Lost - BobLo Island Amusement Park - Its Life Story

[@MagnaLume]

Went there many times myself when it was still around. The boat ride was just as much fun as the park was. Good memories!

[@magnificentfailure2390]

My mom made the front page of the Detroit Free Press in 1933 because of the Bob-Lo boat. She had become separated from her uncle in the crowd and a photog caught a picture of her crying. She was a very pretty little 4-year-old and the guy who took the picture helped her find her uncle, then turned in the photo with a 50-word piece titled "A Tragedy Averted". It must have been a slow news day, but it sold papers. My grandparents sued the paper and won, because nobody got their permission. :D

[@GOGOSLIFE]

I was there in the very early `70`s, as a 10-12 yo. I remember it being big at the time, but now with adult eyes, it wasn`t much compared to today`s amusement parks. At that age who cares, it was a day of fun! Sad to see the death of Bob-Lo park.

[@frenchloveboutique5853]

Facts, we used to dance and go upstairs.

[@BH_PLAYSZ]

My papa is the owner of the blockhouse

[@canadiankewldude]

Great memories, every summer. Got on the Windsor side, I miss it.

[@EastSider48215]

I worked on the Ste. Claire in the summer of 1977 in the downstairs buff, selling popcorn, candy, sno-cones, soda, and cigarettes. Detroit was smoking Kools that summer. It was a great job.

[@dpd4life]

EastSider, wow! I was born in July of ‘77 in Detroit. Boblo was a great place to go as a kid.

[@lenhuang9321]

Do you recall the name(s) of the owner(s)? We were told and grew up believing it was named after a couple who owned the park, "Bob" and "Lois."

[@faithwilliams7978]

I worked on the Boblo Boat for a couple of summers right before it closed. It was one of my first jobs. I also went to Boblo every summer as a kid growing up. Those were fun times.

[@lloydkline1518]

❤️ boblo boat ride

[@loydkline4686]

❤️ bolo boat ride, meet woman on the boat

[@BrianGabbert]

Well done! This brings back many childhood memories of a time when we didn’t have cell phone cameras to capture every event. Memories tend to fade, this was a great reminder. Thank you for creating this.

[@52mooreterry]

Unfortunately, Bob-Lo could never be duplicated. We can only cherish our memories.

[@cx116]

My family and I used to go to Bob-Lo several times every summer. We rode on the Bob-Lo boat from the Wyandotte Pier in Bishop Park. What FUN we all had. Mom & Dad have passed as are my other family members. But I have ALL the memories until the day I pass away. Thanks for these glorious memories! CX

[@frenchloveboutique5853]

Loved this place....they took all the good things about Michigan away.

[@windermere2330]

Not everything. We still have Mackinac Island!

[@johncooper7663]

They?

[@csnide6702]

oh.... not everything ..... Michigan is an awesome place

[@loriaumann7694]

We went many times in the 60's and 70's and have many happy memories, I remember Capt. Boblo and the boat ride was as fun as the amusement park!

[@bcaliber7028]

Great video! My parents took my sister and I to Boblo Island every year from '88 to '93. The boat ride to get there was almost as exciting as the rides to me. One evening we were leaving Boblo on one of the last boats for the day, there was a really bad thunderstorm and the Coast Guard had to escort us back to Detroit. I rode my first roller coasters at Boblo Island. I wish it was still around.

[@stevenbemis9617]

That happened to me and my friends. We must’ve been in the same boat. I remember, for ours, that they were using smaller boats so it seemed scarier

[@loydkline4686]

Wow,, really, surprise you guys didn,: t swim to shore ;; laugh , laugh

[@DalainaRenee]

Been here many times in the 80’s it’s so sad to see it closed down! 😢😣

[@loydkline4686]

Still got detroit rivrr boat rides

[@loydkline4686]

Still boat got on detroit river but it not boblo boat ride,, it should be a restaurant show

[@matthaeusprime6343]

I was born in 1978, Boblo was a go to destination every year. Before going home we would stop for some Rosa's Pizza and then end up sleeping on the way home. Being a kid was the best in the 1980's!!! I have a bunch of kids now and this would have been a great place to take them!

