This image of Duluth’s Aerial Bridge, from Detroit Publishing Company, appears to have been shot during one of the first ferry-car transfers across the canal. The Library of Congress dates the images as 1905 … with a question mark.

The first date of ferry-car service on the new bridge was March 27, 1905. The ferry-car days came to an end on July 1, 1929, and the bridge was transformed into a lift bridge, as it remains today.

What makes the photo above particularly special is its high quality, which allows for zooming in with reasonable clarity.