Paul Lundgren Posts

Postcard from the Soldiers and Sailors Monument

This undated postcard, published by Duluth Photo Engraving Company, shows the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Priley Circle at the Duluth Civic Center. The monument honors soldiers who served during the American Civil War. Designed by architect Cass Gilbert, it was completed and dedicated on Memorial Day in 1919.

The Lark of Duluth in Flight

It was 110 years ago today that the first commercial air-ship line took its inaugural flight. The Lark of Duluth didn’t lift off from Duluth that day, however. Tony and Roger Jannus brought the small hydro-aeroplane to St. Petersburg, Fla. by rail with the mission to develop the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line. The Lark arrived there on Dec. 31, 1913, and the inaugural flight was on Jan. 1, 1914.

The photo accompanying this post is presumably not from that historic flight in St. Petersburg, but rather from the previous summer in Duluth.

2023: The Year in Duluth Gig Posters

Behold another year of Duluth rawk and/or roll as visually displayed via Perfect Duluth Day’s traditional year-ending gallery of gig posters.

The Most Read Saturday Essays of 2023

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Season eight of Perfect Duluth Day’s “Saturday Essay” series has drawn to close, and it’s time to look back with the usual popularity contest. For the second year in a row, Jim Richardson authored three out of five works deemed by Google Analytics to be your favorites. In 2021, he swept the whole top five. It makes sense, because he’s Lake Superior Aquaman. Superheroes get all the clicks.

Mystery Photo: Westberg

The identity of the woman in this photo is likely lost to history, but the photographer’s last name is right there in print — Westberg. The Minnesota Historical Society’s Directory of Minnesota Photographers lists two Westbergs who operated in Duluth more than 100 years ago.

PDD Shop Talk: Last Call for 2023 Donations

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Postcard from the Aerial Life Bridge (Basgen Photography)

This undated postcard, published by Northern Minnesota Novelties, shows the Aerial Lift Bridge and parts of Canal Park and Park Point circa maybe 1960. The back of the card credits the aerial photo to maritime photographer Jean Basgen.

Postcard from Three Ore Carriers at DM&IR Docks

This undated postcard from Gallagher’s Studio of Photography shows the ore carriers Wm. B. Schilier, Peter A. B. Widener and Henry Phipps at the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range docks in West Duluth.

All three vessels were built for the Pittsburgh Steamship Company. The Schilier was sold for scrapping in 1978 in Duluth. The Widener was sold for scrapping in 1986 and towed to Lisbon, Portugal in 1987. The Phipps was sold for scrapping in 1976 in Duluth.

List of Duluth-area Podcasts No Longer in Production

They might be on hiatus or they might be done. Some lasted a handful of episodes, others lasted a decade. Some were never meant to keep going. There are no recent episodes of the audio productions listed below, but the archives are still available … or, at least they were the last time we checked.

Perfect Duluth Day’s look at archived podcasts no longer in production is a companion piece to the “Guide to Duluth-area Podcasts,” which features shows currently, or at least recently, in production.

Guide to Duluth-area Podcasts

Left: Jebah Edmunds, host of “Cultural Curriculum Chat.” Top center: Hailey Eidenschink, host of “Attracted to Duluth.” Top right: Tom Jamison and Yvonne Myers, hosts of “For the Love of Duluth,” along with 2022 guest Charlie Parr. Bottom: Marie Zhuikov and Sharon Moen, hosts of “The Fish Dish.”

There are more than 50 active podcasts that have some connection to Duluth and the surrounding area. Some feature Duluthians talking about Duluth, while others are produced in the region but meant for broader audiences. The topics span a wide range — history, phenology, hockey, education, aquaculture, Christianity, gardening, entrepreneurism and so on.

Perfect Duluth Day has resisted the urge to create a podcast about Duluth podcasts and instead used the written word and images to put together this guide to local digital audio. The list below includes only podcasts with recent episodes; we have a separate “List of Duluth-area Podcasts No Longer in Production.”

Postcard from Isle Royale, Lake Superior, Near Duluth

This undated postcard shows a scene from Isle Royale National Park, the fourth-largest lake island in the world, located about 150 miles northeast of Duluth.

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.

Postcard from the Lonsdale Building

This undated postcard shows the Lonsdale Building, 302 W. Superior St. in Duluth. Designed by Emmet Palmer, Lucien Hall and William Hunt, and constructed in 1895, it was originally five stories tall. Three additional floors were added in 1905.

Sixty years ago, Oswald met bullet

“Lee Harvey Oswald found merciless death lurking in a crowd … just as President John F. Kennedy did 48 hours earlier,” an Associated Press story in the Nov. 25, 1963 Duluth News Tribune reported about the previous day’s occurrence. “The accused presidential assassin was shot and killed during a routine jail transfer.”

Postcard from a Great Lakes Packet Freighter

This undated postcard, published by Zenith Interstate News Company, shows a Great Lakes packet freighter passing through the Duluth Shipping Canal under the Aerial Lift Bridge.

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