[@BingCherry11]

Maybe they can one day restore the Roller Rink in the main building!!!

[@dorothytrupe2179]

Last time I was there was when I was in the 9th. grade on a school field trip. Was a wonderful time and the boat ride was so much fun. Lots of dancing on the Saint Claire. That was in 1961. I'm 74 now but still remember the fun time.

[@jameswilber518]

The boat ride from Detroit was a separate cost. In the 40s, after 8 hours of waitressing and cooking, my mom would often take the boat ride just to relax and cool off as air conditioned apartments didn't exist.

[@TheBrownRecluse25]

Beautiful cinematography! Looking forward to seeing the doc!

[@barbarayates8250]

Royce Da 59 has a song about it which made me want to do some research..... kinda made me sad when i discovered it is no longer around.....

[@kenbeattie3967]

In my family a trip to Boblo Island and the State Fair were the two big events every summer during the late 60's and early 70's. So many great memories of the boat ride there and back... Thanks for making this video.

[@MagnaLume]

Glad you enjoyed the video and thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and share your experiences!

[@jasonbradley6447]

Dancing the Hokie Pokie on the Boblo boat, in the late 70's and 80's...

[@fhwolthuis]

Excellent video, deserves much more likes 👍👍👍😀

[@revlaird6979]

I really enjoy Boblo it was fun and it was some place for me and my family to celebrate every Memorial's Day Fourth of July and going into labor stay weekend I can tell you it brings beautiful memories I'll me and all of my cousins once we were in middle school and high school would get together every Memorial's Day and every fourth of July and just enjoy going to buy below it was a beautiful treat God I miss those days I hate that they closed it and they should bring it back because it's still a very beautiful Island🤷🤷🏻🤷🏼🤔🤡🤡🤡🤧🤧🤧🤧🤐💆💆🏽💆🏼💆🏻😲🤥🤥🤢🤢🤢😜🤓😜🤓🤡🤔🤷🏼🤡🤢🤥

[@jamesburton7298]

I went several times as a kid in the 50's. Used to catch the boat in Wyandotte. Still have fond memories. God Bless.

[@dangermartin69]

Went many times in the 70's and 80's. Good memories.

[@Svernon2k41]

I'm sad to learn what happened - our 1968 visit was a nice memory for me - I never heard anything about all the rest.

[@erbewayne6868]

Remember the trips watching the girls and the engine work from upper decks. The video brings back fond memories.

[@sq8540]

I rode the Little Boblo boat from Amherstburg to the amusement park once every summer when I visited my aunt and uncle's house as a holiday. A couple times my uncle drove to Detroit to let us ride the Big Boblo boat as a treat then drove us back to Amherstburg at the end of the day.

[@alexflores7652]

It was a rite of passage as a kid if you were from Detroit and the local area. I last got to go there back in the summer of 1988. I missed going there.

[@mcdnld]

I went there many times. The St. Andrew's Society had their annual picnic there for many years and I attended for five years. I had a scary experience on the tour boat when Cass Tech had their 1948 graduation trip to Put-in-Bay. After we started, a severe thunderstorm occurred, resulting in the boat's rudder being disabled so we were drifting with no control. We were moving sideways and slammed into a lake freighter and splintered the rail on that side. The people on the other side all came over to the side which collided to see what happened, resulting in the ship listing very strongly to that side. We were worried that we might overturn, but fortunately that didn't occur. After a few hours, the sister ship arrived and transferred the passengers onto it and we went back to Detroit, never having made it to Put-in-Bay.

[@MagnaLume]

Thank you for taking the time to comment and share your Bob-Lo experiences!

[@springrain9438]

Thanks so much for sharing that..

[@csnide6702]

WOW !

[@PamelaKulloEgelton]

Childhood memories.

[@lenhuang9321]

3:25 This is the FIRST I am hearing about this take on the origin of the name, "Boblo." As kids, we visited the island annually in the 70s/80s and were told the name came from the owners, Bob and Lois....(I forget their last name). Of course, this could have just been a rumor, but I'll never forget that's what we were told. Time for me to investigate and dig deeper. I may have to reach out to childhood friends to see what they recall.

