Photos
Duluth Boat Course
The Library of Congress has three photos on file labeled “Duluth Boat Course.” Above they are stitched together in Perfect Duluth Day’s attempt to see if they were intended to be used as a panorama. It almost kind of works.
Below are the three separate images, which show much better detail on their own. The photos are attributed to Bain News Service and dated “between ca. 1915 and ca. 1920.” (more…)
Mystery Photo: Owl Studio
The back of this postcard photo indicates it was shot at the Owl Studio, 10 E. Superior. St., next to Duluth’s Empress Theatre. It’s the same address as the Wide Awake Studio, which was featured in a previous Mystery Photo. (more…)
Halloween Banners
Got some photos of awesome Halloween memories? Want to share them with the PDD ghouls and goblins? Send them our way, we will add them to the banner rotation — the long skinny photos at the top of the page when you view Perfect Duluth Day on a desktop computer. (There are no photo banners if you are on a smartphone.)
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Postcard from the Moose Lake Fire of 1918
This postcard shows the aftermath of the infamous Moose Lake Fire. Written in white across the image is the date of the fire, Oct. 12, 1918, though the photo was almost certainly shot in the days that followed, not during the blaze. (more…)
Zinsmaster Bread Company of Duluth
This undated photo shows the Zinsmaster Wholesale Bakery facilities at 2831 W. Superior St. in Duluth. (more…)
Selective Focus: Fall Colors 2020
The Arrowhead region is awash with color once again. Track the progression of fall and peak color with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ Fall Color Finder.
Featured here are select images from Instagram showcasing this year’s fall color display. (more…)
Selective Focus: Superior Hiking Trail
The fall tradition of folks of hitting the 310+ mile Superior Hiking Trail continues. Featured here are select photos from Instagram.
Bulk Freighter Maricopa, circa 1900-1910
This Detroit Publishing Company photo of the bulk freighter Maricopa comes with little information. The Library of Congress dates it as “between 1900 and 1910.” There’s no photographer name and no location. It’s even filed as “S.S. Merick [sic] of Duluth,” for some reason. (more…)
Postcard from the Duluth Auditorium
The Duluth Auditorium — now known as the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center‘s Symphony Hall — opened in 1966. It has hosted an extensive variety of musicians, comedians, theatrical companies and other entertainers over the years and is the home stage of the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra and Minnesota Ballet. Seating capacity is 2,221. (more…)
Selective Focus: #perfectduluthday
The weather has been spectacular, we just had a long weekend, it’s time to check in on what people considered a #perfectduluthday
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Phallus Impudicus
The “impudent phallus.” Like many mushrooms, they have both uh masculine and feminine qualities; in their egg stage they are called “witch eggs.” They also have qualities of both life and death: although uh generative in appearance, they have the strong stench of carrion — which attracts the flies which spread their spores. Wikipedia entry.
Selective Focus: Signs
This week, Portia Johnson and Cheryl Reitan provide thoughts and images regarding the often homemade signs around town supporting Black Lives Matter.
PJ CR: In Duluth, many of the signs arrived soon after George Floyd was murdered but new ones crop up from time to time. They appear on residential streets and throughfares. Most of them say, “Black Lives Matter,” but there are other words too, “No peace, no justice,” the chilling, “I Can’t Breathe,” and others.
The message appears, often hand painted and imperfect but always betraying a fierce determination. The signs make people look. They say, “this is important, Black lives matter.”
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Postcard from Jay Cooke State Park
This undated postcard from Gallagher’s Studio of Photography shows a waterfall and the famous swinging bridge on the St. Louis River at Jay Cooke State Park. (more…)
Selective Focus: UMD Bathroom Reviews
Students and faculty may not be on UMD’s campus for a few more weeks due to Coronavirus concerns, but you can enjoy a virtual tour thanks to the UMD Bathroom Reviews Instagram account. (more…)
Mystery Photo #121: Buggy Boys
A recurring source of confusion in the Mystery Photo series is whether particular images that share the stamp of the Post Card Shop in Minneapolis and the Penny Arcade in Duluth were shot in Minneapolis or Duluth. Here is another such image.
Duluth Eye Candy: An Aerial Voyage
Why we live here.
Discover all-new views of our home in this series of my favorite drone footage shot in 2020.
So Good to Be Home
I miss Duluth!!! After spending 10 years here, my job relocated me to Knoxville, Tenn. This week I was in town for a business trip when a colleague invited me to go wakesurfing on “The Big Lake.” I steeled myself for the inevitable shock of getting into the lake, but I jumped into the real shock of 70-degree water in the bay!
Lake Superior, clear sky, 80 degrees, and a boat full of fantastic friends had me feeling the loss of moving away from Duluth. The end of the evening rolled in and it was time to go home, except I knew I needed that one picture to capture the moment. It was a Perfect Duluth Day! Can’t wait to be back.
Upset Duluth: Postal Plight Edition
Here’s the latest addition to PDD’s ongoing “Upset Duluth” series, in which we feature Duluth News Tribune photos of people who are upset.
Story link: Plight of Postal Service concerns Duluth customers
And don’t forget to check out the ever-expanding Upset Duluth Gallery.
Fish Cam: In the Trench
15 feet deep, 75 feet off shore. I’ve seen loons hunting here so I’ve staked it out…
Mystery Photo: Another from Cook Ely
This image from the Ely Studio of Duluth comes to Perfect Duluth Day via Neal Eisenberg, a native Duluthian. (more…)
Selective Focus: Rainbow Over Lake Superior, Again
We’ll get tired of it when you get tired of it. (more…)