Ruins of Boblo Island

DetroitDad · November-09-10, 11:31 PM

I'm very curious about the light house with no door.

More abandoned amusement park videos in the Non-Detroit section: http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthread.php?t=7744

**Guideboat** · November-09-10, 11:35 PM

It must have gotten bricked off to keep the riff-raff out. I walked through a doorway to climb the lighthouse on a trip to White Sands back in the early 70s.

**rid0617** · November-10-10, 05:37 AM

I cannot believe that was allowed to be abandoned. I remember going there as a teenager. Thanks for the video

**DetroitZack** · November-10-10, 06:48 AM

Thanks for posting, recently I was at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle and when I saw the map of what use to be on Boblo Island it got me to thinking what was left.

**Rochelle St.** · November-10-10, 07:53 AM

I though they were going to build private homes there?
What happened to that plan?

**gazhekwe** · November-10-10, 08:03 AM

Thank you for the excursion, it was a great trip into nostalgia and angst. I was thinking ARE YOU CRAZY???!!! the whole time you were going up and walking around that tower though.

**Goose** · November-10-10, 08:12 AM

nice... i have some pics from about 5 years ago of the ruins... buddy of mines father has a house on the island, supposedly at that time the elevator on the sky needle was still functional, no way I would have ridden it, didn't look to well maintained...

as for the houses, there are quite a few on the north end of the island, but there are also many home "ruins" or construction that was started and due to lack of sales and the economy, were abandoned, as I recall there was a 4-5 story condominum building that was vacant at that time, I can only imagine the condition now.....

i will dig up the pics and put them up this afternoon....

**DetroitPlanner** · November-10-10, 10:20 AM

Originally Posted by Rochelle St.

I though they were going to build private homes there?
What happened to that plan?

A number of homes were built on the island, but much of the plan was never executed. The guy who was developing the island ran into money troubles. A funny story was that during bankruptcy because it was considered a capital asset, the ferry was siezed and sold, leaving those with homes on the island no way to get to or from their home.

When I was a young teen [[early 80's) we used to take the bus to the dock and get on the boat. When we would get to island we would walk down to by the lighthouse and block house for a dip at the beach. There was not a door at that time. I assume it must have been blocked off when the light was decommissioned.

**GOAT** · November-10-10, 12:21 PM

The "church" was the haunted house with the crazy floors and things like that.

**mallory** · November-10-10, 02:47 PM

While I really enjoyed the ruins visit to Bob-lo [[I worked there in the summer of '84), I couldn't help but wonder why someone would bring their infant child to a ruins exploration.

**gremlinuk** · November-10-10, 03:29 PM

Originally Posted by mallory

While I really enjoyed the ruins visit to Bob-lo [[I worked there in the summer of '84), I couldn't help but wonder why someone would bring their infant child to a ruins exploration.

Agreed, surely health and safety issues and all that!

**szla** · November-10-10, 07:40 PM

Why was the beach on the south side a pure white sand?

**RickBeall** · November-10-10, 09:39 PM

That was an awesome video and and awesome little slice of life. Thanks!

**Trumpeteer** · November-10-10, 10:42 PM

Originally Posted by mallory

While I really enjoyed the ruins visit to Bob-lo [[I worked there in the summer of '84), I couldn't help but wonder why someone would bring their infant child to a ruins exploration.

Good Christ! They carried their child. It wasn't like they turned the kid loose to run around the swamp. Besides, didn't you kind of notice that a ferry took quite a few to Bob-Lo when they went.

woodwardboy · November-10-10, 10:44 PM

All those memories of Bob-Lo... great times...
And no one ever had to go through customs

Cant do that today.

**marcwigle** · November-10-10, 11:08 PM

The island is still being developed. The first owner went under a few years ago but a new group took over and seems to be doing alright. Here's their website: www.boblo.ca When the first guy went under the ferry stopped running since it was part of the package... the city of Amherstburg had to send over some firetrucks and leave them there, just in case. Not sure who owns the ferry now but I would hope that a plan is in place if the new group doesn't make things work. If you Google the island, you will find a great spot on the north end of the island with it's own private enclosed bay. It was on the market a few years ago for, I think, 2.5 mil.

**Dan** · November-10-10, 11:20 PM

At the southern tip of the island there is a block house made of huge timbers, even when the park was open this thing was off the beaten path. You could look out the rectangular holes [[ for rifles) out into Lake Erie.

A few years after the park closed I remember taking a boat out there and playing in the fort.

It certainly predated the park, it was not the fort with the fake guns etc, this was the real deal. It had to be at least 100 years old.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

**mallory** · November-11-10, 08:40 AM

Originally Posted by Trumpeteer

Good Christ! They carried their child. It wasn't like they turned the kid loose to run around the swamp. Besides, didn't you kind of notice that a ferry took quite a few to Bob-Lo when they went.

They even commented about the floorboards on the walkway to get to the "needle" being broken out. That place has been left to rot under the open elements for how many years? Anything could happen. Sorry, in my book that is a risk I would never have taken when my kids were that young.

**Searay215** · November-11-10, 09:16 AM

Thanks for the memories and how sad it is to see it like that. I too thought there was supposed to subdivision on the island, but that has been explained...Thanks again.

Found this while I was searching....looks to still be a viable place for home for sale?
http://www.boblo.ca/pages/video/video.html

**GOAT** · November-11-10, 09:53 AM

Dan those were blockhouses that had connectios to Fort Malden. I believe they were built in the 1830s-1840s. They were used against the Fenian raids in the 1860s and 1870s. ONe is still in existence while the other one has been turned into a house.

**Swimmaven** · November-11-10, 11:54 AM

Maybe the kid will grow up to an architect with a feel for old style materials. That would be a great juxtaposition!

**menckensghost** · November-11-10, 05:02 PM

Originally Posted by mallory

While I really enjoyed the ruins visit to Bob-lo [[I worked there in the summer of '84), I couldn't help but wonder why someone would bring their infant child to a ruins exploration.

Don't you have some family that you can pass judgement on? Anybody in your life you can tell how to live? There is danger lurking around every corner in this world, and that child was in no more danger than it would have been at the supermarket.

**Lombaowski** · November-13-10, 02:16 AM

Originally Posted by menckensghost

Don't you have some family that you can pass judgement on? Anybody in your life you can tell how to live? There is danger lurking around every corner in this world, and that child was in no more danger than it would have been at the supermarket.

Yeah, I don't get that either. Can't take a baby to a series of fields with a few ruins?

Good find, I went to Boblo at least once a year from the time I was very young, until I was a teenager. I left for the military in 1990, and didn't find out the park had closed until probably 2000 or so. I was pretty mad no one in my family had even mentioned it to me over the years, it's like we are so used to everything closing in our city we just can't keep track anymore. Makes me pretty sad to be honest.

**CLAUDE G** · November-13-10, 04:51 AM

I remember when Boblo was open, they used to have a tour that used to explain some of the history of the Island and I believe took you by one of the block houses.

I remember going there every summer when we where growing up as kids, and I remember every year we would go to Boblo. Some years we would take the Ferry, and other years my mom would drive us kids to Amherstburg.

The thing that pisses me off about this city is that, everything we have something great like Boblo, people don't appreciate what we got until its gone.