[@mebeluvined1]

Let's twist again, like we did last summer. Let's twist again, Boblo time is here! I remember that commercial

[@injs1236]

Many great times there ! The cool thing was every year on the very last boat trip back to Detroit people who owned private boats would party on the small Islands and some shore lines along the Detroit River and have huge bonfire parties along the Boblo boat route to commemorate the the end of another glorious fun summer and to bid the Boblo boats good bye on it's annual last voyage of the year. It was a fun tradition spawned by the Boblo boats last cruise of the summer.

[@eaglegrad1674]

The family visited twice when I was a kid, back 80/81. We kiddos raised haven at the new Renaissance Center xD before we all boarded the ferry to the island. Mr Boblo welcomed the guests, and then we kids took off and did our own thing. Rode all the rides, including the Chinese swings, which were the coolest. Loved feeling like a bird way up in the sky :) I think our favorites were It's A-Maze [its name], the tilted 'funhouse' you had to hang on as you walked through, and the Rotor [its name] which spun really fast as the gravity pinned you to the wall. Fun fun times indeed :)

[@windermere2330]

I remember the rotor! Wasn’t it by the roller coaster? One time I went on a log ride before I went on the rotor. I started sliding down the wall! I thought I was gonna fall down because I was wet but I did not thank God!

[@stratfordbaby]

After the 9/11 attacks, nothing like a Bob-Lo ferry could exist because of all the ridiculous security protocols. I remember going to Bob-Lo maybe once or twice as a very very young child. Too young to have any clue.

[@christineguerriero5187]

Our day of going to Bob-Lo each summer was the most exciting ever!

[@foodanddrink333]

Summers with aunts and uncles in Detroit in the 1950's, and visited the island during that time. Still have photo of me in sailor hat and in little boat traveling in small water circles. A lot of fun! But I have a negative memory, too; while on the boat to the island I was told that we would be going under a bridge which I could see in the distance. It looked like the bridge was sitting on the water because of the distance involved, and I wondered how we would survive the "underwater" part of the journey. Even then, I was a worrier. I do miss my parents, their siblings and their families. I understand, you can't go home again, because people and places keep changing. Take Care.

[@catladycatlady7359]

The first time I went there was with a friend on my thirteenth birthday. It was fun.

[@ronaldjohnson1474]

As long as politicians (look at the news headlines) only follow laws they like, places like this will never return.

[@robyn3976]

I was there in the early 80s, the bumper cars was my hangout. I also remember the captain's hat being one of the popular souvenirs.

[@jimt6919]

I have often told about meeting Colonel Sanders, in the early 60''s in a converted gas station, on Inkster Road, in Inkster, Michigan. (He was great, he gave me and (my brother) Bob. Balloons, with cardboard feet). I also met Captain Bob-lo, on The Bob-lo Boat at about the same time. I don't remember what happened, but my Grandmother Julia was really upset, and never forgave him. But... I Say... why can't we make this an International Peace Park? Or maybe we can build a bridge....maybe like the Gordie Howe International Bridge! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordie_Howe_International_Bridge

[@Mztastyish]

My childhood ❤️

[@hazyandfriends9578]

Very well done - i learned something today

[@MagnaLume]

Thank you Billy! I learned a lot about the park also during the research for the film. Glad you liked it!

[@jimcharnoske9614]

Another Childhood Place For Fun Gone :'(. Very Sad Indeed.

[@MagnaLume]

I went there a few times years ago also. Seemed like summer wasn't complete without a visit to Bob-Lo!

[@chucktolbert7176]

Nice piece, that was done well

[@mikejames3471]

I'm glad I was able to visit when I was 8 or 9 before the park closed. However my experience wasn't that great as I had been to Cedar Point 3 or 4 times before, so unfortunately by comparison I saw BobLo as a run down dump. I also didn't get the 1 hour boat ride experience as my family decided to drive to Amherstburg. Now that I'm older I appreciate it a lot more and wish I could have visited in it's prime. To think that it was actually a legit competitor with Cedar Point is just mind boggling. Anyway.. great video!

