Postcard from the Riverview Motel circa 1955
This postcard shows the Riverview Motel in West Duluth, which was replaced in the early 2000s by Westgate Townhomes.
This postcard shows the Riverview Motel in West Duluth, which was replaced in the early 2000s by Westgate Townhomes.
This undated postcard shows the DM&IR ore docks, which mark the border between Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, then known as the West End, and West Duluth.
After more than 21 years as “Duluth’s Duluthiest website,” Perfect Duluth Day today randomly hits the milestone of publishing its 20,000th blog post.
One hundred years ago plans were emerging to build what would later be called the Arrowhead Bridge, which spanned the St. Louis River from Grassy Point in West Duluth to Billings Park in Superior. Construction of the bridge was completed in 1927. It was dismantled in 1985 after the opening of the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge.
Duluth was in the path of totality for a solar eclipse 100 years ago. Unfortunately, it was cloudy in the city on Jan. 24, 1925.
This undated postcard, circa 1903 to 1913, shows a tugboat next to the Steamer R. L. Ireland, which the caption indicates is “going to winter quarters, Duluth, Minn.” The Great Lakes bulk freighter was built and launched in 1903. According to the website Great Lakes Vessel History, it was twice renamed — Sirius in 1913 and Ontadoc in 1926 — and sold for scrap in 1970.
A small feature in the Jan. 10, 1925 Duluth Herald mentions the opening of the “new” Salvation Army at 118 N. Third Ave. W. The building still stands, now serving as an annex to Hostel du Nord.
Carl Holmstrom had the longest ski-jump at Chester Park during the opening event of the 1925 season, held on Jan. 4, 100 years ago today. The newspaper clip above is from the previous day’s edition of the Duluth Herald. Below is the report of the race from the Jan. 5 Herald.
Duluthian Feodor von Luerzer presumably painted this image 125 years ago; an auction listing on invaluable.com notes it is “signed and dated 1900.” The listing, however, renders the name as “Frederick von Luerzer” and lists the artist’s year of death as 1917. Feodor von Luerzer died in 1913. The landscape painter lived in Duluth from 1889 to 1909.
For more on Von Luerzer visit the zenithcity.com archive on archive.org.
As we reach the end of another year of rawk and/or roll, Perfect Duluth Day once again looks back at the posters that pimped the gigs.
Sherwood Terrace operated as a seasonal restaurant during the middle of the 20th century. Arthur and Ada Neeb were the proprietors. The location was either “on London Road” or “near Knife River,” depending on which old newspaper article is referenced.
For the fourth year in a row, Jim Richardson has dominated the top of the charts. He has authored four of the five most read Saturday Essays of 2024.
In celebration of the nasty habits of smoking and advertising, collected here are various Duluth-branded ashtrays representing a variety of establishments.
Perfect Duluth Day could not continue to be Duluth’s Duluthiest website without the support of its readers, donors and advertisers. So as another year comes to a close, we again say thanks for the love!
This undated postcard, published by Gallagher’s Studio, shows the Good Shephard Church and School at 5901 Raleigh St. in West Duluth. The building was completed in 1959 and the first mass was celebrated on Christmas Eve, 65 years ago.
