Never mind the seasonal sentiment, this postcard was sent in the summer. It was in the trusted hands of the United States Postal Service 110 years ago, traveling from Duluth to South Dakota. It was postmarked at Duluth on Sept. 4 and received in Carthage, S.D. on Sept. 6, 1907.
It was shot just a few hundred feet from Duluth’s Aerial Lift Bridge, but it evokes the spirit of being in a far more remote part of the planet. Hansi Johnson’s “photo that won’t die” is so-named because in recent years it’s been in Outside magazine, the Red Bulletin, the Italian news magazine Panorama, a few calendars and as Johnson notes, it’s “been ripped off and passed around more times than I care to admit.”
Add two more to the list: Men’s Journal recently included the image among its “25 Best Adventure Photos of the Past 25 Years.” The back cover of a new book from Outside magazine, “The Edge of the World,” also features the image.
The prime beach-going days are numbered, so if you’ve got a chance to go, you’d better go. This week in Selective Focus, we’re taking it easy, taking a look at life on #parkpoint.
Back in May, Clare Kolars was “yearning for the sea,” so she traveled from River Falls to Duluth with a friend to spend time by the closest thing — Lake Superior.
In the pilot episode of a new “musical series aiming to explore sources of inspiration and intrigue,” Minneapolis-based soft-noise artist Todd Luffa performs on the beach at Minnesota Point in Duluth.
The Lyte Source series was created by director Gordon Byrd and producer Aubree Miller of Minneapolis, who “aim to bring performances to settings too intimate or bizarre for audiences to normally inhabit. To capture a sensory experience and transform it into a unique collaboration.”
A giant asterisk has appeared on Park Point, leading some observers to wonder: Does this beach have a caveat?
Below is the complete text of a Duluth story from page six of The Observer out of Saline, Mich., from Thursday, June 14, 1934, reprinted from Collier’s magazine.
This postcard was mailed from Duluth on July 24, 1907, and arrived two days later in the mailbox of Mr. A. G. Pack, Jr. of 823 Colorado Ave., Colorado Springs, Colo. It does not necessarily depict a Duluth scene; versions of this postcard exist for Wildwood, N.J.; Atlantic City, N.J. and probably other cities.
Richard Hoeg captured video of this red fox at sunrise this morning on Park Point. “Twas neat to watch the fox do its morning grooming and occasionally play with some sticks,” he wrote on his 365 Days of Birds blog.
Fifty years ago — Aug. 27, 1965 — the DNT reports the city of Duluth filed suit in district court to have local businessman Arthur Davis remove concession stands he owns from Park Point. His former sister-in-law, Blanche Davis, who once operated the stands, was also named a defendant.
He had a house on Park Point. That’s all we know.
Last night we had a very interesting encounter with a sweet little fox. The fox went to run in front of our truck and then changed it’s mind and cowered on the side of the road. I then grabbed out my handy dandy camera to photograph him. At first he was a little farther away and as I was snapping away he started running at me! I was actually a bit scared and I hurried up and hopped in my truck. He didn’t leave, he lingered right by our truck. It seemed like he needed or wanted something from us. I was wondering if he was hungry and looking for food. I felt that the situation was abnormal. Thoughts?
“Duluth Sketches: Park Point After The Flood” video by Shawn Donovan.
