Perfect Duluth Day

Postcard from the Lamplighter in 1963

Not to be confused with the former Lamplighter strip club in Superior, the Lamplighter in this 60-year-old postcard is the piano bar in Duluth’s old Fifth Avenue Hotel, which was located where the Duluth Public Library stands today. It was torn down in the 1960s.

“The scene shows Duluth nightlife — taken on a busy Saturday night,” jokes Jim, the sender of the card. It’s not clear if the postmark date is Dec. 1, 11, 21 or 31, but the year is 1963. The recipient of the card was Professor Norman H. Cooke of Rhode Island College.

The caption on the card reads:

The Lamplighter
Cocktails — Piano Bar
Fifth Avenue Hotel
Duluth, Minnesota
Also the home of the New Yorker Patio and Plantation Room, famous for Hickory Charcoal Broiled Steaks.
Your hosts — Fred and Loretta McAllister

A previous post on Perfect Duluth Day shared postcards from the New Yorker Patio Restaurant.