My grandfather operated Paradise Diner at 22 W. First St. Here is the photo of the interior around 1926. So heart-warming to see the building being restored back to a cafe. The last time I saw the building it was in very sad shape. Thanks Pete!
 

@HBH1: That is bananas

A great view from the gazebo!
 

The trail is now complete! Hikers and bikers can now travel from the Osaugie Trail at the Bear Creek Park trailhead (near Highway 53) to Parking Lot #1 on Lake Superior. A new gazebo now sits atop the capped solid waste landfill located on the tra...

If you want the drunkenness described above placed in a larger historical context, the Northlandia podcast just did a rather entertaining episode on how Tom’s Burned Down Cafe became a cultural landmark on Madeline Island.

I can never look at this building without thinking about my husband and his French River buddies running around the grounds and inside there dodging the watchman in the 1970s, doing a little D&D LARPing. He claims that their shenanigans are why it...

Thanks for mentioning that, Justin. Beth has now added Zeitgeist to the list.

@Siglosecreto: Thanks for sharing. I lived in Austin too but sounds like I just missed y’all. But your mention of the Magnolia Café brings me back to peak Austin. I knew an acid-casualty bassist named Lee but it would be outrageous if it was the s...

Thanks for compiling this awesome list! You might want to add Zeitgeist Theater‘s season too.

I knew Max in Austin from 1995 to around 1997 or so. I think he went to Duluth and came back to Austin again for a bit because I recall talking to him in the house I lived in around 1999. I spent a lot of time with Max there for a while. I met Max...

Looks like my pink 1956 Chrysler Windsor. USAF sent me to Duluth from France. I picked up that car in Pennsylvania and drove it to Duluth in April 1964. That was a perfect summer. I met my future wife. We had our first date at the Minnesota State ...

I took piano lessons at Branders, just past KDAL, which I never knew occupied that building before The Strand. Folks used to think I was nuts when I told them where the Jolly Fish used to be located. I think Famous ended up on First Street. Good t...

I want to add here Zomi Bloom’s new blog, a few months old now, addressing issues of motherhood and birthing people from the perspective of a doula.

Living Life in Bloom

Glad to see Kathy Cargill getting called out here. I didn’t realize she’s demolished FOURTEEN homes on Park Point. That is so wrong.

This band can hold! Very good!

Any idea where I can find info about the 2024 event?

It’s simple to see these problems; complex to deal with them.

It’s complex to even discuss them. I can tell you are upset.

“But the heart of the matter is that sometimes people bicycle around town and see things they don’t want to see, and sometimes other people go on websites and read things they don’t want to read. It’s pretty simple.”

This is the heart? Maybe for p...

With regard to Devin questioning why Perfect Duluth Day would publish this post, I’ll just note as a moderator of the site that sometimes we do publish so-called “asinine nonsense.” It happens. This is a community website that occasionally feature...

Finally! Gotta get me some books! Great job, Maria!

Thank goodness for Chum and the other nonprofits on the front lines of these crises.

Chum is the chief enabler of this crisis. How about we move Chum to Hunter’s Park? Lakeside? Upper Chester?

Dave, can we move Chum to your neighborhood? That’ll c...

Whether or not this anecdote is true, and whether it was posted by a community advocate or a provocateur …

First, it seems like maybe you don’t get out much, Dave. I invite you downtown to hang out with my son and I, and walk the alleys. Stay a d...

Whether or not this anecdote is true, and whether it was posted by a community advocate or a provocateur, let’s not forget — the struggling people we see on the street are a symptom of bigger problems. They are not the problem. There are lots of w...

I agree that there are more desperate addicts than there used to be. Probably everywhere, not just Duluth — but there are more here as well.

Devin, I made it all up. There is currently nobody sleeping on top of the dumpster behind Lizzards. It’s an illusion.

None of that happened. You’re clearly lying. And it’s not even a little bit believable. You should know that, because it’s embarrassing.

PDD, wtf are you doing publishing this asinine nonsense?

Also, never underestimate the influence of Prince.
 

Trampled by Turtle’s Duluth from the album of the same name would be one that I would add. And Phil Solem from Duluth was one of the writers of the Friends theme song. Might not have the lyrical depth you are looking for, but with the enduring pop...

An awesome amount of original research went into putting this article together – including photos from the actual sites in Belgium.

That was an interesting read. Thanks! A few years ago, I visited Montreal to see if I could find where he was buried. I got as close as I think anybody could. I found where the Church of the Recollets used to be, which is where he was buried befor...

Vintage Duluthians snarling at strangers!

This is awesome!

Can anyone else help me?

1922 by Charlie Parr
“1922 Blues” jumps to mind right away as one of the most perfectly written songs I’ve ever heard. Below are the next five that sprang to mind.
Fun's Over by Anthony Bennett
Mere Mortals by cars & trucks
Lanue by Lanue
O Giver ...

I have no idea who these two dudes were, but I used some Photoshop AI tools not available at Owl Studio in 1915 to clean up the damage and colorize the image.
 

I was a pupil from 1977 to 1979. It was the happier part of my youth! I remember my teachers, Mrs. McDonald and Mrs. Danzil. Mr Korn was the principal. My sister’s teacher was Mrs. Smith (had a brace on her leg). Another nice lady comes to mind … ...