This postcard was mailed 110 years ago today — July 22, 1914. It shows Duluth’s Incline Railway, which operated from 1891 to 1939. The tram system carried passengers from a housing development at the top of the hillside into the downtown along Seventh Avenue West.
This image, found on eBay and still available for sale as of July 3, has “609 W. 3rd Dr. Duluth” written on the front. It looks as if the famous Duluth Incline Railway is in the background, which would seem to verify the photo was indeed shot on West Third Street.
The Duluth News Tribune reports the sidewalk and stairway that marks the location of the former Incline Railway at Seventh Avenue West, designated as a recreational hiking trail, will soon have interpretive signage.
Car on the Seventh Ave Incline Duluth Minn. 1893
Images here of the Duluth Incline Railway are from three lantern slides, also known as “magic lanterns.” According to the website of the Magic Lantern Society of U.S. and Canada, the slides generally “consist of two sheets of glass, one of which has the image on one side of it and the other which covers the image, and bound all around by a black paper tape.”
The Minnesota Streetcar Museum presents this rare collection of Duluth streetcar footage from the 1930s — much of it in color — including scenes from West Duluth, Woodland and Downtown. The video was written, produced, narrated and directed by historian Aaron Isaacs, with production assistance from Bill Olexy.
Duluth’s streetcars were replaced by buses in 1939.
This postcard was mailed from Superior on Sept. 27, 1906 — 115 years ago today — by W. F. McMannis. The recipient was Miss Mabelle Reed of West Dover, Ohio. The image depicts the Duluth Incline Railway, showing the view from the top of the Duluth harbor and waterfront district, and of course Minnesota Point.
A video by Grandview Aerial Photography showing images of the Incline Railway during its operation (1891-1939), then modern-day drone footage following the path it took up the hill. Produced for the Duluth Preservation Alliance.
This undated postcard, published by Gopher News Co. of Minneapolis, has the following text on the backside:
A novel attraction is the incline railway at 7th Ave. West and Superior Street. These cable cars connect the downtown section with Duluth Heights. In eight city blocks rise to an elevation 500 feet above lake level from where unusual views of Duluth, Lake Superior, Minnesota Point, and the Duluth Superior Harbor are obtainable.
The incline operated until 1939. More info and similar images can be found on the PDD post “Postcards from Duluth’s Incline Railway.”
“A 1926 Description of a Ride on Duluth’s Seventh Avenue West Incline Railway” has just been posted at the Duluth Public Library’s Vintage Duluth blog.
In Volume I of his two-volume 1926 novel The Duke of Duluth, author Thomas Shastid, a Duluth physician, depicts a scene in which the main character, John Gridley Smith, who is visiting Duluth, is walking on West Superior Street and comes upon the entrance to the Incline Railway on Seventh Avenue West. On pages 74 to 80, Shastid describes the Incline and John’s ride up to the top …
A group of history hikers follow the old incline railway stairs down Observation Hill.
A hidden stairway, once connected to a long-gone incline rail service between Downtown Duluth and its hilltop neighborhoods, is being celebrated by an organization that would like to see it designated a historic walking trail.
The Duluth Preservation Alliance led an Observation Hill history walk on May 31 over remnants of the 126-year-old incline stairs. More than 50 people attended the event and made the steep, downhill jaunt from Skyline Drive to Superior Street.
The Incline Plane Railway, a tram system operated by the Duluth Street Railway Company, began service in 1891. It carried passengers from a housing development at the top of the hillside into the downtown along Seventh Avenue West.
I’m back again with another mystery! Way back in October of 2006, I was exploring the topmost bit of overgrown sidewalk on Seventh Avenue West, (between Skyline and West Eighth Street). This walkway ran parallel to east side of the old Incline Railway, which pedestrians would have used as access for each stop along the way. At the top at West Eighth Street, where the sidewalk first begins, I happened to notice off to the side in the overgrowth, a large pile of of steel girders and wooden posts, located right about where the incline once stood.
A film of Duluth and a trip to Isle Royale by my Grandpa Henry.
