This is the city of Detroit just prior to the turn of the century. The area shown here was where the river ferries docked. The ferry dock and boat to the right was the dock and ferry boat waiting room that belonged to the Bois Blanc and Amhearstberg line. Bois Blanc Island was a favorite destination for a Sunday afternoon excursion. Detroiters would board the small ferries and cruise the Detroit River on weekends during the summer months. There was an amusement park on the Island that lasted until about 1960,nut it was re-opened by Canada and it closed finally in 1993. In 1902 the ferry company brought in two two excursion boats, the Columbia and the Ste. Claire. Detroiters could never quite master the pronunciation of Bois Blanc (Bwah Blonk) so it was eventually known as Bob-Lo Island and the ships were known as the Bob-Lo Boats. At about the time of this painting, there was also a live orchestra playing on the trips up and down the Detroit River. I remember having made three trips to the Island on the Bob-Lo boats. I remember the sound of the boats steam whistle scared me nearly to death. Despite my fear of the boat whistles I really did like the place and would have loved to have gone much more often than I did.