ferries served the park from Amherstburg and Gibraltar, Michigan, which were located closer to the park on the Detroit River. Bob-Lo was such a fun place and figures so prominently in many peoples childhood summertime memories! The island was also an important stop on the Underground Railroad to Canada, which worked to help escaped slaves leave the country. [11] Roger Fachini, a 40-year-old engineer for General Dynamics and owner of a waterpark in Utica, Michigan, placed the winning $3.8 million bid and proposed redevelopment after two years,[12][13] but Boblo's creditors turned it down; after the deposit cheque bounced, they took $600,000 less in the bid from Enchanted Parks of Seattle, owners of the Wild Waves Theme Park near that city. Can you go over to the island any time? The 106-year-old classic excursion steamer Ste. [2], Though it was not looking for a buyer, the Michigan AAA sold Boblo Island in 1988 to the International Broadcasting Corporation, a Minneapolis-based concern that owned the Harlem Globetrotters and Ice Capades. . His legacy died when the company came in and took over the park. You can take a tour of the model homes on Boblo Island on Saturdays and Sundays with an island specialist by calling 519-736-1111. Heres an article that was in this past Sundays Detroit Free Press: http://www.freep.com/article/20140706/NEWS05/307060053/boblo-island-memories-boat-development Speaking of Sugar Island, have you heard, as of last year, theres now a public beach there? Its amusement rides were sold in 1994. The amusement park was so famous in its day that Henry Ford himself provided money for a Dance Hall to be built, designed by the architect John Scott. Your email address will not be published. I had the pleasure of delivering a load of stuffed animals to the Park in the early 1990s, was a trip i will never forget, driving my Freightliner truck and a 48 foot trailer onto the wharf to make the trip across the river in the middle of the night over to the island then driving around the the park, having to stop and wait for the park benches to be moved for me to able to get truck and trailer around the turns stopping here and there to off load these stuffed toys into little electric carts for the arcade games before the park opened the next day, Friday of a May 24 weekend. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Suddenly, without any warning, there was a relatively large mammal in the middle of the trail, directly in the line of my front bike tire. Claire V can fit up to 16 vehicles as well as pedestrians and cyclists. what a fun and exciting place. Thank you again!! I worked on the Boats in 1980. Big changes for Sugar Island, good changes-it has made the drinking & partying boating groups unable to overtake the island.It was not safe. The island is 2.5 miles long and a half-mile wide. A retreat for the wealthy, amidst dilapidated remnants of history and ghosts of the past, with nature ever encroaching. Over four decades, later, on July 30, 2011, I spent an afternoon on Bob-Lo. [2] After Michigan found Bob-Lo guilty and fined the company, Bob-Lo filed a lawsuit against the state, Bob-Lo Excursion Co. v. Michigan, 333 U.S. 28 (1948). Detroit, Windsor and Belle Isle Ferry Company, From 2018: Old Boblo Island boat catches fire at Detroit marina. The restaurant is open to residents and visitors Thursday through Sunday. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this site. Id built up this image of perfectly cut green grass, flowers, water slides and party halls, but what I saw when I stepped onto the old white dock was far from the oasis I was told about. [23] Townhouses and condominiums were proposed in 1997. Cedar Point, which has world-famous roller coasters and a wider range of attractions, is close enough to the Detroit area for a day trip (for the very hardy). I loved going there as it was much smaller than Cedar Point so riding the rides didnt take so long. Ray was there to celebrate her graduation from secretarial school with her classmates. Many of you remember taking the journey to the top for a breathtaking view of the park. The price is around $500k. Pinterest. The men's entrance is to the left. Each year the largest gathering was sponsored by the St. Andrews Society of Detroit, which would often draw more than 10,000 visitors to their Scottish Games. We need to preserve what we have left, just for historys sake. People from all over Michigan, Canada and from as far away as California, have chosen to make Boblo Island their home. BOBLO Island poster. The Columbia is undergoing restoration. [9] The loss of the Detroit ferry service dented attendance severely in the 1992 season, which along with poor weather caused the park to miss its attendance goal. [26] KPMG found there was no money left to continue supplying basic services. I agree, Jennifer, very sad. Claire and SS Columbia sounded their whistles, every Detroit kid knew it heralded the coming of summer and the magic of ferrying over to nearby Boblo Island Amusement Park. | 5401 Woodward, Detroit, MI 48202. For visitors based in Detroit, it was about 30 kilometers away and could be reached by ferry. There appears to be no such organization, which may not be so surprising. Unfortunately, my search came up empty. The Beach House Goodie Shack offers apparel, gifts, and home decor for residents and visitors Thursday through Sunday. The