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Historic Boblo Boat burns at Detroit marina

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A piece of Detroit history went up in flames along the riverfront this morning. An old Boblo island boat—the SS Ste. Claire— that had been docked at Riverside Marina for over a year caught on fire.

WDIV Channel 4 broke the news and captured the footage of the fire. Water could hardly even reach the boat, which quickly burned.

The Detroit News reports that the boat is a total loss, although the heartbroken owners want to rebuild. No one was injured. A fireboat did show, but the News states, “Firefighters who man the fire boat are also tasked with operating a fire station, and that could have delayed the fire boat from arriving sooner.”

Restoration efforts had been underway on the old boat, which operated for 81 years until Boblo Island closed in 1991.

We’ll update with more information as this story develops.