R.I.P. Esmond Building
The Duluth News Tribune reports the former Seaway Hotel, also known as the Esmond Building, was demolished on Wednesday. The building had been gutted by a fire on Jan. 10.
The three-story building was constructed in 1913 as the Rex Hotel and operated under various names before becoming the Seaway Hotel in 1959. It served as a residential hotel for approximately 70 low-income residents until it fell into disrepair and tenants were moved into a new building, Garfield Square, in 2020.
Merge Urban Development Group of Cedar Rapids, Iowa plans to build a new 45-unit apartment building on the former Esmond property.
It was just about a year ago that PDD had a post about The Old West End, a photography book by Nik Nerburn that featured photos from the Seaway Hotel along with stories from a few of its last residents.
I bought the book based on that post and really enjoyed it. Now seems like a good time to take it out and look through it again.