Postcard from the Steamer Thomas F. Cole
This postcard depicts the Thomas F. Cole in the Duluth shipping channel on her maiden trip to Duluth. The message on the back of the card appears to be dated Sept. 1, 1908.
This postcard depicts the Thomas F. Cole in the Duluth shipping channel on her maiden trip to Duluth. The message on the back of the card appears to be dated Sept. 1, 1908.
Photo by Mark Nicklawske
The Aerial Lift Bridge is closed to ship traffic after a 1,004-foot freighter ran aground in the Duluth harbor around 3:30 p.m. today.
There’s a new website for those who like watching the ships roll in and then watching them roll away again. Saturn Systems, a Duluth-based software engineering firm, recently launched a shipping tracker at harborlookout.com. The site lists arrival and departure times and displays a map with icons showing ship locations.
Duluth News Tribune: New maritime website unveiled in Duluth
It was ten years ago that KBJR-TV news reporter Julie Pierce made her famous slip-of-the-tongue while referring to the 1,000-foot motor vessel Walter J. McCarthy Jr. The video clip above, viewed more than 200,000 times in the past decade, also shows KBJR misspelling “McCarthy” on its graphic; so it goes.
Dawn LaPointe and Gary Fiedler of Radiant Spirit Gallery captured the Joseph L. Block emerging through the sea smoke like a ghost. The morning temperature was -20°F with a -40°F windchill. The video was processed at an 8x speed.
As is usually the case with the PDD Video Lab, we’ve supplied a soundtrack to the silent video. Press play on the audio file below, then press play on the video file and enjoy the marriage. The track is “Cold” by Duluth band Woodblind.
Although the date Dec. 11 is recorded on this image, it’s not clear what year it was when the steamer Perry G. Walker arrived in Duluth covered in ice. It’s also not clear if this is a photo or an illustration … or an illustrated photo.
It seems most ship traffic going onto the lake from Duluth-Superior goes through the canal under the Aerial Lift Bridge. How much ship traffic uses the Superior Entry, which is between Minnesota Point and Wisconsin Point? Only the ships going to and from Allouez?
Last week an official ribbon cutting was held at the CN Duluth Intermodal Terminal. Politicians and transportation business leaders gathered to tout the partnership between Canadian National Railway Company and Duluth Cargo Connect, which created the first rail-served intermodal container ramp in the Twin Ports, positioning the region for direct transportation of containerized imports and exports to East, West and Gulf Coast ports via Duluth.
Duluth Cargo Connect is a working partnership of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority and Lake Superior Warehousing. The rail-served facility is located at Clure Public Marine Terminal on Rice’s Point.
Why is a full-service, multimodal hub for domestic and international trade so important? Lake Superior Magazine explains in an article published Sept. 20: Going Intermodal.
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 16mm film documentary was produced by Detroit Public Schools and the Ford Motor Company. It chronicles a trip aboard the Ford Motor Company freighter as it voyages from the River Rouge Factory Complex to Duluth and back with a load of iron ore.
The program is sexy throughout, but since it’s an educational film you might want the cheat sheet or Cliff Notes. The Duluth segment of the adventure starts at the 13-minute mark and ends at the 17-minute mark.
Much appreciation to the Detroit Historical Society for making this gem available to the masses.
A film of Duluth and a trip to Isle Royale by my Grandpa Henry.
Great Lakes Aquarium will exhibit photographs by Mary T. George from March 2 to May 22 in the Aquarium’s fine arts gallery. The public is invited to an opening reception Wednesday, March 2, from 5-7 p.m. The exhibit features photos of ships that have made recent history in the Twin Ports including the Mesabi Miner, Edgar B. Speer, Edwin H. Gott and others.
Aquarium Executive Director Jack LaVoy says that Mary “brings the energy and majesty of our working waterfront to life and sets a standard of excellence that can only be achieved by someone with an artist’s eye and an abiding love of the harbor.”
