View of Downtown Duluth from Observation Hill in 1965

Is it just me, or is Beacon Pointe sticking out way farther into the lake than it does today?
  

The perspective of the 1965 photo does seem to make it look like Beacon Point jutted our farther, and it wouldn't be surprising if some of that area eroded over time, but I would say from a quick look at the aerial images above that it doesn't seem to have changed much.

The top image is 2007 (Beacon Pointe Resort under construction), the second image is 2002 (before Beacon Pointe Resort project) and the bottom image is from 1961 (and isn't a good match with the others but I think it shows a similar size land area).

Play around at Minnesota Historical Aerial Photographs Online and maybe you'll find a better way to illustrate it than I did.