The control room area through broken glass. Following the war, British forces garrisoned at Fort Malden in Amherstburg, across the river from Bois Blanc, and strengthened their position by building three blockhouses on the island. As a child I went to Bob-Lo Island every summer from the Detroit Side of the island. To rebuild would be one of lifes pleasures. In 1949, the island was threatened by bankruptcy. I agree with Maureen. The website is that of Bob-Lo Island Custom Home Builder, the developer of the Marina Resort Community, Boblos current rendition. The folks from the residential areas use golf carts toget to the community pool in the center of the island, just a stones throw from the almost hundred-year-old, still standing Dance Pavilion: And here is where things get interesting. Colorful picnic tables near Captain Bob's Ice Cream & Coffee Cabin. As one can use motor vehicles only in the northern residential tip of the island, if you plan to explore the island, you may want to bring a bike with you. You can also visit Boblo.ca. Check out recent photos from one of the Boblo boats. We were participating in a totally sanctioned, transportation-provided-by-the-school-district Ninth-Grade Skip Day. We would have boarded either the Ste. It was great to see all the vintage photos and stories from the good old days of classic boating when wooden boats were the norm, not the exception. This is what the more than 100-year old steamer looked like a few years ago. Comments Off on why did boblo island close; June 9, 2022; why did boblo island close Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Is there a safe dock area, in which to leave our boat-(also Draft/depth) info .Is there a dock fee? Author: Michael R Stoller Jr CC BY-ND 2.0 Though not all is lost. Morale among the employees both on the Boats and the Island was at an all-time low according to some veteran workers. You know what I think, I have never been over there. To get to Bob-Lo Islandin the 21st century, you takea ferry from Amherstburg, Ontario, instead of from the old dock on Jefferson Avenuein Detroit. Why not this man who gave everyone joy in life with their families? The park, which. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. 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 park was closed for the 1933-1934 seasons due to the Great Depression. The Beach House Goodie Shack offers apparel, gifts, and home decor for residents and visitors Thursday through Sunday. . 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. Answer: 90% of the time, it's because the parks don't have enough money and/or business to keep up with running costs, and the parks simply close and are left to rot. The classic boats stopped running in 1991 and the amusement park was shuttered after the 1993 season. 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. mopar 727 transmission casting numbers. St. Clair Shores (1950-60s) & never went to the park. Our world today, especially with the pandemic, needs what we all once had back in this society. Yes, I list http://www.boblo.ca as a source where one can get more information in my book Great Lakes Island Escapes: Ferries and Bridges to Adventure (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2016). The little that remains of the park is covered with vegetation or has been demolished. On that visit, the very air between the Wild Mouse and the Whip was fraught with hormones dancing to a Top Ten soundtrack which included Sitting on the Dock of the Bay and Grazing in the Grass.. For many people the best ride of the day was on the Bob-Lo Boat that took visitors to the island. They created a destination to keep themselves busy on the weekend. One of the many residential homes on the north end of Boblo Island, Ontario, seen Wednesday, July 27, 2016. 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. 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. They are located next to the Dance Hall. About Boblo Island Amusement Park: In the distance is a building featuring dozens of condos. See All Homes for Sale in Amherstburg. 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. Boats are docked in the Boblo Island Marina, located on the western shore of the island. An incident in 1902 caused a man-made mini earthquake on the island. Over the years, the crowds going to Bob-Lo on the boat would were increasingly loud and rude and some people avoided going to Bob-Lo to avoid the noise. The boat would stop there to take people to the island for the day. Its a wonderful feeling strolling the island, standing next to buildings where 10s of thousands of souls now long departed use to frequent. For 81 years, she ferried generations of families as they experienced a Windsor-Detroit right of passage: an island getaway to the beloved Boblo Island amusement park. Technically speaking, the island was a part of Canada (Bois Blanc Island, Ontario to be exact) but was just a short ferry ride up the Detroit River from the city of Detroit. An estimated 30,000 people passed through the island on their way to freedom. Share. What Occupation Did The Boblo Boat Workers Have? Such a sad and difficult ending to such a WONDERFUL PLACE. Did you work on both the SS Ste. Claire and the SS Columbia offered ferry services to all those wishing to travel to Boblo Island. 