dance pavilion built in 1913 was the largest in North America until 1925. . Few physical reminders remain from the amusement park, which closed in 1993, but the island has had a surprising resurgence - as a quiet but thriving residential community. They operated a Rotor in West Germany at Oktoberfest in 1949. This is now the only ferry which goes to and from Boblo Island. The island was home to a popular amusement park starting in the late 1890s. Colorful adirondack chairs surround a campfire pit near Captain Bob's. In the years leading up to its closure, many of the rides were sold to satisfy debts. [18], In 1994, John Oram, an Iraqi immigrant to the United States who owned car stereo businesses, purchased the Boblo Island site. A miniature railroad was built around the island in the 60s, along with a upgraded dock area. This is actually only about half of the full-size basement which has been fitted with windows and electricity for add-on bedrooms. . Some recent activity indicates this one might be saved. Rides, music, thrills, and lights attracted thousands of visitors year after year. Im glad you made this comment. Given that the island was known as the Boblo Island Amusement Park from 1898 1993, Id say, overall, it was a pretty successful run. 2y Guy Adelini One of my favorite rides! Not one thing mentioned on the dance hall being 100 years old this year. A woman leans against the fence in the foreground to take a picture of the ride. I learned this and most of what I know about the history of Bob-Lo Island from 1670 2006 in the book Summer Dreams: The Story of Bob-Lo Island by Patrick Livingston (published in 2008 by the Wayne State University Press in Detroit as a part of their Great Lakes Books series): How does Bob-Lo Island appear today, Saturday, July 30, 2011? Interestingly, the islands history starts long before the amusement park was even planned. Ive always wondered about the island and have wanted to go back. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/17/historic-boblo-island-blo_n_1098807.html, http://www.flickr.com/photos/33535417@N05/4112593095/, http://www.boblo.ca/pages/living/restaurant.html, https://www.facebook.com/BobloIslandMarina, http://www.rivertowntimes.com/?s=Captain+bobs&submit, http://www.freep.com/article/20140706/NEWS05/307060053/boblo-island-memories-boat-development, http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/05/23/grosse-iles-sugar-island-beach-opens-to-public-saturday/, Boblo Island Beach House Restaurant Houzz Home, Slaves (traveling the Underground Railroad), The south blockhouse, built in 1838 (Update: See. Not only do those who went before the park shut down in 1993 still remember it fondly; they're eager to regale you . I, too, went there every year as a child from Detroit. The Bobl-Lo Island of today? The last screams of joy could be heard from the little island of fun 25 years ago as the Cedar Point of Michigan closed for the final time. The children of this time will never get to enjoy what we did when we were children. At one time, the amusement was one of the top summer vacation spots in Florida. The middle section of the island was developed as a park. The east side of the island is now home to residential property, marinas, a restaurant and more. The Boblo boat Columbia is being restored by a New York nonprofit. During the Rebellion of 1837, "patriots" from the U.S. invaded the island in 1838. Peering through the broken glass, one can see water covering portions of the floor. The ruins of what remains can be seen via the waterway that separates both Michigan and Ontario, but for many, the memories of this once-bustling park are what truly keep it alive. Few physical reminders remain from the amusement park, which closed in 1993, but the island has had a surprising resurgence - as a quiet but thriving residential community. You can visit the island now, as I did in July of 2011 (all the photos accompanying the blog posting above were taken on that visit), by taking a small car ferry across a narrow strip of the Detroit River from the Bob-Lo Discovery Centre in Amherstburg, Ontario. I just kayaked to Boblo Island today, and I saw so much potential left in this land. Soon after this, the British obtained the surrender of the American fort in Detroit without a shot being fired. By each step it became more clear that this was left for dead a long time ago. During the mid-19th century, the island was sold in parcels to several private owners who built cottages, stables, and trails. Between my concerns for the submerged rocks of the river and the mortar of history I was climbing over, I thought, what a wonderful place this island would be to explore if you were a kid or teenager and what a nightmare it poses for parents or grandparents of those explorers! Boblo Island closed for essentially the same reasons as many other urban amusement parks closed. Starting in the mid-1990s, however, it began a tumultuous phase that ultimately ended in its demise. When was the last time yousailed down the Detroit River toBob-Lo Island, to summertime? Boblo Island became the headquarters for the Shawnee Chief Tecumseh during the War of 1812. Claire was engulfed in an accidental fire while docked on the Detroit River on July 6, 2018. By their very nature, amusement parks are places of fun, relaxation, excitement, and recreation. The little that remains of the park is