Mystery Photos Posts

Mystery Photo #57: Duluth Swimmers

Here’s what is known about this photo: It was shot prior to 1997 and was part of the Budgeteer Press photo collection that was disposed of just before the name of the weekly paper changed to Budgeteer News.

Mystery Photo #56: Duluth Ice Sculpture

There’s not a lot to go on in the featured photo, but hold on …

Mystery Photo #55: Duluth Miniature Farm

Thanks to the labeling we know this miniature farm was located at a Conrad Service Station in Duluth. But where specifically in Duluth? And when?

Mystery Photo #54: Jerry and Becky, August 1970

Just because this old photo was stored with a bunch of Duluth pictures doesn’t necessarily mean it was shot in Duluth or features Duluthians. Still, the odds are pretty good someone will recognize Jerry and/or Becky. They looked like pretty cool customers back in August 1970, that’s for sure.

Were they Duluthians? Are they still Duluthians? Who are these hot-rodding sweethearts? All the back of the photo indicates is their first names and the month it was shot.

Mystery Photo #53: Commonwealth Avenue?

This old photo of someone’s hot rod seems to be from the early 1970s and the scene is very likely Commonwealth Avenue in Gary-New Duluth. But if this is showing Commonwealth Avenue, where specifically?

Mystery Photo #52: The homely mugs of Ella and Dave

This postcard photo of a couple perhaps from or visiting Duluth appears to have never been mailed, though it is addressed to Mrs. F. Welch of Eau Galle, Wis. On the back of the card, in the upper left corner, are presumably the names of the photo subjects, Ella and Dave. Their last name is faded out, but clearly the final three letters are s-o-n.

Mystery Photo #51: Lakeside Reunion

Lakeside-Reunion-1961-

Usually with the “Mystery Photos” series we know very little about the featured image at the start and learn a variety of details after publishing it. In this case we know a lot going in, but one detail is missing.

Mystery Photo #50: Children racing at Bayfront Park

Bayfront

The fundamentals of what’s happening in this old photo are fairly simple. It’s obviously shot at Bayfront Festival Park in the days of the old yellow canvas tarp-covered stage, prior to the 2001 construction of the 76-foot-tall steel-canopy pavilion that stands today. And clearly the image shows kids running a race.

So the mysteries are: What race is this? Can we zero in on a date or are we limited to the vague guess that it’s the mid 1990s?

Mystery Photo #49: Women and Children First

Gust Landin Photography

The back of this postcard credits Gust Landin, a photographer who operated out of 24 N. 21st. Ave. W. in Duluth’s friendly West End neighborhood, with shooting this image.

The main question here is, what’s going on in this century-old photo? Why have a bunch of ladies in dresses lined up with a row of children in front of them at what we can assume is some Duluth location? Who are they? We’ll probably never know for sure.

Mystery Photo #48: Superior Street and Lake Avenue circa 1998

electric-fetus-1996

Where are you now, Danny Tanner?

This image is from a postcard printed by the College of St. Scholastica featuring photography by student Danny Tanner. Searching the internet to determine if Danny Tanner is still involved in photography is a bit complex; it turns out Danny Tanner is the name of a character on the television sitcom Full House, which had recently wrapped up its eight-season run around the same time the real Danny Tanner was doing his thing on Superior Street.

Although the date the photo was shot and date the postcards were printed are unknown, this one is postmarked Nov. 2, 1998. In the background are the Electric Fetus store, Strand Theater and a Duluth Transit Authority bus headed to New Duluth.

Mystery Photo #47: The Science Museum

science-museum

The Science Museum of Minnesota moved out of the St. Paul Auditorium and into the Merriam Mansion on Capitol Hill in 1927. It remained there until 1964, when it moved into the St. Paul-Ramsey Arts and Sciences Center. The final move came in 1999, when a new facility opened adjacent to the Mississippi River.

Mystery Photo #46: Duluth-area Bowling Alley

duluth-bowling

From the depths of my wife’s closet comes this old photo from her family collection, presumably shot at a Duluth-area bowling alley roughly 50 or 60 years ago. Since we’re talking about a West Duluth family, Stadium Lanes would be the number one contender. Whatever bowling alley it is, it’s likely to have been remodeled and then closed since this photo was taken, so this might be a tough solve.

Mystery Photo #45: Dr. Jern

dr-jern-of-duluth-mn-1910

Well, there he is, Dr. Jern, standing on a porch in Duluth way back in 1910. Who is Dr. Jern? Is that house still standing? These are the mysteries we hope to unravel.

Mystery Photo #44: A Handsome Home

duluth-pic-mystery

Next to nothing is known about this photo, other than the claim it was shot in Duluth. Does this handsome home still exist? Does anyone recognize it? Who are these people and what are they doing?

Mystery Photo #43: Does anyone know which old bar this was?

the-mystery-bar

This picture was originally posted on the Duluthians of Zenith Facebook page. So far, the Pickwick and Spalding Hotel have been eliminated. The poster figures it must be a bar in the Duluth area because it’s stamped with a Duluth photographer’s name on the back. Someone in the thread recommended posting it here because you guys know everything there is to know.

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