Paul Lundgren
A Dock at Duluth Where the Ore-fleet Coals
Iron-ore freighters load with coal to fuel their steam engines in 1909.
Lobby of the Hotel Holland
The Holland Hotel stood at 501-503 W. Superior St., where the Radisson Hotel Duluth-Harborview operates today.
Marketed as “the only fire proof hotel” in Duluth, it included the Holland Cafe, “famous for its service, soda fountain, light luncheons and grill room.”
The Holland opened in 1910 and closed in 1961. The Radisson was built in 1970.
(more…)Where in Duluth? #150
Time for another installment of Perfect Duluth Day’s ultra-thrilling photo-trivia sensation. Where in Duluth was this shot taken?
Old Grand Marais Photos
A collection of old Grand Marais photos. At least some of them, if not all, are believed to be shot by Milford John Humphrey. (more…)
Duluth Mountain Biking for Beginners and Kids
A friend asked me last week where beginners should go for a good first-time mountain biking experience in Duluth.
“I want good views — not afraid of some hills — but nothing crazy where I would have to be an expert,” she said.
I don’t mountain bike, so I can’t answer the question … or maybe that makes me the perfect guinea pig for an experiment. Anyway, a quick search of the internet seems to suggest Lester Park has a good “easiest” trail. Is there a middle-aged klutz out there who can endorse the Lester experience as a good trail for a first-time mountain biker? Or is there somewhere better suited to persons of limited balance?
Perspective Map of Duluth in 1893
Similar to the “Perspective Map of Duluth in 1887,” but more recent and from a bit different angle.
Then and Now: St. Louis County Courthouse
There is no date on the above postcard image, but it appears to be 1960s-ish. The photo below is a modern-day view.
Where in Duluth? #148
Time for another installment of Perfect Duluth Day’s ultra-thrilling photo-trivia sensation. Where in Duluth was this shot taken?
DTA Woodland Windjammer, Crosley Clipper, et. al.
The quest is to settle a bet. Whether there’s enough evidence so far to settle it will have to be up to the wagerers.
Former Duluthian Daniel Heinan, now living in Los Angeles, sent the following email:
My friends don’t believe that there was a DTA bus line called the Woodland Wind Jammer. There was even the Crosley Clipper. They existed in the 1980s and early 1990s. Can you help me prove them wrong?
What an inside source at the Duluth Transit Authority reports:
A long-time employee and former driver tells the tale of not just the Woodland Wind Jammer and the Crosley Clipper, but also the Proctor Pacer and the Superior Streaker. These were all express routes, designed to get people downtown as soon as possible. He thought there might have even been a contest to name them.
Alas, a search through the DTA library resulted in no physical proof, but I trust my source.
So there we have it. Anyone with hard evidence should obviously come forward, but so far the jury would have to lean heavily in favor of the Windjammer and Clipper being actual former DTA bus route names.
Mystery Photo #40: New Duluth Bus and Drivers
This photo popped up on Pinterest a while back. It’s dated 1962. Photographer unknown.
Duluth’s first diesel buses began operating in 1957 under the auspices of the Duluth-Superior Transit Company. The Duluth Transit Authority was created in 1969, so one could say the bus in the photo above is a DTA before there was a DTA.
Can anyone name any of the drivers?
Selling promotional squares for financial remuneration
As a constantly growing media giant, Perfect Duluth Day is once again looking to expand its crew of people who sell those advertisements that are so handsomely stacked on the right column of the pages of this website (or in between the content if you are looking at PDD on a smartphone).
If you are an outgoing and enterprising person who enjoys rubbing elbows with decision makers at local businesses, click here to read the job description.
If you are a reader of PDD who hates advertising and gets nervous when reading something like this, rest assured that although PDD strives to sell more advertising to support its vast infrastructure, ads on the site will continue to be confined to appropriate space and never come in the form of a pop-up or auto-play video. We respect you too much for that.
Duluth National Regatta of 1916
One century ago, Duluth hosted the 44th annual regatta of the National Association of Amateur Oarsmen. The event ran Aug. 11 and 12, 1916, with the Duluth team winning nine of the 12 events it entered. (more…)
Mystery Photo #39: Old 708
A train rolls through western Duluth. Year unknown. Photographer unknown. The number on the train is 708. Anyone have insight?
Duluth Imperial Mill Company
Duluth Imperial Mill was the largest single mill in the world in the 1890s, but by the turn of the century its reign was over. There’s a full history with plant photos at zenity city.com.
Presented here are a few promotional items. (more…)
Kiss Meets the Phantom of Duluth
Kiss performed at Amsoil Arena in Duluth on Aug. 3, and … well, if you didn’t go, there are all sorts of videos shot by a guy named Tom. If you did go, and you didn’t care much for it, well, Paul Stanley thinks you are a miserable asshole.
Where in Superior?
For the 147th installment of Perfect Duluth Day’s ultra-thrilling photo-trivia sensation “Where in Duluth?” we cross the bridge to ask, “Where in Superior was this photo taken?”
Leo Seltzer’s Transcontinental Roller Derby in Duluth, 1937
Two years after the term “Roller Derby” was trademarked, Duluth hosted a bout.
Mystery Photos #36-38: Three Women
One day you’re glamorous enough for a fancy Duluth studio portrait; one-hundred years later, no one knows who you are.
At least the photo on the left comes with half of a name: “Mrs. Mohler.” Other than that, what you see is what you get for clues. Anyone who recognizes one of these women or can provide further details will be declared winner of the internet for a day.
Duluth Broadcast Television Station Guide for 2016
Below is an updated look at what’s on the television dial in Duluth after the reorganizing at KBJR/KDLH. Don’t let the big “3” fool you on the new KDLH logo (which doesn’t have the letters KDLH on it, but does have the CBS eye); the CBS affiliate is now on broadcast channel 6.2. If you are watching with a satellite dish or cable, then the KDLH/CBS station is channel 3. (more…)
Stage Stop food tastes just like shit
Twenty years ago, fresh out of college, I began my career in journalism. Everything was about to change in the industry, but it hadn’t changed yet. Print was king, profits were good and the prospect of any local news organization developing a website was the subject of a conversation that started and ended with the phrase “probably next year.”
I was hired as news editor at the Duluth Budgeteer Press, a weekly community paper that produced just enough news content to avoid being considered a “shopper.” Actually, for many years it was considered a shopper, but then another paper came along that was more of a shopper, and the Budge started to be considered a newspaper.
Manny’s Shopper was the weekly coupon rag that lowered the bar and lifted the Budgeteer to prominence. Although no one these days seems to know who Manny was or much else about what became of his shopper, one thing was important 20 years ago: it had committed what is probably not the biggest, but quite likely is the most hilarious, print media blunder northern Minnesota has ever known. (more…)
Principal Protestant Churches of Duluth
First Presbyterian Church, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, First M.E. Church, Pilgrim Congregational Church and United Protestant Church.
When West Duluth Was Young
In the summer of 1994, a group of West Duluth kids met with a group of senior citizens from the neighborhood and wrote down their stories for a booklet. Here is the entirety of When West Duluth Was Young: An Intergenerational Writing Workshop, with thanks to Aunt Becky for passing it along. (more…)
Where in Duluth? #146
Time for another installment of Perfect Duluth Day’s ultra-thrilling photo-trivia sensation. Where in Duluth was this shot taken?