[@johnboehmer6683]

Convenience, tradition, and price made it a competitor of cedar point. Probably also the novelty of being an amusement park on an island, along with the other attractions.

[@desireepeters7520]

I am from Michigan USA in my family we really enjoy going to Bob Lo Island when I was a kid and teenager, I really miss this park the boat ride over was really cool, I do remember that song that would play in the commercial by Fago pop, the history of the park is some what the same to cedar point that's in Ohio I have been there too, thank you for bringing back some old footage, it's sad to see this park gone forever but I do have pictures and history book on Bob Lo Island and a lot of memories , it is nice that they built homes for people that live there, thanks again God bless !!!!😫😪🤧😊👍🏼💕🎠🎢🎡🚂🌅⛴️I am 48 years old now my days are definitely done going on rides it was fun !!!!!🎢

[@DwayneETowns]

It was an awesome adventure as a kid late 60s early 70s, glad I experience those good times.

[@canadiankewldude]

I grew up in Windsor and every summer we took the big boat there and back. Really miss BobLo Island.

[@asliketheson]

I lived in Windsor Ontario for 18 years when I couldn’t do the border , bob- lo was fun too . Lost track of everyone .

[@MrGebrock1]

I have many great memories riding the boat and going to Boblo in the 80s. My mom always tells a funny story of how a group of young men mooned the boat from the shore one time when we were on it.

[@setshot7182]

Tell your mom I said hi and I’m glad she got a kick out of it!

[@mikethewoodworker6194]

Thank you for the share. I not only went there as a kid but also worked there as a summer student.

[@MagnaLume]

Glad you enjoyed the video! I like hearing from former employees. Any cool behind the scenes stories to share?

[@mikethewoodworker6194]

MagnaLume Films I can tell you none of the employees ever wanted to work the rotor that was a God awful ride. Bring the barf bag. I remember once where the floor would not return to its original position and the ride had to come to a very slow stop to avoid people from falling flat on their face that was a dangerous ride. At a much younger age I used to go with my entire family for a weekend of each year to stay on the island because we had horses and they used to have a horse show so I was very lucky to have the opportunity to pitch a tent on Boblo island once a year for about five years and being able to roam the grounds at night but that was long before I was an employee there. This will be forever embedded in my mind, final sailing of the day to Detroit all Detroit passengers please report to the main boat dock. LOL

[@MagnaLume]

Fantastic antidotes. I really liked the rotor, but didn't realize it was so dangerous and temperamental. Sounds awesome that you got to camp there. Rare access indeed ! Thanks for sharing that!

[@rainmakerii2610]

Well that's quite a story.And to think I went there in the 70s as a teen.Clueless of it's history,had a great time anyhow!!!

[@rebeccalwhitcher]

I remember going here when I was a kid. Loved it, and loved the boat ride. I remember there being music on the boat and everyone dancing 🙂

[@sweettexast2894]

Oh my gosh I remember Boblo! So many memories… I had no idea it had closed down.

[@johnbrohl1709]

I went there 3 times as a kid in the 80's They had a roller coaster called the skyscraper scared the h*** out of me and the had great fun houses

[@StephentrainboyRailfanbrony]

Hey my mom ride on that boat since she was a little girl

[@edbrinkel7661]

What happened to the engine and pilot House for the St Clair

[@Maridun50]

Sad to read. I was an exchange student from Denmark in Merrill, Mi. 1968/69. Me and another Danish ex.-student from Hemlock were taken to the Bob Lo island sometime during summer of 69. We remembered it as a fun place. Later, I could never locate it on a map - now I see why. .

[@MagnaLume]

Thank you for taking the time to reply and share your experiences of your time in the USA and of Bob-Lo Island!

