Foreign Trade Zone #51 was approved by the Foreign-Trade Zones Board 40 years ago today — Nov. 27, 1979. The first shipment arrived on April 12, 1983. This undated postcard from Gallagher’s Studio of Photography shows ships in the Duluth Harbor near the Foreign Trade Terminal.

The text on the back reads:

Foreign ships are seen in the Duluth-Superior Harbor, Westerly Terminus of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The new $10,000,000 Foreign Trade Terminal is shown in the foreground. Its facilities include berths for the ocean going vessels. Advanced cargo handling procedures will make this the most efficient port facility in the nation.

Below is another postcard, also from Gallagher’s studio.

The text on the back reads:

Piggy-back Trailer Vans
Pictured are 24 “piggy back” trailer vans filled with freight at Duluth’s newly constructed Public Marine Terminal. These Vans are being loaded aboard the lake freighter Norman W. Foy by one of the huge 90-ton-capacity custom-built cranes which help make Duluth the best equipped port on the Great Lakes.

The Arthur M. Clure Public Marine Terminal, operated by Duluth Cargo Connect, covers 120 acres on Rice’s Point on the edge of the Duluth/Superior harbor.