Rustic Bridge in Lester Park, Summer of 1899

The elaborate cedar bridge spanning Duluth’s Lester River was about one year old in the summer of 1899 when photographer William Henry Jackson visited Duluth and captured the image above. By 1931 the bridge was gone.

The book Duluth’s Historic Parks: Their First 160 Years by Nancy S. Nelson and Tony Dierckins notes the bridge was “a popular tourist stop, with picnic tables on the bottom deck and lounging on the upper promenade.” The ravages of weather limited the bridge’s life. The upper deck was removed in 1916, followed by the lower deck 15 years later.

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