Month: December 2018
2018: The Year in Duluth Gig Posters
Here it is, the annual gallery o’ rock posters. As usual, by no means is this a comprehensive collection, nor is it a carefully curated archive of the best. It’s just a bunch of random 2018 concert posters. (more…)
Ten years without Bayside Market
Bayside Market at 1901 Minnesota Ave. closed on Dec. 31, 2008 after 37 years in business. Originally named Clem’s Market, it was the only grocery store in the Park Point neighborhood. (more…)
Interim host keeps the Current’s Duluth music show rolling
Andrea Swensson is serving as guest host of The Duluth Local Show on the Current. (Photo by Leslie Plesser)
The Duluth Local Show, a weekly one-hour radio program featuring music by Duluth-area musicians, will close out 2018 in a transition phase. Mike Novitzki, who had hosted the show since May 2016, announced his resignation in October and his farewell episode aired Dec. 2.
Andrea Swensson, a Moose Lake native who has been an on-air personality and writer at St. Paul-based Minnesota Public Radio’s the Current since 2005, has served as guest host of The Duluth Local Show since Novitzki’s departure. She is also the regular host of an all-Minnesota music show with a similar title, The Local Show. (more…)
PDD Quiz: 2018 in Review
Bid adieu to 2018 with this year-in-review quiz, which tests your memory of local headlines (and PDD current events quizzes).
The next PDD quiz, on the murals of Superior, will be published on Jan. 13. Please email question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Jan. 10. (more…)
Postcard from the Sellwood Building
This postcard, mailed 110 years ago today — Dec. 29, 1908 — depicts what was then the relatively new Sellwood Building at 202 W. Superior St. in Downtown Duluth. The Sellwood still stands today, with Western Bank as its most visible tenant. (more…)
Saturday Essay: Select gems from 2018
Last week we highlighted the five most-read pieces from the third year of Perfect Duluth Day’s “Saturday Essay” series. This week we ignore the numbers and look back at a few select essays of similar quality that might have been missed by non-compulsive followers.
In the past three years PDD has published 150 essays showcasing the work of 27 different writers; we hope to expand that roster in 2019. Anyone who has an original piece of literary excellence that seems to fit (or appropriately defy) the established format should email paul @ perfectduluthday.com to get involved.
And now, links to a few select gems from season three … (more…)
Video Archive: KDAL-TV Anniversary Video from 1974
Check out this video. If you’re a fan of 1974 TV in Duluth, then you’ll enjoy this. It’s a recording of KDAL-TV’s 20th anniversary as shown on the Town and Country Show with Kathy Linde. The video features many of the most recognizable personalities from the Channel 3 studios during that era.
Geek out on this Canal Park history map
Students enrolled in a Fall 2018 visual journalism course at the University of Minnesota Duluth used ArcGIS software to tell stories about Canal Park using mapping technology. The collaborative project tells 25 stories spanning more than 100 years.
Link: A History of Canal Park
Students curated visual materials and other sources for this project from various places that include the UMD Kathryn A. Martin Library; UMD Archives & Special Collections; the Duluth News Tribune archives; Zenith City Press and other publicly available sources.
Update: Trigger back home
Trigger has been found and reunited with his family.
Postcards from Silver Creek Cliff
Before the Silver Creek Cliff Tunnel was built in the early 1990s, Highway 61 wound around the edge of the cliff. Drivers relied on skill and luck to avoid tumbling boulders or anything that might send them plunging over the edge into Lake Superior. The Gitchi-Gami State Trail was later built following the old Highway 61 path. (more…)
Missing Dog
Taken from home on Christmas Eve. Brown retriever dog, hollow, filled with lights. Kids were heartbroken that someone unplugged and stole their favorite lawn decoration.
Mystery Photo: Miss Edna May Boyle
Here she is, Edna May Boyle, 120 years ago. Who was she? Why did she get her photo shot on Christmas Day 1898? Well, if we knew that it wouldn’t be a mystery photo, would it? (more…)
Video: Burntside Lake Christmas Ice Carousel
Joe Bianco and Cam Regan of Ely built a giant Christmas carousel on Burntside Lake, about 100 miles north of Duluth.
It’s Going to be a Merry Christmas
[This post originally contained an embedded video that is no longer available at its source.]
John Holden obtains a set of fancy speakers in the grocery store parking lot.
One last late night before the holiday
I spent Saturday at the Marcus Duluth Theater, which is on the lake [in the DECC]. For point of wry comparison, the Marcus Lakes theater is in Hermantown, near no obvious lake. My sweetheart Zomi and my friend Kate and I hoped to see Holmes and Watson. (more…)
Mystery Photo #81: Markus Family, Christmas 1893
Some mystery photos are less mysterious than others. Often cabinet card photos have nothing written on the back, but this particular card comes with info suggesting the subjects are William Frederick Markus and his family. The photo was likely shot 125 years ago, around Christmas of 1893. (more…)
The Most Read Saturday Essays of 2018
Perfect Duluth Day’s “Saturday Essay” series has reached the end of its third season. As has become tradition, we now take a look back at some of the favorites of the past year. This week is part one, highlighting the essays that were read the most times according to Google Analytics. Because statistics should always be used to organize creativity, right? (more…)
A Second Late Night at the End of the Year
So a drip coffee is free at Barnes & Noble until the Dec. 23 after 8 p.m., so I am back. The people watching is better tonight, maybe because it’s Friday. (more…)
Late Night at the End of the Year
I’m at Barnes and Noble, which is open until midnight through the Dec. 22. And I’m reflecting on the past year. (more…)
Selective Focus: Jason Voss
This week artist Jason Voss talks about the art and challenges of tattooing. He recently opened a shop, Gitchee Gumee Tattoo on Central Entrance, and will be hosting a Grand Opening on Jan. 14.
JV: Tattooing is a craft that requires a lot of technical skill. Being able to control needle depth, emulate texture, and keep a steady hand over a squishy, rounded object are some of the fundamentals of tattooing. (more…)
Onyx Ashanti and Robot Rickshaw on Bloodfeast
The Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim” online programming includes a show called Bloodfeast, in which the New York Times crossword puzzle is solved while hosts Dave Bonowits and Max Simonet banter and strange musicians go about their business. Duluth’s Robot Rickshaw appeared on the Dec. 18 episode with frequent collaborator Onyx Ashanti. (more…)
Ingeborg von Agassiz – “Shoemaker Sally”
A song about painting over from Duluth’s Ingeborg von Agassiz.
The New Spurs on First: Just a Little Bit Country
Madeline Petersen and Jona Johnson – Photo by Lissa Maki
Two young women recently bought Spurs on First. The entrepreneurs are adding their own flair to the longtime country bar, booking hip hop and rock performers as well as updating drinks and decor. (more…)