Selective Focus: Deer
The ubiquitous white-tailed deer — an almost daily sighting for Duluthians who spend time outdoors and away from the downtown; and probably a weekly sighting for anyone who just looks out the window. In this edition of “Selective Focus,” a few Instagram images of local does and bucks. (more…)
The Slice: Davidson Windmill
The Davidson Windmill is in Lakeside, Wis., about 20 miles southeast of Duluth and six miles east of Superior on Wisconsin Highway 13. It was built between 1900 and 1904 by Jacob Davidson on his 80-acre homestead. The mill operated until 1926. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and donated to the Old-Brule Heritage Society in 2001. (more…)
Flesh-eating foot-fetishist minnows of the French River
Featuring Alyssa Hoppe’s feet. She giggled and squealed the whole time.
Postcards from Lincoln Park
A random collection of postcards depicting Lincoln Park in Duluth’s friendly West End neighborhood. (more…)
Mexican cuisine options expanding in Duluth area
Margaritas, chips and salsa at Bucktales – Photo by Lissa Maki
The Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior have never been known for Mexican food, but options for taco lovers have been expanding and improving in recent years. It’s been a long time since Hacienda del Sol, Zona Rosa and Chi-Chi’s were the hot spots. (more…)
Two versions of “Love My Lips”
The Christian children’s television series VeggieTales referenced Duluth in the 1996 episode “Dave and the Giant Pickle.” A regular feature on the show is a segment called “Silly Songs with Larry,” in which Larry the Cucumber and other Veggie characters sing a silly song. (more…)
Superior Siren – Cover songs from 56 Brewing
Minnesota-based video production company Headwaters Entertainment produced three music videos of Duluth band Superior Siren performing cover songs at 56 Brewing in Minneapolis back in May. The audio mix is by Conduit Sound. Above is “Everything is Free,” written by Gillian Welch. The other two videos are below. (more…)
Class Photos from Duluth’s Bryant Elementary School
Bryant School was built in 1894 at 3102 W. Third St. in Duluth’s friendly West End neighborhood, the present-day location of Cummins Sales and Service. Hugh McKenzie shot the photo above, which is loosely dated by UMD’s Kathryn A. Martin Library Archives & Special Collections as “1914?”
Assembled below is a small collection of class photos from the school, which closed in the 1970s. (more…)
Lake Superior Aquaman in internal St. Louis County weekly news recap
Someone sent this along.
The Slice: Hull Rust Mine View
The newly redesigned mine view in Hibbing offers expansive perspectives of the old Hull–Rust–Mahoning Open Pit Iron Mine and the active Hull Rust and Hibbing Taconite Open Pit Mine. (more…)
List of Old Bars in Superior
Photo by Jennifer Moore
Back in May, a collection of Superior bar memorabilia was briefly displayed at the Spirit Room. On a sheet of white paper, a list of old Superior bars was created, and folks passing through added to it. (more…)
For Sale: Superior Entry Lighthouse
Superior lighthouse for sale - Superior Telegram | News, weather, sports from Superior Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Point structure, built in 1913, is being sold through an online auction.
superiortelegram.com
The U.S. General Services Administration is auctioning off the Superior Entry Lighthouse. So far the top bid on realestatesales.gov is $10,000. (more…)
Movies at West Theater
I wanted to see the new Spider-Man movie, and five dollar night at the Marcus downtown is always tempting … but wait. The West Theater is showing Spider-Man? (more…)
Postcards from Arrowhead Cafeteria & Grill
This undated postcard, published by F.H. Lounsberry & Co. of Duluth, shows the exterior of the Arrowhead Cafeteria & Grill. It opened in 1925, but its owners — S. T. Huie and Stephen G. Wong — were rebranding their prior operation, the Congress Cafe. (more…)
Gallery of Defunct Duluth-area News ’Zines and Random Publications
From muckraking journalism to neighborhood fluff, sports and hobby content to political and spiritual propaganda, Duluth has seen its share of short-lived, themed newspapers and magazines. Previous posts on Perfect Duluth Day have delved into music ’zines and literary/arts ’zines; this post features the less (or bizarrely more) artsy publications. (more…)
“The Begat” from the musical Finian’s Rainbow
The 1947 Broadway musical Finian’s Rainbow featured the song “The Begat,” which included a reference to Duluth. It’s at the 1:24 mark in the clip above from the original Broadway cast album, featuring Jerry Laws, Lorenzo Fuller and Louis Sharp. (more…)
PDD Quiz: Presidential Twin Ports
Courtesy of Archives and Special Collections, University of Minnesota Duluth.
Test your knowledge of local history and presidential trivia with this week’s PDD quiz, which explores presidential visits to the Twin Ports. Inspired by a 2011 PDD post, this quiz relies heavily on external sources (Zenith City Online and Minnesota Reflections in particular).
The next PDD quiz will review the month’s headlines; it will be published on July 28. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at aklawite@d.umn.edu by July 25. (more…)
Duluth Rock-Skipping Contest Recap
Duluth skipped its way toward competing internationally yesterday at the inaugural People’s Free Rock-Skipping Contest. (more…)
Lakeside donut shop plan hits snag
A Dozen Excuses owner Melissa Kingren serves up fresh sweet rolls at her Tower Avenue bakery in Superior.
A Superior bakery saw its plans to open a satellite shop in Duluth derail last month but owners are still looking for a place to bring donuts back to Lakeside. (more…)
Duluth rock-skipping takes rightful place as greatest thing ever
With Duluth’s natural renewable bounty of perfect skipping rocks, the time is now to claim the mantle of one of the top rock-skipping destinations in the world. I propose a Duluth League that plays by its own rules, owing to our iconoclastic position as Outdoor Adventure Capital of the United States. Envision a day when Duluth’s rock-skipping force fans out over the globe to win championships and decimate festivals. Tomorrow (Saturday July 13, 2PM Leif Erikson Park) will usher in such an age. A Facebook comment about the contest said, “I remember a rock-skipping contest in Duluth in the 1950s.” It’s revealing of Duluth’s decades-long funk that this never blossomed into an annual contest, or festival, in the intervening 70 years. By comparison, look at what the Michiganders of Mackinac Island have going: they just had the 51st Annual Stone Skipping Competition and the Governor comes and skips the first stone. If Duluth had kept its 1950s contest going, we’d be ahead of Mackinac Island by 20 years… (more…)
Selective Focus: Susanna Gaunt
Susanna Gaunt is an artist who creates installations and draws on her background as a photographer. She works with paper, dimension, transparency and light to combine 3D structures with 2D layers and textures. She currently has work on view at the DAI until August 11.
SG: For 20 years, I worked primarily in photography, both exhibiting photographs and teaching at a private workshop school in Montana. In 2013, our family landed in Duluth and I decided to learn new mediums by enrolling in the BFA program at UMD. It was there that I began focusing on installation pieces that incorporate drawing, printmaking, collage and embroidery alongside the photography. The common denominator with all of these is paper – I love working with different types of paper textures and exploring the possibilities of creating layers of both meaning and visual interest. Experimenting with multiple finishes, such as shellac and encaustic wax, allows me to find the right amount of translucency to both conceal and reveal content. (more…)
The North Shore
Travelogue video by Ethan Larsen; music by David Naegele.