Mike Scholtz’s photos of the sand- and gravel-hopper ruins known as “Uncle Harvey’s Mausoleum” suggest the round column near the shore collapsed at some point in recent days. The photo at left is from 2013. The photo at right is from today.
Filmed by Joe Olivieri of Lola Visuals.
Hey Duluth. It’s been awhile.
Two radio-related things happened today I heard here in Madison and thought you might be interested in.
1) Robert Plant gave a nod to Duluth’s own Low in a CBC interview on their show Q (it’s towards the end).
2) WPR announced the death of Mike Simonson, a journalist for whom I have the utmost respect and enjoyed hearing on the statewide news whenever his stories showed up. He cared about reporting what needed to be reported and unpacking the news in a very authentic way. Looks like Final Edition has had its final edition. He’ll be greatly missed.
Demolition of the Irving Recreation Center has been taking place this week. Above is a photo of the rubble. Below is a shot from February 2013.
The building at 531 Central Avenue in West Duluth was torn down on July 28, 2014. In its early years it served as the West Duluth Fire and Police Station, West Duluth Village Hall, Duluth Fire Department Engine House #8 and Duluth Police Department Station #3, among other things.
For it’s final three decades, the building was known as the home of Twin Ports Amusement, operated by the Kervina family until operations ceased a few year ago. (The business was also known as Twin Ports Vending & Amusement and Twin Ports Arrowhead Amusement). The most recent occupant of the building was Jody’s Auto Werkz, which was in the back of the building.
Prior to the Twin Ports Amusement era, the building served as Puglisi Toyota, an auto sales and service business run by Jack Puglisi in the early 1970s. Prior to that it was Crown Motors, operated by Leonard Caskey.
For more, read the history of West Duluth Village Hall on Zenith City online.
Stadium Lanes and the Clubhouse Bar have been wrapping up operations over the past two weeks. The building at 132 N. 34th Ave. W., between Wade Stadium and the ore docks, is being gutted and sold. There will be no more bowling in West Duluth … except for lawn bowling. Word is the new owner will divide the building up into some type of business center or mall, with mini storage units.
Stadium Lanes opened in 1960, owned then by Dick Karon and Jerry Singer. Randy Hill has owned it since 2004, later changing the name of the bar to Clubhouse. Before that it was Mary’s Place.
October 10, 2013, I took a trip to Copper Harbor to visit the old-growth stand of white pines, many said to be saplings around the time Columbus visited America. Then while passing through Congdon Park a few days later, discovered the most amazing tree I’d ever seen appearing larger than the trees in Michigan. Looking at old photographs of the hillsides of Minnesota towns rising out of the prairies and hills of the 19th century, trees are absent throughout, scalped from the earth as far as the eye can see. Maybe some buffalo hides stacked over by the saloon, a church, a brothel, somebody feeding pigs behind the blacksmith’s shop, but no trees. This got me to wondering if Marjorie Congdon herself had protected this tree, wrapping her arms around it passionately in her lovely white dress while the press snapped photos.
There it was in the autumn light though, spiraling into the sky, a vast oasis unto itself. Through sheer fortitude, having carved its way into rock along the banks, supported precariously by one large main root, but with an all too extreme angle for its massive size. When I went down there yesterday evening, it lay a broken shattered remnant of its glorious former self.
The community center building at Memorial Park in West Duluth is no more. The PDD Drone did a fly through on Sunday for posterity.
Sad to see the Duluth~Superior Magazine cease publication, announced today in a Duluth News Tribune story. DSM made Duluth feel classy. Jim Heffernan comments on his blog (Jim Heffernan’s Blog) on his six year stint writing for this print magazine headed by former Duluth News Tribune publisher, Marti Buscaglia.
Eyewitness News: Duluth businessman Charlie Bell dies
Northland’s NewsCenter: Well-known Duluth business leader Charlie Bell dies
Duluth News Tribune: Duluth businessman, former mayoral candidate Charlie Bell dead at 64