The 100 Block of East First Street in Duluth Circa 1928

All of the buildings in the foreground of this century-old photo are still standing, though at least one of them is likely to be demolished soon.

The image is estimated to be from the year 1928 because it features the Duluth Costume House at the center of the frame, and newspaper archives indicate the business moved to the other side of the street in March 1929. The business had been at its original location since 1923, but the vehicles in the image suggest 1928 or later.

The photo is from a postcard in a recent auction on eBay.

Below is a rundown of the buildings from left to right.

118 E. First St. is the building barely visible at the left of the photo. It is listed in the 1930 city directory as Gray’s Garage. According to National Register of Historic Places documents it was built in 1904 as Gray Brother’s Bakery and the architect was either J.J. Marberry or John J. Wangenstien. The building was home to Duluth Auto Sales at the turn of the millennium and later became the Retro Revisited Antique Mall. It was functioning as a warehouse when a fire severely damaged it in 2020. The Duluth Heritage Preservation Commission is considering a proposal to demolish it.

114 E. First St. bears the name International Motor Trucks, a trade name of the International Harvester Company, which had this building constructed as its Duluth headquarters in 1924. The building later served as a Moose Lodge for many years and became the Heaven nightclub in 1998 for a matter of months before the Wabasha Bookstore moved from Superior Street to take over the space.

112 E. First St. is a gap in this image. The building there is set back from First Street with an alley entrance. It was built circa 1922 and housed the Thorsell & Nesgoda Garage. More recently the building was home to Willis Supply Company.

110 E. First St. was home to Duluth Costume House from 1923 to 1929. It’s not known when the building was constructed. In the semi-recent past it housed the First Street Exchange pawnbroker business. At present it appears to be storage space.

102-108 E. First St. featured several businesses circa 1928. The 102 portion of the building was Kenner’s Grocery, 104 was the Henry Lake men’s furnishings store, and the 108 end of the building was the Toverila Company Hotel, which later became Matt’s Bar/Grill and after that the Apollo Bar, Cafe and Hotel. The building also housed the Ideal Market for many years. It is presently the Francis E. Skinner Apartments.

32 E. First St. was the longtime home of the Yale Laundry Company. The building might date back to 1901. It has been the Building for Women since 1993.

None of the First Street buildings on the zero block beyond Yale Laundry remain. The Duluth Technology Village parking ramp now occupies that space.