History Posts

Major Concerts at the DECC: 1966 to 2010

DECC-Don-Esse-art

This feature is an ongoing attempt to list all the major concerts at the DECC Arena and Symphony Hall from 1966 to 2010, which of course includes the era when they were known as the Duluth Arena and Duluth Auditorium.

What’s the matter with Duluth girls?

This clip didn’t make it to my inbox until after Valentine’s Day, but hey, it’s 100 years old anyway, so what’s a few more days? It’s from the Feb. 4, 1912, Duluth News Tribune. A more readable version of the text appears below.

Duluth’s Old Street Signs

OldSigns

Mundane fact of the day: Before Duluth’s street signs were white on green they were black on white. For a while after the switch the old signs were piled up at the spot where Upper and Lower Michigan Street meet. I spent a few minutes browsing them on Jan. 30, 1999, but didn’t take any home as a souvenir.

Congdon Park Elementary Rinks

I’m a journalism student at UMD and I am writing about the history of the Congdon Park Elementary rinks. Today I talked to Bob Mars about the rinks and he mentioned a man that helped a lot there when he was a kid in the 1930s. He said the man’s name was Mr. Swan, but unfortunately could not remember his first name! Does anyone know anything about him? And, hopefully, do you know his first name? Furthermore, does anyone have any old pictures of the rinks with the old warming house?

The Owls Club of Duluth, Minn.

Video from Adam Carr’s “January in Duluth” blog.

Local History Resources

I’m noticing a number of local history queries here. Don’t forget these local history resources:

Chester Creek House/ Whole Foods Co-op

I am a journalism student at UMD and I am currently working on a history story regarding the first days of the Whole Foods Co-op. If any of you remember the first days yourself, were somehow involved, or know someone who was involved please let me know. I would love to talk to you to learn more!

Who was Lester?

I’m a student at UMD working on a story about who Lester was. I’m working with Mark Atkinson to trace the history of who this original settler was. Anybody have information on this?

Anyone remember the Tap Room at Fitger’s?

Before the Rex Bar existed, Fitger’s had the Tap Room. It was a party room that you rented out for 10 dollars and got unlimited beer and kegs. I’m doing an article on the history of the Rex and if anyone went to the Tap Room when it was called the Tap Room, you should let me know your memories!

A Fingerprint and a Doorknob

This week’s installment of Robert Hughes, Art Lover, brought to you by the Duluth Art Institute, is centered around ‘provenance.’ We might also touch on the theft of the Mona Lisa…there’s only one way to find out!  Read away, Duluthians!  And get ready for the first showing of Robert Hughes’ Shock of the New, this Saturday at Zinema 2, starting at 11 a.m.  You can find all of the information about the showing of this series at duluthartinstitute.org or on Facebook.

Christmas & New Year’s 2012

Entries into the guest books at lodges tend to be kind of boring, but I like how this group made a comic out of their stay at Heston’s Lodge on Gunflint Lake a month ago. Flipping through the stack of archives reveals this group has been making the trip for at least a dozen years, and they always leave a comic behind.

What happened to the creek at Cascade Park?

Cascade-Park-Postcard-Duluth

When you look at old pictures of Duluth’s Cascade Park there is a creek that runs through it. Whatever happened to it? Why did people change it?

Duluth Albums from the 1900s

Perfect Duluth Day’s attempt to chronical the works of local musicians begins with this list of 20th century recordings.

Chester Bowl looking for stories

The Chester Bowl Improvement Group wants to hear from people who have been in the ski program.

From Thom Storm:

We are in the process of applying for different grants for our ski program. It was suggested that we have some Chester Bowl stories/testimonials to include with our applications. I would like to take that a step further, and have a Chester Bowl Stories section on our website, chesterbowl.org.
Many parents have told me that the ski program has made a big difference to their families. If you would like to share your story, we would like to post it on our site. Please send any stories/testimonials to:
[email protected]
and include your name for the posting.

If you’ve got any historical stories, photos or artifacts, you could submit them to the Chester Bowl History page.

Another interesting Denfeld image

IMG_1093

Just a little something I happened across on the job today.

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