Lincoln Park Neighborhood / The Friendly West End Posts

Hotel Pikku, an early Lincoln Park revival project, is up for sale

Apr 07, 2022 No Comments

The building at 1923 W. Superior St. was constructed in 1899 and houses the Hotel Pikku and Hemlock Leather works. (Photo: gregfollmer.com)

A small, stylish boutique hotel that opened in a renovated historic building and helped transform Lincoln Park into a hip, trendy neighborhood is now for sale.

The three-suite, second-floor Hotel Pikku, 1923 W. Superior St., opened after owners Chelsy Whittington and Andy Matson purchased the building in 2016 and spent more than a year remodeling it. Hemlock Leatherworks, a custom shoemaker, is located on the ground floor.

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News and Current Affairs ,

R.I.P. Esmond Building

Feb 17, 2022 1 Comment

The Duluth News Tribune reports the former Seaway Hotel, also known as the Esmond Building, was demolished on Wednesday. The building had been gutted by a fire on Jan. 10.

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News and Current Affairs, R.I.P. ,

Condemned Esmond building gutted by fire

Jan 10, 2022 1 Comment

The Duluth Fire Department tweeted this photo at 7:55 a.m. noting a heavy fire on the second floor of the Esmond building.

The former Seaway Hotel, more recently known as the Esmond building, burned for seven hours today while fire fighters struggled in sub-arctic temperatures to extinguish it. The condemned structure at 2001 W. Superior St. in Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood has been vacant since 2020 with future plans for demolition and redevelopment.

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New Lincoln Park housing takes over old furniture row

Dec 22, 2021 1 Comment

The Anderson Furniture Building, 2032 W. Superior St., was recently purchased by a Duluth developer. The building was constructed in 1910 for use by the Otis Elevator Company. (Photos by Mark Nicklawske).

A historic “Furniture Row” anchor store in Duluth’s Lincoln Park Craft District has new owners who plan to renovate the building and add more housing and retail space to the booming neighborhood. The former Anderson Furniture building at 2032 W. Superior St. was purchased earlier this year by Ohana Holdings LLC of Duluth. St. Louis County property tax records show the company purchased the three-story, 37,000-square-foot property for $500,000.

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News and Current Affairs

Sledding Duluth’s Avenues in 1921

Nov 22, 2021 No Comments

One hundred years ago there were far fewer cars on Duluth’s streets, but it was still considered dangerous to sled down the city’s steep avenues. So Duluth Police Chief Warren E. Pugh surveyed the city and selected a few recommended avenues that posed “the least danger to life and limb,” according to the Duluth Herald of Nov. 22, 1921.

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History , , , ,

June of ’71: Anderson Furniture completes remodeling project

Jun 03, 2021 1 Comment

Wilbur Anderson and Dean Reese of Anderson Furniture announced the completion of an extensive remodeling project at their Anderson Furniture Co. store fifty years ago. The Duluth Herald of June 3, 1971 provides the details of the work done at 2032 W. Superior St., also noting the remodeling was planned to fit in with a proposed new mall across the street. Of course, Miller Hill Mall would open instead, two years later.

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History , ,

Seaway in Song

Apr 30, 2021 No Comments

News that the Esmond building in the Lincoln Park Craft District might soon be demolished leads Perfect Duluth Day to note that the structure once known as the Seaway Hotel in Duluth’s Friendly West End has at least twice been referenced in music.

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Music ,

Demolition, apartments is new plan for Esmond building

Apr 30, 2021 3 Comments

The Esmond Building – formerly the Seaway Hotel – at 2001 W. Superior St. in Lincoln Park. The now vacant, city-owned building would be demolished and replaced with a mixed use housing project under a new redevelopment proposal. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)

A historic but blighted building in the heart of the Lincoln Park craft district could be headed for demolition after plans to renovate the city-owned property fell through and officials started working with a new developer.

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Frost River has gone solar

Apr 22, 2021 1 Comment

Frost River, a maker of canvas packs in Duluth’s Lincoln Park Craft District, is now powering its manufacturing facility and retail store with solar panels. The new rooftop panels are from EPF Solar of Minneapolis and were installed by Belknap Electric.

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R.I.P. Robert’s Home Furnishings building

Apr 13, 2021 2 Comments

The former Robert’s Home Furnishings building at 2102 W. Superior St. in Lincoln Park was torn down last week. Robert Rothenberger launched furniture retail business in 1987 and closed its doors in October 2018 upon retirement. Roberts was part of  the “big three” furniture stores that anchored the West End for decades. The building was constructed 1890 as a lumber warehouse. Rachel Development, based in St. Michael, Minn., plans to build a four-story, 74-unit housing project on the site. Rothenberger died in November. Photo by Mark Nicklawske.


News and Current Affairs, R.I.P. ,

Commercial Cafe opens under new management in 1921

Mar 29, 2021 No Comments

This advertisement in the March 29, 1921 Duluth Herald promotes the reopening of the Commercial Cafe at 10 N. 20th Ave. W. in what is now Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. The location is probably where DLH Clothing is operating a retail store today, although all businesses in that building use the address 12 N. 20th Ave. W.


History ,

Selective Focus: The Old West End

Feb 25, 2021 No Comments

Photographer Nik Nerburn (previously on PDD) has just published a book of photos and stories following the last few years of transformation in Duluth’s West End, more recently and commonly known as Lincoln Park. We get a sneek peek at a few of the images in the book.

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Art, History, Photos , , ,

The Slice: Snow Sculpting in Lincoln Park

Feb 17, 2021 No Comments

The father-and-son team of Steve and Austin Lentz transform a block of snow into a beautiful snow globe scene at Ursa Minor Brewing in Lincoln Park.

In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.


Art, Videos , , , ,

Lift Lincoln Park Indiegogo Episode II

Nov 26, 2020 No Comments

Another COVID-19 lockdown, another Lincoln Park Craft District Indiegogo campaign. The original, back in April, had 1,371 backers and raised more than $67,000.


Random , ,

Lincoln Park Mural Project

Oct 20, 2020 No Comments

Artist Moira Villiard and her team created a mural at 2024 W. Third St. this past summer through a number of artist grants. The team included Michelle Defoe, Aurora Webster and Heather Olson. This video was produced and edited by Dudley Edmondson.


Art, Videos , ,