Postcard from a Section of the Duluth Harbor and Railroad Yards
This postcard, published by the Henricksen Agency of Duluth circa 1930, shows the Duluth waterfront, railroad yards and Aerial Lift Bridge.
This postcard, published by the Henricksen Agency of Duluth circa 1930, shows the Duluth waterfront, railroad yards and Aerial Lift Bridge.
Seated to the left of the mustached gentleman at far right appears to be Duluth’s 23rd mayor, Dr. John A. McCuen. Win the internet by identifying anyone else in the photo.
Icebreaking in the Duluth Harbor is expected to start this week, with the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Spar clearing the way for the start of another shipping season.
The postcard above is from the early 1900s and shows the tugboats Record and Sinclair breaking ice in the Duluth Harbor.
The Burt-Poole and Sellers mines were the first to ship iron ore out of Minnesota’s Iron Range in the summer of 1895. In its first five years the Sellers Ore Company shipped 188,000 tons. By 1919 the figure had shot up to 8.9 million tons, according to the 1921 book Duluth and St. Louis County, Minnesota; Their Story and People by Walter Van Brunt.
This postcard, published by the Curt Teich Co. of Chicago, shows the Elmgren Motor Court in the tiny hamlet of Clifton, just outside Duluth’s city limits on the North Shore of Lake Superior.
This undated postcard shows the stylish design and furnishings in the lounge at Duluth’s Spalding Hotel circa the early 1900s.
This postcard of the Rustic Bridge at Lester Park was mailed on New Year’s Eve of 1912 — 110 years ago today — to Mrs. Frank Larson of Stockholm, Wis.
Lakeview Castle, 5135 North Shore Drive in Duluth Township, got its start circa 1914 as a fish stand and coffee shop, eventually growing into a restaurant, lounge and motel.
It ceased operation at the end of 2009 and the Clearwater Grille opened there in the fall of 2010.
Among the legible signs in this undated postcard: Hill Hotel, Hamm’s Beep, bus station, Holland Hotel, Lyceum Theatre, Spalding Hotel, Saratoga Hotel, Hotel Tavern, Dove Clothing Store.
A flour mill fire in Superior caused more than $2.6 million in damage on Nov. 9, 1907 — 115 years ago today. The Duluth News Tribune referred to it as “the most disastrous fire in point of property loss, and probably the most spectacular blaze ever seen at the Head of the Lakes.”
The postcard shown above was mailed nine days after the fire. It was sent by someone named Frank to Master A. Pearson of Spokane, Wash. The photo apparently shows the smoldering remains of the Freeman Flour Mills and Elevator — Franks wrote “Fremon Mill” on the back of the card.
This postcard was mailed 110 years ago today — Nov. 7, 1912. A previous Perfect Duluth Day post featured a different version of the same card, mailed four months earlier. That post includes additional background info on the lighthouse.
Also previously noted on PDD, the remains of the lighthouse have remained in roughly the same condition for more than a century.
Lakeside Presbyterian Church was founded in 1890 and the building shown in this undated postcard went up at 4430 McCulloch St. in 1921, replacing the church’s previous building there.
This postcard from the early-to-middle 20th century shows Duluth’s business district as seen from the harbor.
This postcard from the early 1900s primarily shows the buildings on the 300 block of West Superior Street in Downtown Duluth. The white building with the flag is the Alworth, Duluth’s tallest building from 1910 to 2022. Construction of the new Essentia Tower is relegating the Alworth to second-tallest status.
This 90-year-old postcard was mailed Sept. 21, 1932 — 90 years ago today. It boasts the principal attributes of Duluth.
