History
Postcard from the Aerial Bridge Over Ship Canal in Duluth
Duluth’s Aerial Bridge was but a year old when this postcard was mailed on July 12, 1906 — 120 years ago today. (more…)
Superior Street, Sept. 11, 1907, Part 4: The 400 West Block
This series takes a detailed look at life on Superior Street on the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 11, 1907. The first part of the series provided background details on the photograph itself. Part three looked at the businesses around the Spalding Hotel. Part four looks at the people who occupied the remainder of the Spalding block, including “old Nick Drew, erstwhile gambler, rounder and saloon-keeper.” (more…)
Video Archive: Bicentennial Parade in Hibbing
On America’s semi-quincentennial, we take a look back 50 years to the 1976 Bicentennial Parade in Hibbing, with all the marching bands, clowns, Shriners and civic floats necessary to properly celebrate the anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
Mystery Photo: Arcade Trio
This postcard photo is likely from around 1915. The only solid clue is on the back, where the photo is attributed to Arcade studio, 110 W. Superior St., Duluth. The studio had previously been known as the Penny Arcade. (more…)
Ripped at Bev’s Jook Joint in 2001
[Editor’s note: For this week’s essay we’ve once again pulled out a relic from the drunken compendium of Slim Goodbuzz, who served as Duluth’s “booze connoisseur” from 1999 to 2009. Twenty-five years ago the Sultan of Sot visited Bev’s Jook Joint in Superior and composed this article for the June 27, 2001 edition of the Ripsaw newspaper. Bev’s Jook Joint ceased operation in 2014.]
Here’s something weird: The Puritan city of Duluth, which is almost three times the size of Superior, doesn’t have any gay bars. Well, there’s the Tap Room, but that’s not homosexual, that’s just gay.
Meanwhile there are several gay bars in the debauched, anything-goes city of Souptown: JT’s, the Main Club and Bev’s Jook Joint. Of the three, Bev’s is the only one that seems to be in denial of its gayness. That isn’t to say the place is full of closet queers; Bev’s just seems to have more of a mixed crowd than a gay crowd. A breeder can hang out and act blatantly straight without feeling like how RuPaul might feel at Northland Country Club. (more…)
Postcard from the Boulevard in Duluth
This undated postcard shows a scene from Duluth’s Skyline Parkway before it was called Skyline Parkway. The visual might feel familiar, because it’s the same scene depicted in a different postcard recently published on Perfect Duluth Day.
This is America: Duluth in 1946
This clip is from a 16-minute educational film from 1946 called This is America: Great Lakes, focusing on the segment mentioning Duluth. The full film, embedded below, explores the industrial powerhouse of the Great Lakes, detailing the crucial roles of navigation, shipping and the Coast Guard in transporting iron ore, coal and grain to fuel America’s postwar economy. (more…)
Hagstrom & Forsgren Furniture opened in 1926
Hagstrom & Forsgren Furniture Company in Duluth’s friendly West End held its grand opening event 100 years ago today — June 12, 1926. The building at 1910-1912 W. Superior St. is presently the location of Frost River, a manufacturer of canvas bags, canoe packs and other outdoor gear. (more…)
Postcard from Somewhere on Skyline Parkway
This postcard depicts a scene at one of the many creeks that intersect Skyline Parkway, aka “The Bouvelard,” in Duluth. The postmark is not completely legible, but it shows the card was mailed on June 8 of some year prior to 1917, when the postal rate for postcards was increased from one cent to two cents. (more…)
Superior Street, Sept. 11, 1907, Part 3: Spalding Hotel and Surrounding Businesses
This series takes a detailed look at life on Superior Street on the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 11, 1907. The first part of the series provided background details on a photograph shot that day where the street intersects Fifth Avenue West. Part three focuses on the businesses around the Spalding Hotel, including a fight with the city over on-street parking policies by a watchmaker whose pocket watches are still prized by collectors today. (more…)
Puzzling Through the Museum of Ojibwa Culture: Saint Ignace (and Indigenous History in our Region)
On a recent trip through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, I stopped to visit the Museum of Ojibwa Culture in St. Ignace. The Museum is operated by the city of St. Ignace, and so “the city-operated museum and park portray a vivid picture of life in the Straits of Mackinac over 300 years ago when Ojibwa, Huron, Odawa and French lifestyles met.” (more…)
Engraved 1871 Duluth Prints from The Graphic
