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. . Michelle, I interpret Roys use of the phrase mega-millionaires as being in service of describing the island developers, not the residents. Opened in Orlando in 1976, River Country was Walt Disney's first waterpark. I remember the log ride, where we''d all get wet but would soon dry out running about, the carousel, and of course the roller coaster. Boblo (or Bob-Lo) sparks memories for many adults who. You can just picture all of the kids having fun smashing into each other in their cars. One of the many residential homes on the north end of Boblo Island, Ontario, seen Wednesday, July 27, 2016. [1] Screamer, a double corkscrew; Nightmare, an indoor all-dark ride; and Sky Streak, a steel out-and-back design, were its three roller coasters. Is there a safe dock area, in which to leave our boat-(also Draft/depth) info .Is there a dock fee? Today, 24 years after the park was closed and 118 years after its grand opening, little remains as a reminder of the islands history. All the passengers who had purchased round-trip tickets were comfortably aboardall, that is, but one. One of the oldest structures on the island was vandalized in 1954, with vandals setting fire to the top of the 1837 lighthouse, destroying the upper structure. There are two total bedrooms in this home. Flags at the Amherstburg Dock. 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. Known as Boblo Amusement Park, it was wildly popular with American tourists throughout much of the 20th century until it closed in 1993. i need a boblo island abandoned amusement park date pic . The ferry is a short four minute ride to the island. In fact didn''t go as much as I would of liked to. http://boblo.ca/. The park was closed for the 1933-1934 seasons due to the Great Depression. The children of this time will never get to enjoy what we did when we were children. Boblo Island Amusement Park was a beloved amusement park that began operating in 1898 and ran for almost 100 years. Beginning in 1952, Joe Short, a man of diminutive physical stature, was employed as 'Captain Boblo', and traveled on the boats entertaining passengers of all ages. The Boblo boat Columbia is being restored by a New York nonprofit. The price is a little over $300k. 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. How to get to Boblo Island: Bois Blanc Island (Ontario) Who owns Boblo Island? Potentially, it could become a wedding reception hall or hotel. The Boblo Island amusement park closed in the 1990s after a century of operation. [24] The island was off limits to non-residents until 2002. Plants and overgrown grass fill the dirt paths near the Space Needle. During the 1920s and 1930s, swimming contests were held that went fromBelle Isleto Bob-Lo, covering 24 miles. My husband is on the Grosse Ile Historical Society BoardI have pictures of Sugar Island in its heyday. You will find even more information in: Summer Dreams: The Story of Bob-Lo Island, by Patrick Livingstone (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2008); Bob-Lo: An Island in Troubled Waters, by Annessa Carlisle (Royal Oak, MI: Momentum Books, 2005); and for more photographs, Bob-Lo Revisited, by Bill Rauhausuer (Chicago: Lorentz, 2003). One cant imagine a happy centennial celebration for this historic building . All Rights Reserved. $19 million in debt, John's brother Randy forced Boblo Island into court-appointed receivership in 2004. These homes are 1,250 square feet on the sides, 1,625 in the middle. Embark on a CRUISE FROM DETROIT for the first time in decades, Stay the night at this ghostly-looking MICHIGAN CASTLE, SECRET VINTAGE COKE MUSEUM inside a Michigan 50's diner. (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. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Gone are the roller coasters, but there are plenty of. My husband is from Other islands Ivevisited have their own historical societies or have joined with other nearby islands to form a historical society: Johnson Island Preservation Society, Lake Erie Islands Historical Society, St. Clair Flats Historical Society, Beaver Island Historical Society, the Grosse Ile Historical Society, and Friends of Bell Isle (now a part ofthe newBelle Isle Conservancy). "That's probably because I have about twice as many rides as Boblo Island." You do it for other people. The island is mainly a place where people can live in serenity. About Boblo Island: There were several trips from Detroit each day, but only two stops in Wyandotte. The steamers, the Ste. That is what the park was supposed to be about. Only one blockhouse remains today. what a fun and exciting place. The rides were sold in 1994, but as we discovered via YouTube, a number of the park's structures still stand on the island. Or for the Lavatory building next to it, built to match the other stone buildings on the island. We also traveled from past to the present on the island, which was a must-visit destination for families for decades. [14], The 1993 season proved bumpy and was marred by miscues including disputes with island residents and the Canadian Coast Guard, compounded by the leader of Enchanted Parks, Michael Moodenbaugh, being seriously injured and breaking his spine in a car accident in Toledo, Ohio, in September. Bleacher seating remains intact in the abandoned theater. Many of you remember taking the journey to the top for a breathtaking view of the park. "Yeah, she's 110 years old, but she's well-built and she survived," said boat co-owner, Ron Kattoo. 