Superior Street 1963/2023 – Part Two: Change

The Providence Building, 332 West Superior Street, 11:11 a.m.

The first post in this series looked at locations along Superior Street that have gone largely unchanged over the past 60 years. This set of 10 photos looks at locations where the difference between 1963 and 2023 are a bit more evident. In some cases, that is because of major developments like the Gateway Renewal Program, the Holiday Center, the Skywalk system or the I-35 extension. In other instances, it is simply because at some point the building acquired a new façade.

Even within all of this change, there is still some continuity. On the 300 West block of Superior Street, a pair of buildings with new exteriors still have two of the same businesses occupying their interiors: Security Jewelers and Ed Barbo’s Columbia Clothing. The remodel of the Providence Building, shown above, makes it barely recognizable and yet for at least 60 years those walking down Superior Street can know the time from a digital clock fixed to the same point of the exterior. And even when the buildings are gone entirely, some continuity with 1963 can sometimes still be found. The ornate facade of the Lyric Theater is long gone but its name remains in the form of the Lyric Kitchen Bar. The Depot, a part of its roof sticking up behind a row of buildings in 1963, becomes visible through the complimentary design of the Duluth Public Library.

20-12 East Superior Street

1963

2023

10 South Lake Avenue and 2 West Superior Street

1963

2023

105-101 West of Superior Street

1963

2023

117-109 West of Superior Street

1963

2023

121-125 West Superior Street

1963

2023

213-209 West Superior Street

1963

2023

307-301 West Superior Street

1963

2023

309-325 West Superior Street

1963

2023

510-516 West Superior Street

1963

2023

And that concludes Superior Street 1963/2023. I would encourage someone a bit younger than me to take up the mantle and continue the series in 2083.

2 Comments

Ghist1

about 10 months ago

Very nice. I was just in the Lyric establishment this week, and there is a large copy of that historic photo on the wall, plus some other historic photos. A nice touch.

Bruce Peterson

about 10 months ago

That clique finally lost momentum....

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