Before the Blatnik Bridge was named for Congressman John A. Blatnik in 1971, it was called the Duluth-Superior Bridge and known colloquially as the “High Bridge,” but for some reason it shows up on a few postcards as the “Hi Bridge,” as if people were supposed to wave and say Minnesota-nice hellos as they crossed.
This batch of photos from the Osterlund Collection represent the year 1960. Notably the John A. Blatnik Bridge is shown under construction.
Fifty years ago — Aug. 11, 1965 — the DNT reports a 25-year-old Duluth man stood perched atop the center span of the Duluth Superior High Bridge — now known as the John A. Blatnik Bridge — threatening to jump to the water. “The incident was apparently brought about by a family argument,” the paper noted. “His mother talked him down from his lofty stand.”
Here’s a question to contemplate: What is the tallest standing structure within Duluth city limits?
Here’s what I was thinking for determining this: The tallest height should be relative to the starting point of the structure in the ground. So a structure that begins on a higher elevation does not have advantage. Also, “ground” can be defined as the Lake bottom, so a structure could begin on the Lake bottom, but the footings (or anything underneath the ground [or Lake bottom]) wouldn’t be part of the equation.
The Duluth Arial Lift Bridge is pretty high (177 feet), but other higher buildings and structures are clearly in view.
The above shot of Rice’s Point is from the Cliff’s Barber Shop Collection. It must be from early 1962, as the new Blatnik Bridge (highlighted in the smaller image at left) appears to be not quite completed in the photo, and the old swing-span Interstate Bridge seems to still be in use.
I found this old slide and thought I would share it since these pictures seem to be a bit rare around here. It is a Kodachrome.
This headline and illustration are from the August 18, 1917 issue of the Duluth Rip Saw. The story is without a byline, but was no doubt written by the paper’s publisher, John L. Morrison.
