Postcards
Postcard from the Coal Docks in 1911
This postcard was mailed Sept. 18, 1911 — 110 years ago today. For some reason it took more than a month to reach it’s destination. It bears a second postmark of Oct. 26; indicating it took 38 days to travel about 250 miles from Duluth to Miss Martha Moe in Wood Lake. (more…)
Postcard from the College of St. Scholastica, 1931
This postcard of the College of St. Scholastica was mailed Sept. 13, 1931 — 90 years ago today. Robert Strauss of Snyder, N.Y. was the recipient. The message on the back is from his parents, who write: “Hello Boy. On our way to Seattle.” (more…)
Postcard from First Methodist Episcopal Church
The written message on the back of this century-old postcard is dated Sept. 9 by “Aunt Martha,” but has no postmark or other indication of the year. The card shows First Methodist Episcopal Church on the corner of Third Avenue West and Third Street in Duluth. The building stood there from 1893 to 1969. (more…)
Postcard from a Coaching Party on Boulevard Drive
This postcard bears the date of Aug. 31, 1906 — 115 years ago today. It shows horse-drawn carriages on “the Boulevard,” now known as Skyline Parkway. The illustration might be an interpretation of the Twin Ponds area; it’s not clear. The artist apparently felt the popular scenic byway’s gravel surface should be green.
The handwritten message on the card reads, “Will leave here to-day for home,” and the sender’s name looks like “Smith.”
Postcard from the Aerial Lift Bridge at Night
This undated postcard, published by Zenith Interstate News Company, depicts the Duluth Ship Canal and Aerial Lift Bridge circa the early half of the 20th century. (more…)
Postcard from Bethany Children’s Home in 1916
This handsome structure at 4000 W. Ninth St. was originally the home of Alfred and Jane Merritt. They sold it to the Swedish Lutheran Church of West Duluth the same year this postcard was mailed, 1916, and it became an orphanage. The home was destroyed by fire on Oct. 10, 1920. (more…)
Postcard from the Hiawatha in 1961
Another postcard bearing this image was previously posted on Perfect Duluth Day, but this one bears a postmark from 60 years ago today — Aug. 15, 1961. (more…)
Postcard of a Night Scene in Duluth
This postcard was mailed Aug. 14, 1941. It shows the Aerial Lift Bridge and western Downtown Duluth buildings in the city lights and illumination from the Moon. (more…)
Postcard from Third Avenue in Hibbing, 1921
This postcard was mailed 100 years ago today — Aug. 6, 1921. The image shows Third Avenue in Hibbing looking north, including the Oliver Hotel at 422 Third Avenue. The card was published by T. C. Congdon. (more…)
Postcard from Marshall Wells Slip and Building
This postcard was mailed July 31, 1911 — 110 years ago today — to Miss Emma Perkins of Cleveland, Ohio. It shows what is today known as Minnesota Slip, where the William A. Irvin is docked. At right is the headquarters of Marshall-Wells Hardware Company, one of the world’s largest hardware wholesalers a century ago. (more…)
Postcard from the Alger-Smith Sawmill
This postcard was mailed July 29, 1911. By then the Alger-Smith Sawmill in West Duluth had been dismantled following a decade-long decline in the sawmilling industry.
Anyone with a century-old garage in West Duluth likely owns scraps of the Alger-Smith mill. “There must be 100 garages in West Duluth that have been built this summer out of lumber taken during the process of dismantling,” the company’s president told the Duluth Herald in a story that appeared in the Sept. 22, 1920 edition. “Every day or two some person inquires for the lumber, and when we ask him what it is for he says, ‘A garage.’ Our lumber must have built almost all of the garages in West Duluth this summer.” (more…)
West Duluth’s Allyndale Motel circa 1971
The Allyndale Motel has been in operation at 510 N. 66th Ave. W. since 1952. The backside of the postcard image above boasts the motel’s features circa the 1970s: “Overlooking Duluth – Free TV – Room Phones – Tubs and Showers – Large Units – Individually controlled Hot Water Heat.”
Postcard from the St. Louis Hotel, Duluth
This postcard was mailed July 18, 1911 — 110 years ago today. The recipient was Mrs. Anna Carlson of St. Louis, Mo. The written message seems to be in a foreign language; the sender’s name looks like Mrs. Emma Ellstrand. (more…)
Pretty Drive Around Lake Superior Near Duluth in 1921
This postcard image is dated 100 years ago today — July 9, 1921. It appears to be two families parked on the side of old Highway 61. (more…)
Postcard from the Central Part of Superior Street
This undated postcard, published by the H. C. Wick Company, shows an aerial view of Downtown Duluth from about Second Avenue West looking northeastward down Superior Street. Perhaps the photo was shot from atop the Alworth Building. (more…)
Postcard from Stromgren’s Motel
This undated postcard from Gallagher’s Studio of Photography shows Stromgren’s Motel, located on Highway 61 in Duluth Township. (more…)
Postcard from Superior Street in 1871
What did Superior Street look like 150 years ago? Well, a little something like what’s shown in the postcard image above. (more…)
Postcard from the Duluth Shipping Canal and Aerial Lift Bridge
This undated postcard, published by Harry Wolf and P. T. Olson of Detroit, Mich., features a photo taken by Wolf of the Duluth shipping canal and Aerial Lift Bridge. (more…)
Postcard from an Outbound Freighter
This undated postcard from Zenith Interstate News Company shows a freighter exiting the Duluth shipping canal into Lake Superior. (more…)
Douglas County Historical Society Museum circa 1949
The postcards shown here were sold at the Douglas County Historical Museum circa 1949. Above is the pioneer kitchen display at the museum. (more…)
Postcard from the Passenger Steamer South American
This undated postcard, published by Zenith Interstate News Company, shows the Steamer South American on Lake Superior. It was built for the Chicago, Duluth & Georgian Bay Transit Company and launched as an overnight passenger ship on Feb. 21, 1914. A fire in 1924 required the upper works of the vessel to be rebuilt, resulting in the addition of a second smokestack, which is shown on the postcard. (more…)
Postcard from Miller’s Cafeteria
Miller’s Cafeteria in Duluth’s Medical Arts Building, 320 W. Superior St., has a convoluted origin story that was explored in the comments to a Perfect Duluth Day Mystery Photo in 2014 and in the Duluth News Tribune “Relics” column “An old place mat holds memories of downtown cafe,” in 2019. From those works we learned the cafe became the Captain’s Table in 1959 and closed in 1972. (more…)
Postcards from the Duluth Civic Center
Duluth’s Civic Center includes the St. Louis County Courthouse (1909), Duluth City Hall (1928), Gerald W. Heaney Federal Building (1930), St. Louis County Jail (1923) and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument (1919). (more…)
Postcard from Little Two Harbors
This undated postcard from Duluth Photo Engraving Company shows Ellingson Island at Little Two Harbors, the bay best known for its views of Split Rock Lighthouse.