Paul Lundgren
Has a little of Uncle Harvey gone missing?
Mike Scholtz’s photos of the sand- and gravel-hopper ruins known as “Uncle Harvey’s Mausoleum” suggest the round column near the shore collapsed at some point in recent days. The photo at left is from 2013. The photo at right is from today.
Postcards from Duluth’s ore docks
Duluth’s first ore dock was built in 1893, just east of 34th Avenue West. The Duluth, Missabe and Northern Railway built several docks there for loading iron ore from the Iron Range for shipment to steel plants in the East. The first five docks were built of wood, which was gradually replaced by steel and concrete. (more…)
Christine Dean’s Mix – free download from Homegrown
Available now for free download on Bandcamp, 115 megabytes of local rawk and/or roll selected by Christine Dean the radio queen. When you follow the link to Bandcamp you’ll see all the previous Homegrown compilations are available as well. You must “name your price,” and $0 is completely acceptable. You are welcome. Thank you, fans!
Palace Theater tour from 2002
The Palace Theater in Superior was torn down in 2006, but this video of a tour in 2002 has emerged on YouTube. (more…)
Duluth Album Releases in 2015
Moors & McCumber
Pandemonium
(Jan. 1)
Available on Bandcamp
Feeding LeRoy
Love is a Gamble EP
(Jan. 16)
Available on Bandcamp
Adam Sippola
Rising Point
(Jan. 24)
Single “How Do You Know” available on adamsippola.com
The Christopher David Hanson Band
For Another Year
(Jan. 26)
Available on iTunes
Four Mile Portage
Can’t Find Home
(Feb. 1)
Recorded by Eric Swanson at Sacred Heart Music Center
Available on Bandcamp
Steve O’Neil Apartments grand opening
That was then, this is now. The photo on the left is the old Union Block in 2010; the photo at right is Steve O’Neil Apartments today. (Apologies for not shooting from the same angle for this before/after comparison.)
A ribbon-cutting and grand opening was held today at the new 44-unit complex located at 115 W. Fourth St. in the Central Hillside. The apartments are providing supportive housing for families that have experienced long-term homelessness. it is operated by Chum, which provides 24-hour supportive services to those living in the facility. (more…)
Where in Duluth? #123
Time for another installment of Perfect Duluth Day’s ultra-thrilling photo-trivia sensation. Where in Duluth was this shot taken?
Perfect Play or Musical of 2014: Renegade’s Red
It was close, and it has to be considered an upset. Renegade Theater Company’s two-character biographical play, Red, staged in the roughly 100-seat Teatro Zuccone theater, was the winner in Perfect Duluth Day’s poll to name the best play or musical of 2014. It edged out the Duluth Playhouse’s centennial-marking, big-budget musical production of Les Misérables, which was staged in the 2,200-seat Symphony Hall at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center.
Cool Duluth Minnesota: Summer City of the Continent
This little item was recently unearthed by Michael J. Martens of Portland, Ore., and sent PDD’s way via Jess Koski. (more…)
Poll: Best Play or Musical of 2014 (Final Ballot)
From the list of 18 nominated plays or musicals from last year, our previous poll trimmed it down to the final two. Now it’s time to ask, once and for all …
[poll id=”79″]
This poll is now closed. The results were:
Renegade Theater Company’s Red – 51.1 percent
Duluth Playhouse’s Les Misérables – 48.9 percent
January 2005 in Review
- Low releases The Great Destroyer. (Video by Starfire.)
- The Twin Ports Music and Arts Collective closes.
- Nutty Meg’s closes.
- Eric Ringsred and his son Miles plan to open a drinking establishment called the Cider House at the old Snyder’s Superstop. (It never happens, and instead Dubh Linn Irish Pub opens there in 2006.)
- The Red Star Lounge is under construction at the Fitger’s Brewery Complex.
- Mike Neal opens Splash Beach Club in the former Western Tavern. It briefly serves as Duluth’s only alcohol-free weekend dance club.
- Management of the NorShor Theatre transfers from Chip Stewart and Craig Samborski to J.P. Rennquist.
Poll: Best Play or Musical of 2014 (Elimination Round)
The nominations are in and it’s time to vote. Which Duluth-area theater production made your little Greek mask laugh or weep last year?
[poll id=”78″]
This poll is now closed. These two plays advance to the final poll:
Les Misérables – Duluth Playhouse
Red – Renegade Theater Company
Duluth-area Matchbook Collection
Perfect Duluth Day presents the Duluth Matchbook Collection — a gallery of small cardboard folders with a striking surface on one side, featuring images promoting select enterprises of the Arrowhead region. (more…)
Best Play or Musical of 2014 Nominations
It’s time again to look back at the previous year of locally produced theater and choose the nominees for Best Play or Musical. In 2013, the Duluth Playhouse Children’s Theatre’s production of Cats took top honors. What was your favorite play of 2014?
Wood Blind featuring Teague Alexy — “Working Man’s Song”
“Working Man’s Song” is the B-side to Wood Blind‘s recent 7-inch single release, “Big Voice.” Teague Alexy composed “Working Man’s Song” roughly 15 years ago; it appeared on the Teague Alexy with Medication album Sun, Moon and Heaven. Alexy provides lead vocals on the Wood Blind version, with Jason Wussow on guitar and Veikko Lepisto on upright bass.
Leaving Duluth: Feel free to write your own caption
“Leaving Duluth” postcard image from Arcade studio, roughly a century ago.
Macho Madness Day in Duluth
To mark the occasion of “Macho Man” Randy Savage being inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame, Eyewitness News Sports Director Dan Williamson dipped into the PDD Photo Archive and recalled the time Duluth Mayor John Fedo declared “Macho Madness Day” in the city of Duluth.
(more…)
Darkhood – “Destination”
According to the blurb on YouTube, the Duluth band Darkhood recorded this single in the 1960s.
“These lads allegedly recorded this at Chess Studios in Chicago and then subsequently lost most of the copies of this 45 when it melted in one of their cars,” the video description reads. “The flip side is great, too. Fuzz guitar and catchy garage from the Northlands; ain’t nothing better.”
The tune was ripped for YouTube from the original 45 by the Hold Tight DJ crew in St. Paul.
Tin Can Gin – “Duluth” (live on the PlayList)
From season six, episode one of WDSE-TV’s The PlayList, bluegrass band Tin Can Gin performs the song “Duluth.”
Duluth-Superior Transit Company Token
I recently acquired a Duluth-Superior Transit Company token from a friend and thought I’d post it in case anyone can pinpoint the year of its creation or share any interesting details. (more…)
Perfect Album of 2014: Red Mountain’s Scowl Lightly
It was actually a late-2013 release, but Red Mountain’s debut album Scowl Lightly captured the most attention in 2014 among voters in Perfect Duluth Day’s poll to name the top local album of the year. Issued on vinyl and compact disc by Duluth’s Chaperone Records, Scowl Lightly brought band leader Anton Jimenez-Kloeckl’s evolving musical project out of the shadows of the weirdo-experimental scene to top billing at local festivals — with enough performance antics to proudly retain the weirdo label. In a review for the independent music website Wordkrapht, Ellen Vaagen writes that Scowl Lightly is “a baroque pop gem spattered with claps, bells, trumpet, and saxophone floating on a clear stream of fancy-free fun” and the band’s live performances “are a fantasia of dancing, face paint, feathers, masks, and flamboyant sequin costumes that encourage crowds to let their freak flags fly.”
Members of Red Mountain accept the PDD Award for Perfect Album of 2014 at the Red Herring Lounge. (Photo by Steve Ash)