covered with vegetation or has been demolished. There were several trips from Detroit each day, but only two stops in Wyandotte. By 1910 the first amusement park rides, the carousel, ponies and a dancing pavillion were available. Poison ivy now grows in the ring of mature trees in front of the Lavatory building, where I imagine the men in hatsretiring for a smoke while they await their dates inflapper attireto emerge from The Ladies Room.. There's a white sand beach, walking trails, water sports, a waterside restaurant, an ice cream parlor and an in-ground pool. That was in 1993. Although there was a bike rental business near the marina and Beach House Restaurant on the west side of the island (the ferry dock is on the east side of the island), it was not open for business on the beautiful summer weekend day I was there, so I wouldnt count on being able to rent a bike on the island. Claire or the Columbia, but no cellphone cameras documented that embarkation and carrying a Kodak Instamatic simply would not have been cool. [28] However, a local housing slump meant little was developed. You do it for other people. The sociology of unemployment - Tom Boland 2015-07-01 The sociology of unemployment is an analysis of the experience and governance of unemployment. Well I would say as a resident (who by the way is not a mega millionaire), that we dont mind having company on the island and share it with those who want to come out. Boblo was originally named Bois Blanc by the French, but residents couldn't pronounce the name. See more ideas about island, amusement park, boblo boat. The company had just been sold to a group from Texas who ran a small park. To rebuild would be one of lifes pleasures. The homes come with all appliances. Several Detroit organizations held annual picnics on the island. It is slated to include a luxury hotel, international shops & restaurants, a 107-berth boat dock, and a pier large enough to accommodate lake cruise ships along with The S.S. . I dont know about draft/depth info or dock fees, not being a boater, myself, and having instead taken the ferry from Amherstburg, Ontario. My concern with respect to Bob-Lo Island is that what structures are left from the islands very interesting history are not being adequately protected. On a summer day in 1945, Sarah Elizabeth Ray stood up for something because she wasn't allowed to sit down. The Whip was installed in 1920, which was a huge hit, essentially paying for itself. Would love to know more about your experience working on the Bob-Lo boats. The north side of Boblo is a growing private community, with numerous homes and condominiums. I can only imagine the dangers of the dilapidated buildings, to say nothing of concerns about strangers. (Check out more Boblo history at BobloSteamers.com), Alex Atwell put together an awesome tour of the Ste. It lies just above the mouth of the Detroit River and was commonly referred to as Detroit's Coney Island. Claire. A tennis court sits next to a home on the island. [10], With no buyers materializing, Norton Auctioneers of Coldwater, Michigan, was retained to sell the property at auction on February 10, 1993. It is now an expensive, gated housing community with a private clubhouse. Touch device users . Potentially, it could become a wedding reception hall or hotel. (Emily Rose Bennett | MLive.com). The Sky Streak Ride, for example, was moved to Selva Magica, a theme park in Mexico, and the Nightmare was initially moved to Six Flags Houston where it was known as the Mayan Mindbender, only to be moved once again to a theme park in Amarillo, Texas. The ferry is a short four minute ride to the island. What a wonderful goal, Andrew! Yes, Kathy, the Bob-Lo Island Beach House Restaurant is an easy walk. Once known as Bois Blanc Island, Boblo lies on the Detroit River on the Canadian side. The remnants of Boblo Island Amusement Park: The park sat just above the mouth of the Detroit River, but was actually on the Canadian side on Bois Blanc Island, Ontario. [1] The park was located on Bois Blanc Island, Ontario, just above the mouth of the Detroit River. But the partnership soon dissolved into a clash of wills that led to the collapse of the amusement park and a bitter lawsuit. Bois Blanc has been part of Canada since 1787. Both vessels are bound for Boblo Island. [2], The State of Michigan brought a racial discrimination case against the operators of the ferry service. Action Park in New Jersey is known as the most dangerous amusement park in the country, six people passed away from 1980 to 1987. From 1984 to 1985 there were 26 head injuries and 14 broken bones reported. Today it is overgrown: The Powerhouse, which looks like small limestone chapel, that provided electricityto the Carousel: The Dance Pavilion a 35,000 feet steel and limestone building designed by Albert Kahn and John Scott and completed in 1913. Michelle, I interpret Roys use of the phrase mega-millionaires as being in service of describing the island developers, not the residents. Loved going to Bob-Lo as a kid. We live on the east shore of Grosse Ile, we would love to take our boat to eat at the restaurant. Bois Blanc Island, former site of the Bob-Lo Island amusement park, is located at southern endof the DetroitRiver before it enters Lake Erie,and is about one-half mile wide and three miles long. One cant imagine a happy centennial celebration for this historic building . Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser. http://boblo.ca/. This was particularly true during the Great Depression and the World War II era, when finances were tight and the world seemed to exist in a perpetual state of anxiety. I was just in Amherstburg Sunday May 27,2013. . Officially, Bob-Lo Island is now billed as a Marina Resort Community, but Bob-Lo currently exhibits the most profound split personality of any islandperhaps any placeIve ever been. It was a terrible idea to put a roller coaster in there. It was one of the most popular places to dance in the 1920s. More than a century later, in the 1920s, the amusement park opened on the sitethen closed in 1966 after the accidental deaths of two young patrons, including one on the spooky circular swing. We were participating in a totally sanctioned, transportation-provided-by-the-school-district Ninth-Grade Skip Day. We would have boarded either the Ste. In 1991, those boats were sold and smaller ferries took people from Gibraltar, Mich., to the island, as well as Amherstburg. How to rent hobbit-type MUSHROOM HOUSES in Northern Michigan, Haunting insides of the abandoned NORTHVILLE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL, See Michigan's only ALPINE MOUNTAIN SLIDE, 1,700 feet of fun, Inside Michigan's OLDEST OPERATING INN built in 1835, This may be the MOST PICTURESQUE spot in Michigan, Inside the SMITHSONIAN OF MAGIC, located in Michigan, We explored WARREN DUNES, the Sleeping Bear of Southwest MI, GoPro video riding MICHIGAN'S LONGEST ZIPLINE, Exploring Michigan's abandoned, haunted ELOISE ASYLUM, Country's LARGEST AUTO MUSEUM is in the middle of nowhere, Michigan. Boblo Island Timeline from the Detroit News, "Bob-Lo Excursion Co. v. Michigan, 333 U.S. 28 (1948)", "Boblo amusement park purchased by U.S. firm", "Park yours for $9 million: Owner says sellany development OK", "Boblo remains viable business, observer says", "Boblo Island gets no nibbles, no takers, says realtor", "Bad news rains on financially troubled Boblo", "Michigan investors unlikely to appeal Boblo ownership", "Boblo tradition seems safer with Seattle owner", "Dance band on the Titanic: Boblo's last tangle", "Former Boblo partner sues ex-partners over sale", "Boblo's roller-coaster saga ends: Piece by historic piece, popular park dismantled", "Boblo's heyday not forgotten: New owner has ties to area", "New Boblo owner offers few details to packed house", "Boblo Island to get 52-home development", "Oram outlines plans for Boblo Island's condominium project", "Boblo in receivership: Island awash in $19M in red ink", "Boblo adrift in red ink: Receiver KPMG finds no money left", "Boblo rising from the dust: New ownership infuses elite island community with optimism", "Amherstburg reminisces after Boblo Island tower demolished", Boblo Island Dance Hall Story from the Detroit News, "Detroit Free Press: Former Boblo Island music machine may draw up to $2.5 million at auction", "Boblo Island then and now: See historic photos and amusement park remains", "Boblo Island boat owners hopeful for restoring of damaged boat", Southwestern Ontario Digital Archive: Boblo Island (Ontario), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Boblo_Island_Amusement_Park&oldid=1114994535, Tourist attractions in Essex County, Ontario, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 9 October 2022, at 09:00. The plan is to restructure the whole island and populate it with luxurious houses. 2y Shelly Premer Neault Still closed. They are located next to the Dance Hall. Bois Blanc Island was where Shawnee Chief Tecumseh, a Native American warrior, decided to place his headquarters during the War of 1812. "It's not the exact layout of Boblo Island," Kevin says in the documentary. The park was located on Bois Blanc Island, Ontario. the building is not secure, given that one-quarter of a large window in the front is broken in, metal strips hanging from its frame. The ride takes about 5 or 10 minutes, instead of the hour it used to take . A company called Premier Parks acquired the classic amusement park in 1995. So when we went to the Island, we took a cab to the downtown docks to catch the first boat out and then we would return on the last boat. The classic boats stopped running in 1991 and the amusement park was shuttered after the 1993 season. To add . [2] It was set on Ontario's picturesque Bois Blanc Island (frequently known as "Boblo Island") and featured everything you could want in a theme park. Claireoffered their own form of entertainment. The scion of one of Seattle's wealthiest and most philanthropic families, Benaroya was bankrolling Moodenbaugh's dream to resurrect the Boblo Island Amusement Park near Detroit. These steamers could carry more than 2,000 passengers from Detroit to the island. Twin villa homes on the north end of the island. For 19 years, the site has been abandoned, with many rides left to battle corrosion and plant life. [1] The "Bob-Lo boats" boats were sold in November 1991. Neither will my grandchildren. It was in a time when the parents didn''t have to worry about the children. To move visitors around the island, the park had a small railroad. Explore. Boblo Island Amusement Park is an abandoned amusement park which operated from 1898 until its closure on September 30, 1993. Its sister. 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