Paul Lundgren
Duluth Mystery Photo #20: Who was F. W. Miller?
He had a house on Park Point. That’s all we know.
The mayorally proclaimed Perfect Duluth Day of 2014
Duluth Mayor Don Ness was “overwhelmed with a feeling of love and gratitude for this beautiful city,” yesterday (Sept. 28) and declared on Facebook that it was the “perfect Duluth day 2014,” encouraging people to “take advantage of everything the city has to offer” and post pictures and stories with the hashtag #perfectduluth. Here are some of the results.
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It’s always warm at Victus Farm
A recent story on American Public Media’s Marketplace program — “How to grow lettuce and fish indoors, all year long” — explores the wonders of aquaponics. Victus Farm is profiled for growing produce fertilized by fish grown in the same facility. The project is a partnership between the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Center for Sustainable Community Development and the city of Silver Bay. UMD Geography Professor Mike Mageau and a former student, Baylor Radtke, are also building a smaller fish-and-vegetable operation in Radtke’s yard in Duluth.
Pride of the Twin Ports Area Game
From the heyday of Monopoly comes … Pride of the Twin Ports Area Game! It doesn’t appear to be something local marketing geniuses came up with, but rather a product of a company called Citipride of America, which probably made different versions of the game for different cities across the country. Perhaps the local Chamber of Commerce sold sponsorships on the game board to various businesses to raise money to have the game made, and then sales of the game raised money for the chamber … or something. That’s all conjecture; there doesn’t seem to be any info online about the game or the company.
So, does anyone else have this game? Can anyone put a year on it? It’s no older than 1978, because the instructions contain historical info about the sponsoring local businesses and mention that Northwest Office Supply expanded in 1978. It’s no more recent than 1982, because the Normandy Hotel was taken over by Holiday Inn & Suites that year.
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Upset Firefly Fans
Lawrence Lee, Duane Rieck and Kay Rieck join the Upset Duluth ranks. (Photo by Clint Austin)
‘Firefly’ fans unite: Shindig for Joss Whedon show on tap this weekend
The End of Salsafication in Duluth
Sept. 19, 2004 — Chi-Chi’s Mexican Restaurante in Duluth closed following corporate bankruptcy. It had been located in the Fitger’s Brewery Complex for 20 years. Baja Billy’s Cantina and Grill replaced it in 2005, but closed four years later. Mexico Lindo opened in April 2010 and remains there today.
Job Opening: PDD Calendar Editor Version 3.0
Mr. Lawrence Lee, superhero editor of the PDD Calendar since April 2012, has announced his desire for fewer responsibilities. He is resigning his position, and will step down in October, when a qualified intrepid soul will be anointed to continue the mission. We promise not to turn the job interview process into a reality TV show, but we can’t say it won’t be competitive.
Follow this link to the PDD Employment page to read the job description.
During what will end up being a two-and-a-half-year stint, Lawrence will have presided over the publishing of more than 20,000 events in the calendar — and he didn’t even start getting bug eyed until a couple months ago. He plans to stay on as a contributor to the calendar, so the next person to join the ranks of PDD’s sterling staff will benefit from his wisdom and his ongoing efforts. That said, we will not accept a mere mortal taking over the reins. The bar has been set too high.
R.I.P. Irving Recreation Center
Demolition of the Irving Recreation Center has been taking place this week. Above is a photo of the rubble. Below is a shot from February 2013.
Perfect Coffee Shop: Beaner’s Central
A rash of new coffee joints have opened up in Duluth in recent years, but an old favorite was the clear winner in Perfect Duluth Day’s poll to name the best coffee shop. Beaner’s Central Concert Coffeehouse has been as much known for its live music and friendly vibe over the past 15 years as it has for the Alakef-roasted java blends served there daily. Not to mention the baked goods, soups, sandwiches, pizzas, random experimental breakfasts, beers, wines, art exhibitions, basement recording studio and whatever else the affable and eccentric owner and founder Jason Wussow decides to offer next. It’s no wonder Beaner’s dominated with 50 percent of the vote in the three-way race for Duluth’s coffee-shop crown.
Jefferson People’s House, which opened just three months before our poll, gave a strong second place performance with 28 percent of the vote. The not-quite-two-year-old Duluth Coffee Co. cafe and roasterie also performed well, pulling in 22 percent of the vote.
Best Coffee Shop in the Duluth Area Poll (Final Ballot)
In our elimination round poll we pitted 11 coffee shops against each other. The top three now do battle in this contest to answer the question …
[poll id=”68″]
This poll is now closed. There results were:
Beaner’s Central Concert Coffeehouse – 50.4 percent
Jefferson People’s House – 27.8 percent
Duluth Coffee Co. – 21.8
Amity Coffee is open in Lakeside
Amity Coffee opened on Sept. 6 at 4429 E. Superior St., serving up java from Duluth Coffee Co. The owners are Adam Swank and Patti Chuang.
