Bob-Lo Excursion Co. v. Michigan

The State of Michigan brought a racial discrimination case against the operators of the ferry service.^[2] After Michigan found Bob-Lo guilty and fined the company, Bob-Lo filed a lawsuit against the state, Bob-Lo Excursion Co. v. Michigan, 333 U.S. 28 (1948). The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court and resulted in a notable 1948 decision construing the scope of the commerce clause. In June 1945, Sarah Elizabeth Ray and 12 other female workers involved in the war effort (and referred to as "girls" during the legal proceedings) took part in a sponsored trip to Boblo Island. Ray was removed from the boat because she was not white, enforced according to a Bob-Lo company policy "excluding so-called 'zoot-suiters', the rowdyish, the rough, and the boisterous, and it also adopted the policy of excluding colored."^[2] The Michigan Supreme Court fined the company $25 for the discrimination they presented towards Ray.^[3] The company had claimed it could exclude her because it was a private concern operating in another country and that neither Michigan nor any other state had authority to regulate commerce with Canada (a foreign country); the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the Michigan Supreme Court, which had upheld the jurisdiction of the state's anti-discrimination provisions and found against the company.^[2]

Final years

Though it was not looking for a buyer, the Michigan AAA sold Boblo Island in 1988 to the International Broadcasting Corporation, a Minneapolis-based concern that owned the Harlem Globetrotters and Ice Capades.^[4]

IBC declared bankruptcy in 1991.^[5] The boats were sold off as a result of a decision to shutter operations at the Detroit dock.^[6] In February 1992, the park was put up for sale for US$9 million, half of its 1988 purchase price, though it committed to opening it for that summer.^[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.^[9] The loss of the Detroit ferry service dented attendance severely in the 1992 season, which along with poor weather caused the park to miss its attendance goal.^[10]

With no buyers materializing, Norton Auctioneers of Coldwater, Michigan, was retained to sell the property at auction on February 10, 1993.^[11] A Michigan-based group of investors made the winning bid of $3.8 million. The group had plans to close the park in 1994 and redevelop the land into a golf course, hotel, expanded marina, residential housing and condominiums. Two days later the bid was rejected by Boblo's creditors due to their $250,000 deposit check bouncing. Following the rejection, Michael Moodenbaugh, a contractor, commercial developer and part-owner of a Seattle amusement and water park was declared the winner with the second highest bid of $3.7 million. ^[12]

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.^[13] Moodenbaugh had hired Liberal MPP Remo Mancini to help market the park. Larry Benaroya, his associate, and his Northern Capital took control of the property; Mancini was fired, and the ownership group put it back on the market in January 1994.^[14] Moodenbaugh later sued Benaroya and others for attempting to sell the park while he lay in a "virtual coma".^[15]

In March 1994, the rides were dismantled and sold off piecemeal to the Pacific National Exhibition and a series of U.S. theme parks, a moment that confirmed the "worst fears" of Malden Township officials; the amusement park paid 25 percent of its taxes.^[16]

Reuse of the property

In 1994, John Oram, an Iraqi immigrant to the United States who owned car stereo businesses, purchased the Boblo Island site.^[17] He vaguely proposed a casino, hotel, and other development.^[18] Oram then leased and shut down the White Sands boater's hangout adjacent to the park site, citing trespassers but infuriating boaters; as a result, the lease was dropped within weeks.^[19][20]

In late 1995, the site began to be marketed for residential development.^[21] Townhouses and condominiums were proposed in 1997.^[22] The island was off limits to non-residents until 2002.^[23]

American investors were scared away after the September 11 attacks, which hurt the financial outlook for the development. Not a single lot was sold between 9/11 and May 2004. $19 million in debt, John's brother Randy forced Boblo Island into court-appointed receivership in 2004.^[24] KPMG found there was no money left to continue supplying basic services.^[25] Dominic Amicone became the new owner in 2005.^[26] However, a local housing slump meant little was developed.^[27]

The tower for the Space Needle ride was demolished in 2021, with Amicone citing "health and safety concerns".^[28]