British weekly newspaper The Graphic ran a story on Duluth in its June 3, 1871 edition — 155 years ago today — featuring three wood-engraved prints of Duluth scenes. (more…)
Mystery Photo: Somewhere in the Duluth Area
This image is from a real-photo postcard that was never mailed. It shows an industrial scene but doesn’t seem to offer a lot of clues about the specific whereabouts. The vague location, if we trust the words penciled on the back of the card, is “Duluth Minn area.” (more…)
Cloquet’s Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church dedicated in 1926
The May 28, 1926 issue of the Duluth Herald reports on the upcoming dedication of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church at 102 Fourth St. in Cloquet. The building is still in use, now serving as Queen of Peace Catholic Church. (more…)
Postcard from Duluth’s Waterfront in 1916
This postcard of Duluth’s waterfront and manufacturing district was mailed May 25, 1916 — 110 years ago today. Among the fuzzy buildings on the shoreline is F. A. Patrick Woolen Mills at 302 S. Fifth Ave. W., which is on the left and is the only building with readable lettering on it. (more…)
Postcard from Enger Tower
This undated postcard, published by Erickson Post Cards & Souvenirs, shows the five-story lookout tower at Duluth’s Enger Park circa the early 1970s. (more…)
Rip-saw publisher John L. Morrison died in 1926
Newspaper publisher John L. Morrison died 100 years ago today — May 18, 1926. As “head sawyer” of the Duluth Rip-saw, he was known for his unrelenting attacks on local politicians, which led to a gag order that shut his publication down. Five years after his mysterious death at the age of 62, Morrison was vindicated by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled the Public Nuisance Law violated the First Amendment of the United States Constitution protecting the freedom of the press. (more…)
Duluthy Stickers
Duluth-themed stickers created by artist Samantha Nielsen.
A previous post on Perfect Duluth Day featured “Duluth Band Stickers.” Now we present the rest of the adherent merch representing Duluthy stuff. (more…)
Mystery Photo: Guns, Booze and Cards
Cowboy outfits featuring furry chaps were a favorite costume of photo subjects at G. E. Sackett’s Owl Studio in Duluth during the early 1900s. Several Mystery Photos on Perfect Duluth Day feature unnamed dudes dressed as buckaroos. This is the first time we’ve seen a lawman in one of these old postcards, however. (more…)
Webber Hospital under construction in West Duluth in 1926
One hundred years ago today — May 8, 1926 — the Duluth Herald reported on construction of a new hospital in West Duluth. Webber Hospital opened at 5601 Grand Ave. in March 1927. (more…)
Superior Street, Sept. 11, 1907, Part 2: The Windsor Hotel and Surrounding Businesses
This ten part series takes a detailed look at life on Superior Street on the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 11, 1907 based on a single photograph. The first part of the series provided background details on the photograph itself. Part two focuses on the bottom right corner of the photograph, relating to the contentious history between the city and the owner of the Windsor Hotel and telling the stories of the surrounding businesses. (more…)
Postcard from Somebody’s House
This undated postcard shows Somebody’s House, a restaurant at Duluth’s Mt. Royal Shopping Center operated by noted cookbook author Beatrice Ojakangas. It opened in February 1966. (more…)
The Decline and Rebirth of the St. Louis River
This WDIO-TV news feature shares the story of the St. Louis River. Once too polluted to fish, the waterway is nearing removal from the Environmental Protection Agency’s contaminated Areas of Concern list after years of cleanup and habitat restoration.
Postcard from the National Guard Armory in Duluth
This undated postcard shows the Duluth Armory at 1305 London Road. It was built in 1915 and served as a center for military training and an entertainment venue until 1978. During the 1980s and ’90s, the city of Duluth used the building to store fleet vehicles. The Armory Arts and Music Center, in partnership with Sherman Associates, is in the process of redeveloping the building, with plans for a public marketplace and community kitchen, office and business space, and arts and music programming.
Postcards from Superior Street at Fifth Avenue West
The intersection of Fifth Avenue West and Superior Street — featuring the Lyceum Theatre and Spalding Hotel — is near the top of the list of Duluth scenes featured most frequently in early 20th century Duluth postcards. Many have been featured on Perfect Duluth Day in the past, but we’re pretty sure the six in this post have not appeared on this website previously. (more…)