Mark Nicklawske Posts

Grandma’s restaurant owner buys building in Lincoln Park

The owner of a well-known Duluth restaurant and several other Canal Park properties has purchased a historic building in a Lincoln Park neighborhood booming with new breweries, eateries and art galleries.

Superior bakery brings donuts back to Duluth’s Lakeside

A Dozen Excuses owner Melissa Kingren serves up fresh sweet rolls at her Tower Avenue bakery in Superior.

Donuts are coming back to Lakeside. A Dozen Excuses bakery in Superior has leased space to open a satellite location at 4328 E. Superior St. in Duluth. Johnson’s Bakery closed its Lakeside outlet in March 2018 leaving the neighborhood without an independent donut shop for the first time since 1955.

Joan Osborne to perform Dylan tribute in his native Duluth

Grammy-nominated singer Joan Osborne will perform a special Bob Dylan tribute concert on the eve of his 78th birthday at Sacred Heart Music Center, just blocks from where the legendary songwriter was born in Duluth.

Duluth Children’s Museum latest to buy into Lincoln Park

The Lincoln Park Cafe building, former home to Randy’s Cafe, was recently sold to the Duluth Children’s Museum. Long range plans call for the museum to relocate into the Lincoln Park neighborhood.

Add a museum to the list of new attractions and amenities planned for Duluth’s booming Lincoln Park neighborhood. Duluth Children’s Museum purchased the former Randy’s Café building at 2125 W. Superior St. in Lincoln Park March 18. Minnesota Department of Revenue records show longtime building owners Michael and Rochelle Delich of Superior sold the property for $345,000.

Renovation of former Carlson Book building nearly complete

The Lange Motors building at 206 E. Superior St. was constructed in 1915 and served as an automobile showroom and service center for four decades. A complete building rehabilitation is nearing completion.

Major restoration work on a historic auto dealership now located in a Downtown Duluth entertainment district appears close to completion and owners say they will begin marketing the space this spring.

Mystery Photos #85-87: Probably Skyline Parkway in the 1920s

An early 20th Century family photo album was recently unearthed in the Nicklawske archive room and I discovered some old Duluth photographs. I pulled three pictures from the book that included images of an automobile trip my grandfather and his sister made to Duluth in the 1920s. My grandfather, Jim Nicklawske, lived in St. Paul at the time and his sister Mae was visiting from her home in Great Falls, Mont. It appears they traveled to Duluth with a third, unidentified person who made pictures of the event.

Kmart gone, Spirit Valley hopes to rebound like Lincoln Park

The Spirit Valley business district sits just east of I-35 and includes a variety of businesses along Grand and Central avenues including the Super One grocery store in the foreground. (Photo by Cory Fechner, Liftoff Aerials)

The Spirit Valley business district in West Duluth took a serious hit in 2018 when Kmart closed but business leaders and city officials believe the area is ripe for a makeover that could match successful redevelopment work in Lincoln Park.

Lincoln Park craft district booms; West End furniture row dies

    Robert’s Home Furnishings owner Bob Rothenberger and longtime associate Rick Lowney stand at the counter inside the Lincoln Park store. Rothenberger has worked in the neighborhood for almost 50 years and recently retired, closing the store.

Before Lincoln Park became a craft district lined with trendy breweries, colorful boutiques and new restaurants it was called the West End — where furniture was king and Duluthians shopped for sofas, beds and dining room tables. Those days are pretty much over.

Historic Duluth hotel reborn for modern downtown living

Zenith City Revival LLC owner Mitchell Holmes, left, and designer Kori Kneeland stand in the kitchen of a condominium model at Building No. 12 in downtown Duluth. Zenith City Revival LLC spent more than two years renovating the historic hotel property and is now marketing space inside the building.

Developers have completed major renovation work on a 19th Century Duluth hotel and will market the condominium space to buyers interested in modern downtown living.

Zenith City Revival LLC announced last week a model condominium and more than two floors of unfinished residential space is now open for showing in the rechristened Building No. 12. The historic four-story property at 12 N. Lake Ave. was constructed in 1890 and most recently known as the Gardner Hotel.

West Theater renovation adds second theater property

Duluth Reader publisher and West Theater owner Robert Boone has purchased 321 N. Central Ave., next to his West Theater renovation project. The building, constructed in 1913, is the former Alhambra Theater and most recently housed Interior Tomato, a hydroponic gardening store.

An alternative weekly newspaper publisher currently renovating a West Duluth movie theater has purchased a second historic but mostly forgotten theater adjacent to his current project.

Congdon Pumphouse highlights historic home tour

A 19th Century Duluth pump house was converted into living space by Elisabeth Congdon in 1937. The property will be open during the Duluth Preservation Alliance Historic Property Tour Sept. 16.

Duluth has dozens of spectacular waterfront properties with amazing Lake Superior views but only one home has a front porch featuring metal wave deflectors and living room windows equipped with hurricane shutters.

New sign celebrates Snively Monument

A new informational sign will be installed at the recently refurbished Snively Monument on West Skyline Parkway. The Duluth Preservation Alliance will hold a sign dedication ceremony on Monday, Aug. 13, 3 p.m., at the Snively Monument, located just east of the Stewart Creek Bridge on the scenic roadway.

Cancer battle pushes sale of iconic West Duluth store

Joel Russell stands outside Central Sales, a surplus store his family has owned for more than 30 years.

An iconic and ruggedly unique surplus store in the heart of West Duluth has been put up for sale as its longtime owner prepares to fight a serious health issue.

Shanty Bottle Shop will have new owners

Shanty Bottle Shop owner Pam Crotty waves goodbye outside the front door of her business. Crotty has sold the store after nearly four decades in beer, wine and liquor sales.

An iconic, family-run East Hillside liquor store will change hands next month after four generations served the public’s rapidly changing tastes in beer, wine and spirits.

Interior designer expands into historic Lake Avenue building

Isola Design and Mavis Furniture principal and owner Jill Isola Johnson, holding her dog Pepper, stands with Assistant Designer Mireille Kidd, left, and intern Kyla Schulte in the new office furniture showroom.

An interior designer responsible for cutting-edge urban commercial properties like the Whole Foods Co-op and Canal Park Brewery is opening a new office furniture showroom in a historic Downtown Duluth building.

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