Each boat could hold about 2,500 passengers. This is private property and the doors are chain locked. The marina on the west side of Boblo Island. Interestingly, the islands history starts long before the amusement park was even planned. Twin villa homes on the north end of the island. Boblo was originally named Bois Blanc by the French, but residents couldn't pronounce the name. These people had no clue whatsoever as to the history of Detroit, or of Bob-Lo. A powerhouse that supplied electricity to the nearby Carousel which is no longer there. 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. Remember it was a time when girls wore dresses and not pants, so we sure had to be careful on the rides (check out the pictures how the girls were dressed). The kitchen and dining space of the tri-plex. In this respect, today, Bob-Lo Island appears a bead broken off from the strand, adrift in more than just the Detroi River, its historic integrity drowned in the current of a sequence of ill-fated development schemes. (Emily Rose Bennett | MLive.com). Along with homes, there are also property lots for sale in which people can build homes on. This house is 2,040 square feet with a full basement. The cars operated by drawing power from an overhead electric grid unlike the Bumper Boats in use today. Second case of COVID-19 confirmed in Windsor-Essex City of Windsor declares state of emergency, Devonshire and Tecumseh malls to close Boblo Island residential development plan moving forward. Building the lighthouse on the island instead of the shoal presented several advantages: a shorter tower could be used due to the . (Emily Rose Bennett | MLive.com). The ferry runs every 20 minutes, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. What's with those GIANT PIE PANS in Traverse City & Charlevoix? I found this very useful for Information! The back of the 50,000-sq-ft building which was commissioned by Henry Ford and built in 1913. (From 2018: Old Boblo Island boat catches fire at Detroit marina), BOBLO BOAT TOUR: Take a video tour of the historic boat that traveled the Detroit River for 81 years. You can still see the words "Boblo Island" on the Space Needle, 25 years after the park's closing. Filming of the movie began across Metro Detroit earlier this year. There are two total bedrooms in this home. . The Boblo boat took passengers on an 18-mile cruise down the Detroit river to Boblo Island Amusement Park. Claire and the Columbia, as well as their Detroit docks, had been divested a few years earlier in 1991. 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. It was a Canadian Island and had passenger boats that sailed from Detroit, Gibraltar and Amherstburg Ontario. Im glad you made this comment. 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. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Huntington. The price is a little over $300k. Claireoffered their own form of entertainment. BOBLO ISLAND - The echoes from the screams of delight have long faded from Boblo Island Amusement Park, the Cedar Point of Michigan for most kids growing up in our region. - Brandon, I am 73 years old and remember my parents taking me to Bob-Lo after picking me up at Willow Run Airport after a visit with relatives in Miami FL when I was 8 years old. During the mid-19th century, the island was sold in parcels to several private owners who built cottages, stables, and trails. 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. After the short ferry ride, residents simply drive right onto the island onto Boblo Island Blvd. I worked on the Boats in 1980. Soon after this, the British obtained the surrender of the American fort in Detroit without a shot being fired. 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). Story by Edward Pevos of MLive Once home to a popular amusement park from 1898 to 1993, Boblo Island in Ontario is now home to residential property, marinas, a restaurant and more. I was just in Amherstburg Sunday May 27,2013. 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. People quit coming in the 1980s, then the money for upkeep is not there. The Columbia is undergoing restoration. Colorful picnic tables near Captain Bob's Ice Cream & Coffee Cabin. They are 1,405 square feet with a full basement. The dance pavilion built in 1913 was the largest in North America until 1925. Bring a bike or plan to hike as the only streets to accommodate cars are in the development. While incapacitated in hospital, he lost legal control of island. By Edward Pevos of MLive - epevos@MLive.com. The park opened in 1898 and closed its doors for good on September 30th,1993 as a result of poor management, rising maintenance costs and declining attendance thanks to more attractive parks in the region like Cedar Point. http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/05/23/grosse-iles-sugar-island-beach-opens-to-public-saturday/ (Sorry, you may need to copy and paste the website addresses above; my link feature is not successfully linking at the moment. The island is 2.5 miles long and a half-mile wide. Exploring and discovering those remains is a thrill in its own right. Boblo Island is accessible by a 16-car ferry that departs from the dock next to the Bob-Lo Island Discovery Centre, which is at 340 Dalhousie St., Amherstburg, ON. Here's what we saw as we recently explored the amusement park area. People from all over Michigan, Canada and from as far away as California, have chosen to make Boblo Island their home. Not one thing mentioned on the dance hall being 100 years old this year. I was born and raised in Wyandotte, Michigan. [16] Moodenbaugh later sued Benaroya and others for attempting to sell the park while he lay in a "virtual coma". The Bois Blanc Lighthouse built in 1836; its lamp room was destroyed in 1954 when vandals started a fire. The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court and resulted in a notable 1948 decision construing the scope of the commerce clause. On that trip, my companions on the Bob-Lo Excursion Line steamer were other ninth graders from Livonias Holmes Junior High. I agree. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Or not. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). A street sign shows people where they are as they arrive on the island. In a sentence, I think, the world around POP changed. In 1991, those boats were sold and smaller ferries took people from Gibraltar, Mich., to the island, as well as Amherstburg. Change). when was the last day of this park operated (i mean the last summur )when it was open for public for the last and until what day was the ferry or the steamer making trip, and can you visit it now. The biggest surprise during my visit to Bob-Lo came from a different sort of stranger than the type Id been envisioning when I was watching the girls swim in the river. Bob-Lo Park (Sometimes seen as Boblo) was established as an entertainment destination in 1898 by the Detroit,Belle Isleand Windsor Ferry Company. "Living on the island feels like being on vacation everyday," said Gena Boschin, a former Tennessee resident who lives on the island and works in Amherstburg. The steamers, the Ste. I grew up visiting the island and Im hoping to return to explore it again someday. You can find the Boblo Island Beach House restaurant on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobloIslandMarina Also the Boblo Island Marina: https://www.facebook.com/BobloIslandMarina You may be able to get the information you need by writing to: BOBLOMARINA@BOBLO.CA You may want to mention youre coming from the States; I dont know the protocol for private boats crossing the international border in the river to dock. The Beach House Goodie Shack offers apparel, gifts, and home decor for residents and visitors Thursday through Sunday. Bois Blanc has been part of Canada since 1787. A model of existing and future residential properties and harbor on Boblo Island at the Boblo Discovery Centre in Amherstburg, Ontario. Here are some of the homes and what life is like on Boblo Island today. The Ste. I would make sure my friends knew all the history of Bob-Lo. After coming aboard, visitors could look down from the main deck into the engine room, where powerful shafts and cams slowly warmed up. [30], The Falling Star, log flume, Enterprise, Sky Tower (Space Needle), Ferris wheel, a zoo, and a carousel were the signature attractions. Clair and the SS Columbia. Before July 30, 2011, my last visit to Bob-Lo had been in June of 1968. "We are at the point in restoration to where it was a steel skeleton structure ready to be rebuilt." As a child I went to Bob-Lo Island every summer from the Detroit Side of the island. Which may not be surprising, given that its been many thingscamp for European explorers, fortress, picnic spot, dance venue, amusement park, retreatto many people over the centuries beginning with four Algonquin and Iroquoian tribes:the Ojibwa (Chippewa), Ottawa, Potawatomi and the Wyandot (Huron)one source claims the original name of the island was Etiowiteedannenti, a name bestowed by the Wyandotand followed by: The first recorded passage to the island, which was named Bois Blanc (White Woods), by the French dates from 1670. Boblo Island Amusement Park is an abandoned amusement park which operated from 1898 until its closure on September 30, 1993. Save. 90-year old Captain Bob-Lo greets passengers - 1970s. 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. The 16mm film is from around 1960. Scattered over the restof the island, there are still a number of structures left from other erasmidst overgrown grass, downed limbs from trees, and more than a few other surprises: At the south end of the island, two pieces of history, although damaged, still stand: In the portion of the island that was once the amusement parkBob-Lo as the babyboomers knew ita number of structures still stand: Unfortunately, despite a private-property-no-trespassing sign . Built in the early 1900s, the SS Columbia and SS Ste. McLeans Mansion (Holly Lea): The historic building that was saved by the local community from demolition, The ruins of Richmond Castle: one of the oldest Norman fortresses in England. Posted . Copyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Boblo Island was an amusement park that was at one time larger than Cedar Point. In the years leading up to its closure, many of the rides were sold to satisfy debts. 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. It disappeared for the same reasons like Marineland of the Pacific, and the park in Long Beach. He also authors the Morning Report Newsletter and various other newsletters. The island is a five-minute ferry ride from Amherstburg, Ontario, and 18 miles from Detroit. Departing from the foot of Woodward Avenue, whereHart Plazais now, theColumbiaandSte. Here are some of the homes and what life is like on Boblo Island today. The boat would stop there to take people to the island for the day. [1] The "Bob-Lo boats" boats were sold in November 1991. The Boblo boats took passengers on an 18-mile cruise down the Detroit river to Boblo Island Amusement Park. The ferry is run for the island residents, their guests, and prospective buyers of lots in the Triamico Development Affiliates marina resort community. However, there is a public restaurant, the Bob-Lo Island Beach House, on the west side of the island by the marina (ferry docks at the east side). [4], IBC declared bankruptcy in 1991. The Boblo Island Detroit dock building can be seen on the Detroit, Michigan side of the Detroit River. The 18-mile boat ride was carried out by the famous ships: the Columbia, built in 1902, and the Ste. Presented in the name of the border cities of Detroit, Windsor, and Amherstburg. Only one blockhouse remains today. One of the three original blockhouses still stands on the southern end of the island. Kathi. We were participating in a totally sanctioned, transportation-provided-by-the-school-district Ninth-Grade Skip Day. We would have boarded either the Ste. They transformed the island into an amusement park, including a coaster, Ferris wheel, fun house and more. I was 7 years old when the ferries stopped running in 1991. I just kayaked to Boblo Island today, and I saw so much potential left in this land.