[@Maridun50]

@@MagnaLume You are very welcome. It was a great year for me - the year, I spent in Merril, MI. As you get older, I guess you tend to go back to explore memories - what became of friends and places you knew long ago? And Bob Lo Island was a mystery to me, because I couldn't find it. So thanks for this video, which solved the mystery - except in a sad way.

[@dannyreed2887]

Thank You, Jay,. Subbed.

[@mackelly4581]

Yes, the boat ride was awesome

[@annettemiles1122]

Thank you for letting me see my childhood again. I loved going to Boblo island when I was little

[@Svernon2k41]

at 13:54 the 'ride' in the middle is the one I have a photo of my Sister and I riding 50 years ago

[@MagnaLume]

Thank you so much for watching and commenting; Really appreciate it! Had a lot of fun making this mini-documentary and glad it brought back pleasant memories for you :)

[@jerome2022]

So many memories

[@Dreadtheday]

We used to go twice a year... I was born in 1980 so I went countless times. I miss it a lot.

[@kw3752]

I remember going to Boblo only one time in the late 80's with my Grandma. Thanks for the video, it was neat to learn the history.

[@Tina-hy8jt]

I use to love that place when i was young.

[@brucemorris3830]

Since you guys seem to have a bit of a thing for old-timey amusement parks, we had one when I was a kid called Paragon Park in Hull MA just outside Boston. Love to see your take on that one sometime

[@frphxkaboom3008]

Bob- lo died after Edgewater and for the same reasons.

[@hooligan3821]

Wish I had gotten the chance to see it in it's prime.

[@ezabreeza3223]

Went there in the 80s was wanting to take my grandchildren and was doing research and found this. So sad that this place is gone😞

[@asliketheson]

Went to Forster Collegiate.

[@greggy799]

Dearborn Parks and Recreation would load kids up every summer at the Detroit dock. The spacious stairs would be packed with kids running up and down the jam packed levels of the Ste. Claire. I'm sure there were adults somewhere blending in, but honestly the kids didn't cause much trouble back in the 50's and 60's. We played long and hard on the island and tried out every ride until the ship would sound the call for us to return...and we did with no fanfare. My Ma told stories of evening cruises and my Dad romancing her as they had dancing while going up and down the river. Great memories of a Detroit icon that lives on in the hearts of hundreds of really happy kids.

[@benjamingaines6472]

Just riding the the boat and watching the Great Lake Freighters sail by was so cool. Great place to take your girlfriend on a date! Also that small castle tower where we could sit and check out Lake Erie. I loved place.

[@whatareyounew1898]

Lets TWIST AGAIN LIKE WE DID LAST SUMMER! Was always the song that got peeps going on the boat ride over! The boat also had better hotdogs than the park

[@sky173]

I used to go there in my youth. This was back in the 70's/80's. In 1982 my 6th grade class took a trip there. Such fun, simpler times. Thanks for the memories.

[@amyjojinkerson6745]

I was there 8 times

[@asliketheson]

Went in the late sixties all through to 1978 . Bob Papineau , Mario cervi , Dave juvenville Larkin brothers . I remember all my pals back then

[@casseybennett8153]

I don't remember the year but I do remember we was headed back home from the island and right in the middle of the river it was a big cloud and it had heavy rain coming down. The crew on the boat told everyone to stay away from the rails and the boat was shaking it was raining so very hard then we entered and came out with with no fear.

[@leslieludwick1321]

My grandparents lived in Detroit Michigan so my brothers and I spent many summers there. We visited the island many times in the 70s. Today I am 60 years old and I have great memories of this amusement park

[@anthonysalciccioli5918]

So many great childhood memories. It is bittersweet that I can't take my own children there. Grateful it was there when I was young.

[@donttalktomeyoureannoying8736]

Are you from Michigan or near the area?

[@MagnaLume]

I did reside in the area when I was younger; yes.

I loved it.

[@nicoleveltman2856]

Sadly it was the end of the steamers that recall put the nail in Boblos coffin.. To think it sold for little more than 5 million .. such a shame that no one entity could care enough to reimagine it's true beauty and potential.. rich won out again

[@gheeg5858]

I went in 1992 when i was 5. The only things i remember were the demon drop and the amazing ferry ride home.