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. The ship in mid-swing. The far end of the island is now all luxury homes. If you need help with the Public File, call (313) 222-0566. The fire could not be contained and destroyed the historic mahogany woodwork and upper decks. One such an example is Boblo Island Amusement Park initially opened on Bois Blanc Island in Ontario in 1898. 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. Without Michael's approval the park was closed, the rides sold off, dismantled and shipped away. I found this very useful for Information! 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. Once known as Bois Blanc Island, Boblo lies on the Detroit River on the Canadian side. Its entrance is at Vernon Boulevard and Main Street in Astoria. saki, Japan. The Bois Blanc Lighthouse built in 1836; its lamp room was destroyed in 1954 when vandals started a fire. We were participating in a totally sanctioned, transportation-provided-by-the-school-district Ninth-Grade Skip Day. We would have boarded either the Ste. A sign leads residents and visitors to dining venues and the marina on Boblo Island. "[2] The Michigan Supreme Court fined the company $25 for the discrimination they presented towards Ray. Only a few buildings and the sky tower structure still stand. Bois Blanc Island was where Shawnee Chief Tecumseh, a Native American warrior, decided to place his headquarters during the War of 1812. 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. I agree; it would be wonderful if the park could be restored or perhaps, reinvented to serve in a new way of bringing community together! Just read one of the many postcards you can find online from people back in the day. Its sister. The 1878 Mangels-Illions Carousels 44 horses, two goats, and two deer were sold for more than $1 million. Ive been talking to friends who also loved Boblo and I am going to do further study. The Browning Family sold the island in 1979, which led to several owners in the following years, including IBC and AAA of Michigan. For more excitement there was the Whip, Wild Mouse, Tilt-a-Whirl, and Dodgeem Cars. "We are at the point in restoration to where it was a steel skeleton structure ready to be rebuilt." Several Detroit organizations held annual picnics on the island. Why not this man who gave everyone joy in life with their families? Did you work on both the SS Ste. Here are some of the homes and what life is like on Boblo Island today. This is actually only about half of the full-size basement which has been fitted with windows and electricity for add-on bedrooms. In its early years, [1] Henry Ford financed a dance hall that was rumored to have been designed and built by famed Detroit architect Albert Kahn,[31] but was later determined to have been designed by John Scott. They transformed the island into an amusement park, including a coaster, Ferris wheel, fun house and more. That was in 1993. At one time, the amusement was one of the top summer vacation spots in Florida. We went alot and when my family''s jobs had company picnic it would always be Bob Lo. St. Clair Shores (1950-60s) & never went to the park. Peaking through the windows, you can see it's being used for storage. The island is 2.5 miles long and a half-mile wide - just 272 acres. There are no hotels. I did notice, however, the last time we went the island had gone downhill quite a bit. Why did Boblo Island shut down? Starting in the mid-1990s, however, it began a tumultuous phase that ultimately ended in its demise. The men's entrance is to the left. 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. Yes, Kathy, the Bob-Lo Island Beach House Restaurant is an easy walk. And then came the Boblo Island Amusement Park with its famous Screamer, Nightmare, and Wild Mouse rides, its zoo, and carousel. Loved going to Bob-Lo as a kid. 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. The people of Detroit, Michigan, characterized it as the city's Coney Island. However, due to lack of demand, the park closed in 2001 and never reopened. The ferry runs every 20 minutes, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. [7] Though one expert felt that Boblo was too big to fail outright and could be turned around,[8] By June, however, no firm offers had been made for the park. My most vivid memory is the Sky Diver ride. Which theme park has the most deaths? 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. 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). Or not. [1] Other smaller ferries served the park from Amherstburg and Gibraltar, Michigan, which were located closer to the park on the Detroit River. 272 acres. 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