The artwork on the walls is a selection of landscape paintings by Aaron Kloss.
Hours are 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursdays, 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Fridays and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
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Best Coffee Shop in the Duluth Area Poll (Elimination Round)
Through our usual highly scientific means, a list of nominees for best Duluth-area coffee shop has been developed. Now it’s time to narrow down the choices with a round of voting.
[poll id=”67″]
This poll is now closed. The top three, advancing to the final ballot are:
Beaner’s Central Concert Coffeehouse
Duluth Coffee Co.
Jefferson People’s House
Nominees for Best Coffee Shop in the Duluth area
It’s been a few months since we’ve done a poll on PDD, but we trust that with all the “Vote Duluth the best outdoor city in the galaxy or whatever” hype that most of you thought a break was for the better. Now it’s time to return to our quest to decide what the best city’s best things are.
Before we launch our poll to name the best coffee shop, we have to establish a list of nominees by asking you to rant in the comments. The ground rules are fairly simple:
- As usual, the territory we are covering encompasses Duluth and anywhere within 10 miles of Duluth’s border – so coffee shops in Superior, Hermantown, Proctor and the various bordering townships all qualify; Two Harbors and Cloquet are out of bounds.
- The criteria for what defines a coffee shop or what makes one “the best” is pretty open. Certain bakeries and restaurants kind of double as coffee shops, and that’s fine. Some places have a focus on live music or a kick-ass record collection, others sink a fortune into furniture or double as a place of worship. Feel free to consider those things along with the coffee itself, or don’t. In the end, voters will decide what’s important to the masses.
- It’s fine to nominate a corporate giant like Starbucks, Caribou or Dunn Bros., but be specific if you do. Pick a particular location; don’t nominate the franchise as a whole.
- Keep in mind that we are not issuing a challenge here to name every coffee shop that exists in the area. We’re just asking you to tell us which ones you think have a reasonable chance of winning a poll.
That’s about it. Make your thoughts known and we’ll launch the poll on Friday.
Duluth school principals defend short skirts
For your back-to-school reading pleasure, from the Oct. 2, 1921 Duluth News Tribune:
Duluth Mystery Photo: Denfeld football players from 1951
Help name these Denfeld Hunters. The image above is one of three dated Nov. 29, 1951 that were listed for sale on eBay. The description read: “These three photos were of the football players from Denfeld High School in Duluth, Minnesota. The sign in the background says Public Schools Stadium. The photos are from 1951. Two of the boys are identified: Eli Miletich and Richard Wilson. Eli Miletich gained some local celebrity later in life on the Duluth Police force.”
So, who can name the other two gridiron greats from West Duluth?
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Beating it under the Ninth Street Bridge
Above is a photo from the old Ripsaw magazine showing the famous “Beat it” tag underneath the Ninth Street Bridge over Chester Creek. The tag is dated Oct. 1, 1992, and was reportedly painted over when the bridge was renovated in 2003.
Below is the updated tag, as photographed in 2014.
The age-old question is: How did you do that? You are the one who did it, right? Why is the new tag backward?
Redstone damaged by fire
From the assistant fire chief’s office:
At 00:52 this morning, the Duluth Fire Department responded to a structure fire at 1511 E. Superior St. The first vehicle on scene reported a working fire, with heavy fire showing from a first-floor window of a three-story building. The fire had extended to the second floor via a pipe chase.
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2014 Duluth General Election Primer
There are less than three months to study up; the General Election will be held on Nov. 4. Below are the races that will appear on ballots in Duluth, with links to the websites of candidates who have them.
FEDERAL OFFICES
United States Senator
Steve Carlson (Independence)
Mike McFadden (Republican)
Al Franken (Democratic-Farmer-Labor)
Heather Johnson (Libertarian)
United States Representative, Minnesota District 8
Ray “Skip” Sandman (Green)
Stewart Mills (Republican)
Rick Nolan (Democratic-Farmer-Labor)
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Mystery Photo: BlueBird Landing on Lake Superior’s North Shore
This photo from the mid-1940s raises a few questions, and the Internet provides fast answers to many of them. (more…)
Iron Mug Coffee House in Morgan Park
There is a new coffee shop, deli and pizza place in Duluth’s Morgan Park neighborhood — and it also happens to be the only coffee shop or restaurant of any kind in that neighborhood.
Iron Mug opened on July 30 in the old Lakeview Store building, which was constructed in 1916 to serve as one of the first indoor shopping malls in the United States. The building once housed a grocery store and post office, among other things. The largest major tenant in recent years was Advantage Emblem & Screen Printing, which was located in the building from about 1991 to 2008, before moving to the corner of Haines and Arrowhead roads, near the airport.
Some Iron Mug facts:
- Owned by: Felisha and Brandon Johnson
- Address: 1096 88th Ave. W.
- Phone: 218-464-5408
- Coffee served: Backroads brand from Hayward
- Hours: Open seven days a week — Mondays through Saturdays 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sundays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.: