Bob-Lo Island

Bob-Lo Island was a wonderful place to go in the summer.  The amusement park was fun, happy, and noisy.  This was a beautiful way to spend a warm sunny day or an evening with friends, family or that someone special.  Just the boat ride to and from the island was a treat.  There was always some kind of a band playing.  People would dance and eat and just have fun.  My first recollection of Bob-Lo was in 1954.  I continued to go almost every summer until the boats stopped running in 1991.  It is so sad that the children of today cannot enjoy that wonderful magical place. 

Bob-Lo was opened in 1898 by the Detroit, Windsor and Belle Isle Ferry Company.  The company was busy all week long with passengers and cargo but on weekends the boats sat empty.  The park was way to keep the ferries busy all the time.  Two boats were used to transport passengers to and from the island.  The Columbia built in 1902 and the St Claire built in 1910.  In 1910 the carousel, ponies and a dance pavilion, built by Henry Ford, were added to the park.  This dance pavilion was considered to be the second largest in the world.  As years passed, several more rides were added and a true amusement park was created.

The Browning family bought the island in 1903 and kept it until 1979.  Several other companies owned the park after that including the Harlem Globetrotters and AAA of Michigan.   Unable to keep the park running, all the rides were sold and the hand-made carousel horses were auctioned off.  The boats stopped running in 1991 and the park officially closed in 1993.  It is now a residential community.