Postcards from Silver Creek Cliff
Before the Silver Creek Cliff Tunnel was built in the early 1990s, Highway 61 wound around the edge of the cliff. Drivers relied on skill and luck to avoid tumbling boulders or anything that might send them plunging over the edge into Lake Superior. The Gitchi-Gami State Trail was later built following the old Highway 61 path. (more…)
Missing Dog
Taken from home on Christmas Eve. Brown retriever dog, hollow, filled with lights. Kids were heartbroken that someone unplugged and stole their favorite lawn decoration.
Mystery Photo: Miss Edna May Boyle
Here she is, Edna May Boyle, 120 years ago. Who was she? Why did she get her photo shot on Christmas Day 1898? Well, if we knew that it wouldn’t be a mystery photo, would it? (more…)
Video: Burntside Lake Christmas Ice Carousel
Joe Bianco and Cam Regan of Ely built a giant Christmas carousel on Burntside Lake, about 100 miles north of Duluth.
It’s Going to be a Merry Christmas
[This post originally contained an embedded video that is no longer available at its source.]
John Holden obtains a set of fancy speakers in the grocery store parking lot.
One last late night before the holiday
I spent Saturday at the Marcus Duluth Theater, which is on the lake [in the DECC]. For point of wry comparison, the Marcus Lakes theater is in Hermantown, near no obvious lake. My sweetheart Zomi and my friend Kate and I hoped to see Holmes and Watson. (more…)
Mystery Photo: Markus Family, Christmas 1893
Some mystery photos are less mysterious than others. Often cabinet card photos have nothing written on the back, but this particular card comes with info suggesting the subjects are William Frederick Markus and his family. The photo was likely shot 125 years ago, around Christmas of 1893. (more…)
The Most Read Saturday Essays of 2018
Perfect Duluth Day’s “Saturday Essay” series has reached the end of its third season. As has become tradition, we now take a look back at some of the favorites of the past year. This week is part one, highlighting the essays that were read the most times according to Google Analytics. Because statistics should always be used to organize creativity, right? (more…)
A Second Late Night at the End of the Year
So a drip coffee is free at Barnes & Noble until the Dec. 23 after 8 p.m., so I am back. The people watching is better tonight, maybe because it’s Friday. (more…)
Late Night at the End of the Year
I’m at Barnes and Noble, which is open until midnight through the Dec. 22. And I’m reflecting on the past year. (more…)
Selective Focus: Jason Voss
This week artist Jason Voss talks about the art and challenges of tattooing. He recently opened a shop, Gitchee Gumee Tattoo on Central Entrance, and will be hosting a Grand Opening on Jan. 14.
JV: Tattooing is a craft that requires a lot of technical skill. Being able to control needle depth, emulate texture, and keep a steady hand over a squishy, rounded object are some of the fundamentals of tattooing. (more…)
Onyx Ashanti and Robot Rickshaw on Bloodfeast
The Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim” online programming includes a show called Bloodfeast, in which the New York Times crossword puzzle is solved while hosts Dave Bonowits and Max Simonet banter and strange musicians go about their business. Duluth’s Robot Rickshaw appeared on the Dec. 18 episode with frequent collaborator Onyx Ashanti. (more…)
Ingeborg von Agassiz – “Shoemaker Sally”
A song about painting over from Duluth’s Ingeborg von Agassiz.
The New Spurs on First: Just a Little Bit Country
Madeline Petersen and Jona Johnson – Photo by Lissa Maki
Two young women recently bought Spurs on First. The entrepreneurs are adding their own flair to the longtime country bar, booking hip hop and rock performers as well as updating drinks and decor. (more…)
Petitioning to Change Duluth in 2018
The most successful petitions at change.org — at least as far as Duluth is concerned — tend to be related to local colleges. A search of “Duluth” on the site finds six petitions in the past three years that have more than 1,000 signatures; five of those are associated with the University of Minnesota Duluth or College of St. Scholastica. (more…)
Selective Focus: Globe Grain Elevator Fire in Superior
https://www.instagram.com/p/Brgf8YblHlx/
Duluth News Tribune: “Historic grain elevator burns in Superior” (more…)
Will Branch – “Duluth”
Milwaukee-based American roots musician Will Branch released a song called “Duluth” on his 2004 album Press On.
And the harsh wind is blowing up steep streets of old Duluth
Around the house you were born in, middle of World War II
PDD Quiz: Restaurants and Bars of Yesteryear
Reminisce about the bygone restaurants and bars of Duluth with this month’s quiz!
The next PDD quiz, reviewing the headlines of 2018, will be published on Dec. 30. Please email question suggestions to Alison Moffat at aklawite@d.umn.edu by Dec. 27. (more…)
El Camino del Tiempo
We are migrants, one and all, on el Camino del Tiempo, where even the housebound and hunkered-down awaken each morning somewhere they were not yesterday. We’ve emerged from the mists of history and the dreamtime of an infant’s amnesia, and set forth by wildly disparate means of conveyance toward the receding horizon. Signs signal a tomorrow around the bend, but tomorrow is a ghost-town appearing only on the maps, and you can’t get there from here.
So here we are, and there we go, by bullet train or afoot across the trackless wastes, but always on el Camino. Always schlepping our blood on its way down the generations. Always the short skirts and tight pants of the baby-making dance, and the will to carry on.
I marvel at the elaborate ruses concocted to transport one’s genes down el Camino. Marvel at the termite tenacity of these roadside encampments we call cities. Marvel at the hive-life of our super-organism, striving for a meal and a place to sleep and a place to dance the baby-making dance. I shudder at the nighttime photos from space of our settlements glowing golden. Earth burning like the oil lamp it’s become. And between the cities lies the darkened land, yet to trade stars for streetlights. (more…)
Selective Focus: #duluthmusic
A quick visual journey through recent #duluthmusic
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrGPCYSlpY9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
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R.I.P. Sclavi’s Italian Restaurant & Bar
Sclavi’s Italian Restaurant & Bar in Superior has announced it’s closing for the third time. This time seems to have more finality to it. (more…)
Mystery Photo #80: Rust-Parker and its neighbors
Lars Waldner posted this circa 1916 image to Facebook, tagging PDD. It’s kind of a bizarre angle on Duluth, and for some reason identifying buildings in the photo is exceptionally challenging. The only cheater we’re given is the big sign on the side of Rust-Parker Wholesale Grocery Company, which was at 217 S. Lake Ave. (more…)
Oct. 10, 2018: Record-setting Surf
Flashback to the big storm on Oct. 10: Brent Eliason of Ease Drones shot this aerial video as surfers took advantage of the 50 m.p.h. wind gusts at Stoney Point on Lake Superior.