The steamer Crescent City was driven into rocks on the shore of Lake Superior northeast of Duluth 115 years ago today — Nov. 28, 1905. It was one of numerous wrecks during a storm that was most famous for sinking the Mataafa near the Duluth Ship Canal. Nine of 24 Mataafa crew members perished; everyone on Crescent City survived.
Various photos of men whose obituaries mention their affiliation with the Lake Avenue Loafers.
What’s the deal with the Lake Avenue Loafers? Does the club still exist?
The message penned on the front of this postcard is dated 115 years ago today — Nov. 24, 1905. Someone named Ernest is apparently writing from Michigan and has been to Montana, where the falls might have impressed him more than the ones in Duluth.
Better mail your letter for Thursday on Monday, to make sure. Some day I want you to see Red Rock Falls, when the water is high.
Russell Lee shot this photograph of a Duluth junkyard in May of 1937 for the United States Resettlement Administration, predecessor to the Farm Security Administration, which eventually became part of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency.
This undated postcard image from the Gallagher Studio of Photography shows the St. Louis County Courthouse and Duluth City Hall behind the Soldiers and Sailors Monument at the Duluth Civic Center. The card is perhaps a bit older than another postcard of the Civic Center featured on Perfect Duluth Day, which shows a more expansive garden.
Learn more about the history of Superior Central High School and its alumni in this week’s PDD Quiz! Central A to Z: The History of a Superior School by Kathy Laakso and Teddie Meronek was an integral resource in writing this quiz; it can be found at both the Duluth and Superior Public Libraries.
The next PDD quiz will be published on Nov. 29 and will review this month’s headlines. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Nov. 26.
Photographers William Caswell and William Henry Davy ran a studio in Duluth circa 1870-75 and were responsible for many of the stereographs circulated during the era. The image above depicts a typical winter scene along the shore of Lake Superior.
This undated postcard (probably circa 1905) shows the excursion steamer Newsboy docked on the St. Louis River in Duluth’s Fond du Lac neighborhood. The card was published by the Hugh C. Leighton Company of Portland, Maine, and is brought to you compliments of Clow-Nicholson Transportation Company, with its main office at the foot of Fifth Avenue West.
This postcard was mailed Nov. 6, 1935 — 85 years ago today. It was sent to Mrs. Lola M. Smith of South Bend, Ind., from her mother.
Back when he was a student at East High School, Ben Marsen acquired a collection of photo negatives of scenes from around Duluth. The one above appears to have been shot on the 200 block of West Michigan Street, maybe where the rear entrances to R.T. Quinlan’s Saloon and Minnesota Surplus are located today — the proper addresses being 220 and 218 W. Superior St.
The Library of Congress has three photos on file labeled “Duluth Boat Course.” Above they are stitched together in Perfect Duluth Day’s attempt to see if they were intended to be used as a panorama. It almost kind of works.
Below are the three separate images, which show much better detail on their own. The photos are attributed to Bain News Service and dated “between ca. 1915 and ca. 1920.”
This wholesome little scene is circa a century ago. The postmark on the back appears to be Oct. 31, 1915, though the year is not easy to make out. The card was sent to Miss Gertrude Fischer of Chicago.
This manipulated photo from the Detroit Publishing Company is filed by the Library of Congress as “Ship canal looking in, Duluth, Minn.,” and is roughly dated 1906. The summary of the item describes the manipulation:
Photo shows a ship with the words “North West. Northern Steamship Co.” The ship appears to be pasted into the canal scene, with hand-drawn smoke and mast — a composite photograph.
Four Minnesota Governors got together to encourage Minnesotans to set a good example and vote.
Because nothing says physical fitness like a box of stogies.