[@alex12497]

Very sad, shoot I went as a child too when visiting my grandmother, didn’t know I could have died.

[@ZBATGIRL]

Living only 2 miles from the Gibraltar Dock, I spent my summer teenage years at Bob-Lo at the very least 2 times a week (1984-1990) I have beautiful memories from my teenage years thanks to Bob-Lo Island. Vicky: Carlson High School class of '88-'89

[@csnide6702]

Do you still have that yellow sweater ....? It looked great with those dark acid washed jeans...... *wink*

[@robertfindley921]

I went there as a kid in the mid-60s a couple of times. Great memories. So sad that it ended.

[@Tina-hy8jt]

Boat ride was Great Dancing, eating, and friend's so so much fun

[@jonathanwickett7028]

I went there several times on school trips from st gemma catholic school in Detroit

[@SixFeetFive]

😩😭😭😭 I went for the last time May 1992 .

[@lizrobin1952]

It was nice to see Bob-lo island again☺️

[@carringtonndhlovu6145]

Royce da 59 and j cole brought me here

[@bonniemaynard1912]

#maynard #bonniemaynard #lovebonnie #alabama #michigan #worldwide working hard #dream #team #one #love #usa #united we #stand

[@SanduskianHistorian]

Boblo Island and Ringing Brothers...too bad I never got to go to both of those great icons. I'm glad my town still has Cedar Point, though.

[@MagnaLume]

It is a shame these are gone. Younger people really missed out on a neat experience. Cedar Point is another Midwest amusement park legend. Went there a few times over the years as well. Always fun!

[@revlaird6979]

Cedar Point is another death trap so many murders for so many rides I remember from 1980 all the way in to 2018 of people having accidents haven't heard anything for 2019 or early 2020 thus far but definitely 2018 through the late 1970s you were always here deaths from the demon drop to the Gemini all of that Boblo was a far better Island to me then Cedar Point could ever be it's a classic it's all in what you like😎😎😎🎆🎊🎍🎏🎑🎖️🎫🏆🏅🥈🥉🎳🎳🎳🎳🎱🎱🎳🤼🤸🏋️⛹️🏇🏄🏌️🚴🚵🏌️⛳️🤽🤺🥅🎯♣️♦️♥️🎲🎲🀄️🃏

[@landieh6162]

My family went every year in the 1970's I will never forget Bob lo...I tell young people of Detroit about Bob lo and Edge Water Park most are shocked and have no idea it ever existed...😊Love You ALWAYS Bob lo...❤

[@seanwil545]

Here in the North East we had Whalom Park, Lincoln Park and Nantasket Beach Amusement Park, all memories of my youth, all now gone. The only remaining major small park is Canobie Lake Park in New Hampshire. I do my best to make visits when I can to help support the park. I only came to know of Boblo Island via Royce Da 5'9..."Boblo Boat"

[@asliketheson]

I remember the wild mouse broke down on us

[@jennawildah6514]

👏👍

[@claudiobeachball]

I only went to Boblo Island once, and when we went, we didn't get to walk around the park. I was around 10 years old, and it was around the time of the Simpsons tie-in. We went to the park, and I remember going on one of the older boats (and discovered that I get motion sick), but when we made it onto the island, it started storming, so we couldn't actually enjoy it. My parents said we'd come back another day, but we never got around to it. It sounds like this would've been around the dying days of the park, but it would've been nice to have truly experienced it.

[@B123-y8d]

Enjoyed Boblo Island when it was here. It came and went so fast. He's right about the fights. I remember like it was yesterday.

[@johnboehmer6683]

Almost 100 years...?

[@nicoleveltman2856]

Sadly it was the end of the steamers that recall put the nail in Boblos coffin.. To think it sold for little more than 5 million .. such a shame that no one entity could care enough to reimagine it's true beauty and potential.. rich won out again

[@EscapèdGirrafe___478]

Royce da 5'9 -Boblo boat

[@gayleash9712]

Bob Lo was the best!

[@MeMyselfAndUs903]

Thanks