This postcard is for sale on eBay under the headline “MN antique real photo rppc post card Gilmore Comedy Theatre Duluth Minn.” The description reads:
This is an antique real photo postcard captioned “No. Shore Blvd., Paul and Virginia Gilmore Summer Stock, Duluth, Minn.” The sign on the building reads “The Gilmore Comedy Theatre.” Just below the caption in the lower left corner, you can see a road sign for Motorola TV Sales and Service. Printed on Kodak paper (stamp box indicates in use from 1950 and later).
So, who were Paul and Virginia Gilmore and what was the deal with their theater? Well, the internet provides some easy answers this week, so there’s not much mystery in this week’s mystery photo.
Below is a segment from the book Tales of the Road: Highway 61 by Cathy Wurzer, host of MPR’s Morning Edition and co-host of the fabulous Twin Cities Public Television program Almanac. It pretty much removes any remaining mystery from this week’s photo. (Click on any of the three parts of the segment to see them larger.)