History
Mystery Photo #76: 400 block of West Superior Street
The above photo, submitted by Jay Sonnenburg, shows businesses on the 400 block of West Superior Street. At right is the WEBC Radio studio. At left are the Fargusson Building, Manhattan Building and Spalding Hotel. (more…)
A Duluth to be Proud Of
“I remember the young people on the trip who said, ‘How come we’re not learning this in school? How come we didn’t know that this had happened?’ …it’s an American story.” –Carl Crawford – Human Rights Officer, Duluth to Montgomery Reflections.
We Duluthians are a proud people. We’re proud of our cityscape and the landscape around us. We’re proud of our ability to withstand the cold, even as we complain about it. We’re proud of our ability to move forward, as Mayor Emily Larson expressed in her open letter to the Rolling Stones this past summer. We Duluthians pride ourselves in the fact that we don’t hide from issues but rather actively engage with them. It was this Duluth pride that prompted a new, local podcast from the NAACP. (more…)
Duluth streetcar conductresses helped with 1918 fire evacuation
One-hundred years ago today, Duluth was still reeling from the devastating fires of the previous week. The Duluth Herald ran a small article celebrating the efforts during the fire of a relatively new worker in Duluth: a female conductor on the Street Railway. (more…)
Duluth Ship Canal in Storm and Calm
This postcard is either from a century ago or last week.
Duluth Trivia Deck Sampler #11
Below are more items from an old trivia deck I bought at Savers.
1. How far out onto Lake Superior can the light atop Enger Tower be seen?
2. Who was the first postmaster for the Duluth region?
3. How man grain elevators were on Duluth’s waterfront at the turn of the twentieth century?
4. When was the Duluth Peony and Iris Society founded?
5. In what building did JFK speak in Duluth?
6. Who began conducting the DSSO in ‘seventy-seven?
Elevators at Duluth
Date unknown, artist unknown.
PDD Quiz: Creepy Northland
In honor of the upcoming Halloween holiday, this edition of the PDD Quiz tests knowledge of the Northland’s creepy places, events and history.
The next quiz, on headlines from October 2018, will be published on Oct. 28. Please email question suggestions to Alison Moffat at aklawite@d.umn.edu by Oct. 24. (more…)
How Enzie Flu In
The day after the Fire of 1918, this hilarious sendup of the Spanish influenza outbreak appeared in the Duluth News Tribune. At the time there were a couple dozen cases in the city, and commissioners had adopted an emergency order closing public buildings to halt the spread. Within a couple weeks the disease would no longer be a joking matter; it killed 7,521 Minnesotans in 1918 alone. (more…)
Northland Country Club, prior to 1918 fire
One hundred years ago, Northland Country Club was destroyed by the Cloquet Fire of 1918 — Minnesota’s deadliest natural disaster. (more…)
Mystery Photo #75: Young Woman on a Liden Cabinet Card
This cabinet card photo is from the L.N. Liden studio at 1619 W. Superior St. in Duluth. Identifying people in this type of photo is obviously a difficult task that depends more on luck than research skills, but nonetheless we give it the ol’ Perfect Duluth Day try. (more…)
Duluth’s Financial Crisis of 2008
Duluth was featured in the Oct. 6, 2008 issue of New York Times in an article about cities facing economic hardship.
To help close a gap of more than $6 million that yawned open over the summer, the artsy shipping city on Lake Superior had considered selling its prized Tiffany stained-glass window depicting Longfellow’s American Indian character Minnehaha, a one-of-a-kind work donated by a civic group more than 100 years ago. And some even pushed forward with plans to sell valuable beachfront property along the lake.
Postcards from Wonderland Tourist Court and Lodge
Wonderland Resort was located about three miles northeast of Duluth, on the shore of Lake Superior and adjacent to Schmidt Creek. It was run by Jack and Joan Bates from 1968 to 1998 and their family still reminisces about the old days on a Wonderland Resort Facebook page. (more…)
Postcard from Fond du Lac Kaffee Stuga
The old Swedish coffee cottage in Duluth’s Fond du Lac neighborhood was featured once before on Perfect Duluth Day in the post “Mystery Photo #16: Holm’s Kaffe Stuga.” It was located on Highway 23 at 123rd Ave. W. (more…)
Melrose Avenue in 1947
Street repairs on Melrose Avenue in Duluth. Two watch, three work.
Video Archive: The Dames on KBJR-TV
Twenty years ago today — Sept. 24, 1998 — Duluth band the Dames was featured in a segment on KBJR-TV News. The band performed at the Shrine Auditorium the next day with two other local bands, Crazy Betty and Groundskeeper Willie.
Mystery Photo #74: Jungle Book
There are quite a few things we know about this mystery photo. According to info scribbled on the back we can discern that Hope Phillips and Andy Tureson are acting out a scene from a staging of The Jungle Book at St. Michael’s Church in Duluth. (more…)
PDD Quiz: Bygone Festivities
While any given perfect Duluth day is chockablock with events, there are a number of festivals, carnivals, and other shenanigans that are no longer celebrated. This quiz looks back at these festivities of yesteryear, perhaps begging the question: should we bring some of them back?
The next quiz, on this month’s headlines, will be published on Sept. 30. Please email question suggestions to Alison Moffat at aklawite@d.umn.edu by Sept. 27. (more…)
Crashing into 2332 W. Third St.
Left: 2018 crash at 2332 W. Third St. (Duluth News Tribune photo by Steve Kuchera)
Right: 1965 crash at same location. (Duluth News Tribune staff photo)
It happens at least once every 53 years or so. A motor vehicle smashes into the storefront on the corner of 24th Avenue West and Third Street.
Sept. 11, 2018 | Bus crashes into runaway SUV in Lincoln Park
Aug. 12, 1965 | Freak crash sends auto inside store
Nettleton Elementary School 1962 First Grade Class Photo
Among the students in the Nettleton Elementary School first-grade class of 1962 is famed street photographer Wing Young Huie, seated in the middle of the second row. In August Huie was selected as the McKnight Foundation’s 2018 Distinguished Artist. He is the first photographer to receive the honor. (more…)
Postcard from Fairmount Park in 1948
This postcard of Duluth’s “municipal zoo,” now known as Lake Superior Zoo, was mailed 70 years ago today — Sept. 8, 1948. (more…)
Mystery Photos #72 and #73: Duluth in 1926
Tim Winker of Saginaw found two 1926 Duluth photos while going through his family’s collection. “Any guess as to where on the hillside these might have been taken?” he asks. (more…)
Mystery Photo #71: Duluth Eagles Club Summer Home
There doesn’t appear to be much information on the internet about the Duluth Eagles Club in general, much less the summer home shown on this old postcard. When were the Duluth Eagles formed? When did the club disband? Where is Grand View Beach / Aeire Lake? And where was the club’s main lodge in Duluth? (more…)