Hagstrom & Forsgren Furniture Company in Duluth’s friendly West End held its grand opening event 100 years ago today — June 12, 1926. The building at 1910-1912 W. Superior St. is presently the location of Frost River, a manufacturer of canvas bags, canoe packs and other outdoor gear.
The May 28, 1926 issue of the Duluth Herald reports on the upcoming dedication of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church at 102 Fourth St. in Cloquet. The building is still in use, now serving as Queen of Peace Catholic Church.
Newspaper publisher John L. Morrison died 100 years ago today — May 18, 1926. As “head sawyer” of the Duluth Rip-saw, he was known for his unrelenting attacks on local politicians, which led to a gag order that shut his publication down. Five years after his mysterious death at the age of 62, Morrison was vindicated by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled the Public Nuisance Law violated the First Amendment of the United States Constitution protecting the freedom of the press.
One hundred years ago today — May 8, 1926 — the Duluth Herald reported on construction of a new hospital in West Duluth. Webber Hospital opened at 5601 Grand Ave. in March 1927.
As an addendum to the “High spots from West Duluth Day at the 1926 Winter Frolic” post we present this digitally enhanced photo from the cover of the Feb. 11, 1926 Duluth Herald. It appeared in the paper with the headline “Bathing girls frolic in Chester Park snowdrift.”
Oh, those frolicsome West Duluthians. The Feb. 11, 1926 Duluth Herald offers a slew of photos from West Duluth Day of the annual Duluth Winter Frolic. The neighborhood programming ran from 1 to 10 p.m. on Feb. 10, but Winter Frolic events were not exclusive to West Duluth that day. Other happenings included “stunts” in the downtown streets, hockey games at the Amphitheater and Curling Club, an ice carnival at the Curling club, and the Frolic Ball of the College Women’s Club at the Duluth Armory.
On Jan. 2, 1926 — one hundred years ago today — Willow River native and Superior Central High School standout athlete Ernie Nevers made his pro football debut in an exhibition game in Jacksonville, Florida. He represented the Jacksonville All Stars in a much-hyped game against Red Grange’s Chicago Bears.
The Jan. 2, 1926 Duluth Herald reported on the recent opening of a warming house at Chester Park, one month ahead of the national ski tournament held there. A new chalet was built at the ski hill in 1972. It was named the Thom Storm Chalet following Storm’s 2015 retirement as Chester Bowl’s director. An expansion and renovation project for that chalet is planned for later this year.
The 1925 fire at the Minnesota Power & Light Substation was not necessarily a particularly significant moment in Duluth history — the Duluth Herald offered just a simple photo and caption for its coverage — but the internet does not contain many photos of the building, so this fuzzy newspaper image has some moderate historic value.
The fire occurred on Oct. 25, 1925 — 100 years ago today.
The Hibbing Memorial Building opened 100 years ago today — Sept. 18, 1925 — as a memorial to veterans of World War I. It included a hockey rink, eight curling rinks, a bowling alley, an auditorium and veterans’ club quarters. It was destroyed by fire in 1933 and rebuilt in 1935.
Representatives of 100 American and Canadian fraternal organizations gathered in Duluth one century ago for the National Fraternal Congress of America convention. The event was held at the Hotel Duluth from Aug. 11-13, 1925, with sectional and committee meetings held Aug. 10.
Call this historical tidbit “Highway 61 Revisited.” On July 10, 1925 — one hundred years ago today — a celebration was held in Two Harbors to mark the completion of what was then called the Lake Superior International Highway, a section of Minnesota Trunk Highway 1.
West Duluth’s Alhambra Theater reopened under a new name, The State Theater, on June 27, 1925. The name change came after a renovation of the space, which had originally opened on Sept. 15, 1913.
The State Theater closed circa 1928. The building housed a variety of businesses until it reopened as the Alhambra on May 16, 2025 — one month ahead of the centennial of its name change.
Superior’s Androy Hotel opened 100 years ago today — May 15, 1925. It was advertised as the largest and only fireproof hotel in Superior.
One hundred years ago today — May 11, 1925 — the Hockin Brace & Paleen furniture store opened in the new building on the corner of Lake Avenue and West First Street in Duluth. The location is best known today as the Usan building, home of the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce since 2002.
