Paul Lundgren
Views from Duluth’s Point of Rocks circa 1898
The six photos in this post are all from Detroit Publishing Company, and appear to have been shot on the same date — unless someone with a keen eye can call out evidence to the contrary. They are generally labeled as scenes from “the Bluffs,” which is an area of Duluth that later became known as the Point of Rocks. These photos appear to have been shot in a part of Point of Rocks that is known as Central Park, at the eastern-most part of the Lincoln Park neighborhood. (more…)
Monthly Grovel: November 2019 Edition
In the past year — from November 2018 through October 2019 — the PDD Calendar published 7,960 Duluth-area events. Each one was edited by a human being before the “publish” button was pushed.
It’s a tremendous amount of work to keep up with all the submissions from the more than 1,000 organizations that have sent us info about their concerts, plays, bunco tournaments and lutefisk dinners. That’s why once a month we set our dignity aside and remind readers how much we appreciate their financial support. (more…)
Darling Drive – “At a Loss”
Darling Drive, the solo acoustic music project of Enrique Aguilar, released the song “At a Loss” on the 2014 album Shipwrecked. The song mentions Duluth, and depending on how one interprets it there might also be a reference to the city of Superior or Lake Superior. (more…)
R.I.P. Merritt Park Recreation Center Building
This week the field house at Merritt Park joined the growing list of historic West Duluth buildings demolished in recent years. The 2,016-square foot building was constructed in 1939. (more…)
Postcards from the Buena Vista Motel
This postcard of the Buena Vista Motel was published by Gallagher’s Studio of Photography and appears to be circa the early 1970s. (more…)
Atmosphere – “Say Shh …”
Minneapolis-based hip-hop outfit Atmosphere name-drops Duluth in a hidden track on its 2003 studio album Seven’s Travels. (more…)
Warehouse District and Downtown Duluth circa 1905
It’s not a perfect connection, editing these two old Detroit Publishing Company photos together, but it does create a passable panoramic view of the Warehouse (or “Wholesale”) District and western Downtown Duluth circa 1905. (more…)
Postcard from the Publicity Bureau of Edwin H. Lee
For a little background on what the deal is with Edwin H. Lee, we turn to a supplement of the Nov. 1, 1913 issue of Skillings Mining and Market Letter. (more…)
William A. Irvin: Monarch of the Steel Industry
With all the news surrounding the SS William A. Irvin moving out and back into the Minnesota Slip in 2018 and 2019, we take a moment here to look at William A. Irvin, the man. The brief bio below appeared in the March 28, 1932 issue of the Billings Gazette of Billings, Mont. (more…)
Bullet – “Duluth Blues”
From the 1975 soundtrack album to the TV series The Hanged Man comes the short instrumental piece “Duluth Blues.” The band Bullet was a collection of session players assembled in Germany to play the soundtrack music composed by Alan Tew. (more…)
Mystery Photo #101: Forest Service Office at Grand Marais
This photo seems to be of a forest service office on the southern part of Cook County Road 12, aka the Gunflint Trail, in or near Grand Marais. Or does it show a private residence and the arrow on the forest service sign indicates the office is up the road? Who is the gal posing the photo? What year is was this picture taken? Mysteries abound.
Proctor DWI chair, where are you now?
Ten years ago — Oct. 19, 2009 — Dennis LeRoy Anderson pleaded guilty to driving a motorized lounge chair while under the influence of alcohol. The incident happened more than a year prior — on Aug. 31, 2008. Anderson hit a parked vehicle while driving away from the Keyboard Lounge in Proctor. (more…)
Steamer Augustus B. Wolvin, “Queen of the Lakes”
This image from Detroit Publishing Company shows the Great Lakes freighter Augustus B. Wolvin on Lake Superior at Duluth. The vessel was built for the Acme Steamship Company of Duluth and launched April 9, 1904. The Library of Congress dates the image above as “between 1904 and 1910.” (more…)
Postcards from Duluth Normal School (UMD Old Main)
The postmark on the card above is difficult to read, but it appears to have been mailed in March of 1916. It depicts the State Normal School at Duluth, which later became the State Teachers College and then the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Old Main building. (more…)
The Autumn Leaves – “Back to Me”
Minneapolis band the Autumn Leaves released the song “Back to Me” on the 2008 album Long Lost Friend. Duluth lands in the lyrics at the 1:26 mark.
The photographs we took in the photo booth
The trips we planned to take up near Duluth
Dan and Joanne Devine, Fall 1947
It’s Homecoming Weekend at the University of Minnesota Duluth, and in the spirit of that we roll out this relic from 1947, supplied by Kristy Roschke, managing director of the News Co/Lab at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. The photo is of her grandparents, Dan and Joanne Devine, partaking in homecoming festivities at UMD. Joanne was homecoming queen; Dan was captain of the football and basketball teams. (more…)
Postcard from the SS America “Booth Line”
This postcard of the passenger and delivery ship America is from some point between 1902, when the Booth Steamship Line acquired the vessel, and 1928, when it sunk near Isle Royale.
More info about the vessel can be found in two other Perfect Duluth Day posts — “SS America, 1925” and “Remembering America and her life on the water.”
Luke Redfield – “Ides of May”
In the song “Ides of May,” Luke Redfield lyrically implores, “If I’m the one for you, baby, meet me in Duluth.” (more…)
Mystery Photo #100: Early Settler
This photo is labeled “Early Settler Duluth MN.” And that’s all we know. Who is this dude? (more…)
Postcard from Lyceum Theatre and Spalding Hotel
It’s not known who scrawled a date on this postcard, when it was scrawled, or what the date is supposed to represent. But the date is one century ago today — Oct. 5, 1919.
It could represent the date the photo was shot, but that seems unlikely. The date was probably written by someone who bought the postcard and wanted to remember the date of a visit to that spot.
Monthly Grovel: October 2019 Edition
In the past year — from October 2018 through September 2019 — the PDD Calendar published 7,971 Duluth-area events. Each one was edited by a human being before the “publish” button was pushed.
It’s a tremendous amount of work to keep up with all the submissions from the more than 1,000 organizations that have sent us info about their concerts, plays, cake walks and bunco tournaments. That’s why once a month we set our dignity aside and remind readers how much we appreciate their financial support. (more…)
Guide to Duluth-area Podcasts in 2019
Podcasts have been a thing for about 15 years, but the medium has only been popular for maybe five years. Duluth has followed that trend, going from just one or two downloadable online audio productions in the early days to more than a two-dozen now. Some are specifically about Duluth, others feature people from the region speaking to the world about subject matter ranging from popular culture to health and wellness. (more…)
Duluth Library Wildcats Women’s Hockey Team of 1929
Not much is known about the Duluth Library Wildcats. The photo above is from the Duluth Public Library’s Facebook page, and is from a slide titled “Library Wildcats,” found in the staff section of the library’s slides.
“There isn’t a lot more information than that, but a librarian is on the case and she’ll be looking for more on this story,” the library’s Facebook post noted.
National Geographic’s Duluth of 1949
Roy and Edythe Halvorson of Duluth sit in their living room and look out at skiers. Kodachrome photo from National Geographic, September 1949.
National Geographic magazine published a feature story on Minnesota in its September 1949 issue. The article marked Minnesota’s 100th year in legal existence as a territory of the United States.
Duluth, the Iron Range and Superior National Forest were part of the story, titled “Minnesota Makes Ideas Pay,” which features numerous photos by B. Anthony Stewart and Jack E. Fletcher. (more…)