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 Bob-Lo boats, once looked upon as part of the attraction of going on a trip to Bob-Lo were later being looked at as time wasted that could have been spent at the park. We went alot and when my family''s jobs had company picnic it would always be Bob Lo. I wouldnt identify the owners in this suburban retreat as millionaires, but the island has been many things to many people over the centuries: the Ojibwe, the Ottawa, the Potawatomi, and the Wyandot all used the island before it was christened Bois Blanc. Later it was: a camp for European explorers, the site of a French Catholic mission, within reach of a British fort, headquarters for the Shawnee chief Tecumseh during the War of 1812, an invasion site for Canadian patriots during the Upper Canada Rebellion, and more recently, a picnic spot and a dance venue, all before the rise and decline of the amusement park. By each step it became more clear that this was left for dead a long time ago. Its amusement rides were sold in 1994. The island is 2.5 miles long and a half-mile wide. - 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. Just read one of the many postcards you can find online from people back in the day. There are two total bedrooms in this home. I did notice, however, the last time we went the island had gone downhill quite a bit. A retreat for the wealthy, amidst dilapidated remnants of history and ghosts of the past, with nature ever encroaching. - Bonnie, Oh! Boblo Island became the headquarters for the Shawnee Chief Tecumseh during the War of 1812. 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. Hard to believe, but for the first time in 124 years, there is no such place as Boblo Island. 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. Boblo's miniature railroad was perfect for those interested in something more leisurely than the island's rollercoaster. Before July 30, 2011, my last visit to Bob-Lo had been in June of 1968. . It was one of the most popular places to dance in the 1920s. Both vessels are bound for Boblo Island. 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. It was a Canadian Island and had passenger boats that sailed from Detroit, Gibraltar and Amherstburg Ontario. One to pick up, and one to return people. The Columbia is undergoing restoration. It's located in Amherstburg, Ontario. The native Wyandot called the island "Etiowiteendannenti.Both the Wyandot and French names refer to the white wood appearance lent by the birch and poplar trees that line the banks. Its amusement rides were sold in 1994. Getting to the dock in Detroit early in the morning, the anticipation of boarding the boat, the ride on the river, the views, the fact I could play an arcade game on a boat blew my small mind. Ironically, after Canada abolished slavery in 1793, the island became a rest stop for escaped slaves traveling the Underground Railroad. Review. From the U.S. (departing from Detroit) your routeto the ferry would looklike this: The ferry boat captain had to take the Detroit Rivers strong current into consideration in maneuvering the ferry boat to the dock. On the far side of the ride, people wait in line. "We are at the point in restoration to where it was a steel skeleton structure ready to be rebuilt." The first amusement park rides were moving by 1910. Many years later, the ferries were sold but the service was continued by a number of different, smaller boats. Colorful adirondack chairs surround a campfire pit near Captain Bob's. These homes are 1,250 square feet on the sides, 1,625 in the middle. There is a dock at the restaurant on the island, Sue. Although I had $8.00 in Canadian currency in hand to pay the ferry toll, I rode the ferry without being charged and with no questions asked. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Gone are the roller coasters, but there are plenty of haunting remnants from Boblo Island Amusement Park, which delivered thrills and family fun from 1898 to September 30, 1993. Hundreds of small amusement parks went out in 1980s as families all went to super amusement parks like Cedar Point and Six Flags and did not visit small ones often. 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. The SS Ste. in subculturing, when do you use the inoculating loop cactus allergy symptoms [1], The park was located on Bois Blanc Island, Ontario, just above the mouth of the Detroit River. To the north of the road leading from the ferry dock is a subdivision ofmini-mansions and duplexes, with an emphasis on stone and heavy on Victorian-style turrets.