When in Duluth? Downtown Waterfront Interim Report

I was trying to find an old photograph last week and I did not find what I was looking for but I did find something that only a history nerd, Duluth loving, public space adoring, Lake Superior worshiping kid like me would appreciate. So naturally I am posting images here as best I can.

Several images after the jump, so you might not want to try this over dial up or on your smartphone, and if anyone knows how to ge the full image in a downloadable PDF or another handier document type, knock yourself out. I’d love that.

What I found was a fancy brochure proposing big changes and developments to Duluth’s waterfront/canal park area. I know that it was in the Fedo administration, and that it was after 1984 and it couldn’t have been as late as 1987. Or could it have been? If you know the year (bonus if you could say the month) I would love to hear theories. Hopefully you will be able to read some of the panels which I have scanned and placed in order. Please note that the brochure was huge. 4 pages on 11 x 17 paper. My scanner is legal size, maybe a bit bigger so hence the patchwork.

This could also be filed under the “what if” category because some things proposed flopped (a certain omni theater that did come to fruition but that closed a few weeks ago) and some have thrived (the William A Irvin which, a billboard just told me, is celebrating 25 years as a top tourist attraction this summer). Others never came to fruition, such as a fascinating concept for a covered public market. And one idea that I guess was always there but didn’t really catch on until the last few years are the mooring locations for tall ships on the DECC Harbor side. And some things I thank my lucky stars never came to pass, such as a multi-level parking ramp between Dewitt-Seitz and Grandma’s Restaurant, complete with SKYWALK connections to the “arena.”

Note: Some of the images can be enlarged by clicking the image and they will open on your desktop (and warning they are huge, too) others you might have luck downloading to your desktop and enlarging to a readable size there.

6 Comments

Shane

about 13 years ago

I think it was published in the year 1986. Why? That was the year the Irvin was put into the slip and the Victory Chimes was in Duluth. That was also about the same time the Canal park area started to be turned from industrial to tourist.

Jim Wilferling

about 13 years ago

That sounds about right...The city vehicle logo's were all changed to the stylized 3 masted schooner
about then...I remember seeing this on signboards in the area (or maybe the marine museum?)in 86, the first year the Irvin was open for tours. They were about halfway done with the I-35 extension, and had just started on the lift bridge restoration, as well.

Tom

about 13 years ago

Hmm ... I had never heard of the plans to build a high-rise hotel by the DECC.  I'm not sure I like that anyway.  Hotels centrally located in Canal Park and Downtown are nice, but that just seems a tad bit too far for people to want to go out walk around.  And, in retrospect, it probably would have prevented or significantly altered the growth of the DECC with the Omnimax, movie theater, and Amsoil Arena.

Erik_OTE

about 13 years ago

I think the DECC would have been just fine with out the Omnimax... Duluth too for that matter.

wildgoose

about 13 years ago

Near where the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial is now there was a plan for a fishing pier extending out into the lake.  When I was doing research and planning for Lake Place activities back in 2004-2005 I seem to recall learning that some large boulders and concrete blocks from the freeway expansion demolition were placed in the water there to "improve" habitat for fishing. 

Did anyone notice that the design or at least some consulting was done by  I.M. Pei's firm?   He, of the Louvre Pyramid and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame fame, contributed to our waterfront plan?

Rob

about 13 years ago

Awesome post.  Could you make those first 3 images downloadable?  Have you seen the outrageous plan the city is now contemplating for slip 3? 1985 strikes me as the year the city made the first efforts in Canal Park to incentivise tourism based development.  Way before my time but I do remember that 85 was the year that Jamar was sold (the sale included the buildings that stretch from Little Angies to Deco Bay.)  Those buildings were the beginning of A&L.

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