We dug through decades of Boblo Island photos: 42 nostalgic images of old amusement park

For thousands of Michiganders, the name Boblo Island brings happy nostalgia and memories of family outings at the beloved amusement park.

Formerly known as an entertainment area, Boblo Island opened in 1898 and closed nearly a century later in 1993. Located along the southern Detroit River, the island saw nearly 800,000 visitors annually, ferried over by passenger steamships the Ste. Claire and SS Columbia.

The historic Detroit Harbor/Marine Terminal, designed by Albert Kahn, was the start of fun, sunny days on the island. The harbor terminal opened in 1926 and was the largest building of its kind across all the Great Lakes, according to HistoricDetroit.org .

In an attempt to relive the memories of the historic island, the Free Press dug through decades of archived photos that will bring you right back to those treasured days.

What is Boblo Island like now?

Today, the island has been transformed into a residential community, occupied by luxury homes, condos and a marina. The amusement park is gone, of course, but some remnants of its past still exist, such as the ruins of some of the rides and buildings.

Boblo Island is currently owned by Amico Infrastructures . The 272-acre island, with over 140 homes located on the north end, can be accessed by a private boat docking at the marina, or a ferry traveling from Amherstburg, Ontario. The island is also referred to as Bois Blanc, Canada, which was the historical name of the island.

What happened to the Boblo boats?

The Ste. Claire and Columbia were launched in 1910 and shared the run from Detroit to Boblo Island for 84 years, the longest in U.S. maritime history.

Both steamships were decommissioned in 1991, two years before the park closed. The SS Columbia was towed to Buffalo, New York for restoration, however the SS Columbia Project's website is now noted as 'private' and no recent updates have been provided on the project's Facebook page .

Meantime, the SS Ste. Claire remains in Detroit. She was damaged badly in a 2018 fire sparked by a welding accident, and has been undergoing restoration by the Ste. Claire Restoration Project , led by Stephen Faraj. On Aug. 15, 2023, Faraj announced plans on Facebook to have the steamship's fourth deck completed by September and the museum complete by spring of 2024. No updates have followed since.

Satellite view of Boblo Island

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Contact Elissa Robinson : erobinson@freepress.com .

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: We dug through decades of Boblo Island photos: 42 nostalgic images of old amusement park