Collections and Memorabilia Posts

Duluth-area School Pin-back Buttons

Be true to your school and let your colors fly. Collected here are various pin-back buttons promoting schools in, or near, Duluth.

One Great Lake. Two Great Cities.

Early 1980s Twin Ports tourism newspaper ad.

Matchbooks from Duluth Hotels and Motels

Modern and fireproof, featuring the finest food and liquors, located at the center of everything and on the shore of beautiful Lake Superior, containing all possible comforts and conveniences, with lodging available for the whole family, they are the classic hotels and motels of Duluth.

This is the fourth in Perfect Duluth Day’s series of matchbook collection posts. As always, we remind everyone to please close the cover before striking.

Sexy 1938 Denfeld Beanie

Beanies are not likely to make any back-to-school fashion lists in 2022, but at some point in time Denfeld High School had a line of round, brimless, snug-fitting, maroon-and-gold skullcaps.

Canal Park souvenir invites tourists to envision a lift bridge over the Mississippi

Some years ago, I had a Duluth nameplate hanging from the back of my bicycle, which I suppose is why I impulsively bought another when I saw it recently in a Canal Park souvenir shop. I vaguely remember the one I had purchased in my younger years having a generic cityscape and not actually showing Duluth.

This one seemed no different, and might even be the same design, but this time I noticed that the building on the far left had a rather specific architecture. Checking with a group of skyscraper-obsessed friends led me to a conclusion that I should have reached myself: this Duluth souvenir depicts the skyline of St. Paul.

The “Souvenir of Duluth” decorative pillow cover

It’s certainly no odder than the Pink Aerial Lift Bridge Dollhouse Toilet, but the Duluth pillow cover still qualifies as an oddity. I nabbed the image from an eBay listing circa 2018 and figured it was a one-off thing someone made, but then …

The Pink Aerial Lift Bridge Dollhouse Toilet

It’s been nearly 10 years since the pink Aerial Lift Bridge dollhouse toilet was first mentioned on Perfect Duluth Day — back when it was listed for sale on eBay. Since the reference to it was just a brief mention in a comment to the PDD Gift Guide 2012, perhaps it is time the Duluthy commode is revisited and given its own separate post, if for no other purpose than for speculating on its origin.

Matchbooks from Superior-area Restaurants and Bars

One year ago Perfect Duluth Day published a collection of “Matchbooks from Duluth Restaurants and Bars.” Now we honor the neighboring city of Superior, and the rest of northwestern Wisconsin, with a collection of matchbooks from Superior-area restaurants and bars.

Time Capsule Needed

What’s the proper endgame for this shirt? In my practice, bleach spillage (as is the case here) would usually qualify this shirt for a move from my Saturday pile to the rag bin. But with this being such a noteworthy piece of early Perfect Duluth Day, and for that matter Duluth history, it seems like there should be a more proper retirement.

Photos from Old Central’s 1890s Classroom and Clock Tower

This oil painting of Old Central was donated to the school in 1970 by the class of 1949. It was painted by Central alum Jo Kossett.

The original Central High School, which later became Duluth Public Schools’ Central Administration Building, aka Historic Old Central, will soon enter its next phase. Saturday Properties, a development and management firm based in St. Louis Park, plans to turn the Richardsonian Romanesque-style building into 121 mixed-income apartments. The project is called Zenith DCHS.

Collected in this post are images from inside the 1890s Classroom Museum at Old Central and the interior of the building’s clock tower, shot during a tour on July 2.

Duluth is the Summer City of the Continent

Happy solstice! This magazine advertisement from 1918 promotes the summer weather and charm of Duluth, including the “hundreds of miles of perfect roads.”

Duluth Dukes bus for sale on Facebook Marketplace

An interesting ad for a 1956 Flxible Visicoach popped up May 4 on Facebook. The destination sign on the bus reads “Duluth Dukes.” Apparently, it’s a former team bus.

Winter Sports in Duluth, 1929

This brochure from 1929 highlights “Winter Sports in Duluth,” including the old toboggan chute at Chester Park, as seen on the cover.

Matchbooks from Duluth Restaurants and Bars

It’s been five years since Perfect Duluth Day published its first gallery of Duluth-area matchbooks. Since then, the collection has grown significantly. This new post features only matchbooks from bars and restaurants in Duluth. Some of them have been pulled out of the original post and placed in this new post; others are appearing for the first time.

Enjoy the nostalgia and, whatever you do, for the love of humanity, please close cover before striking.

Duluth Athletic Club Cigar Box

Because nothing says physical fitness like a box of stogies.

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