Mystery Photo #43: Does anyone know which old bar this was?
This picture was originally posted on the Duluthians of Zenith Facebook page. So far, the Pickwick and Spalding Hotel have been eliminated. The photo is stamped with a Duluth photographer’s name on the back, so it is likely a bar in the Duluth area.
GinStrings from Minneapolis at the Gunflint Tavern
GinStrings killed it last night at Gunflint Tavern in Grand Marais. (more…)
Sixteen Years on the Superior Hiking Trail: Cascade River to Temperance River
The second leg of my Superior Hiking Trail journey began Sept. 14, 2001, at Cascade River State Park. Two friends dropped me off that Friday night at a campsite in the dark, then immediately turned around and drove back to Duluth. My first job was to get out a flashlight and put up my tent.
The big clumsy contraption I slept in the previous year had now been replaced with a fancy Marmot model I could scrunch into a tight bundle, which would make hiking a bit easier. This tent has gone on to serve me well for 15 years and counting, but I wasn’t impressed the first time I set it up. Yes, I broke a tent pole before I ever slept in the thing. Perhaps setting it up for the first time in the dark led me to force things too much. Whatever the case, a single broken pole is not a big deal and did little to hamper my experience.
The next morning I was up early and on my way. Maybe an hour into the hike, a bit of morning mucus had built up and I did what anyone alone in the woods in such a situation would do: I pushed one finger against the side of my nose, turned my head and blew snot out the other nostril. It was at that moment I noticed a female hiker was right behind me, and this would be how we would get to know each other. (more…)
The truth about Shakespeare in Duluth
2016 has been full of 400th anniversary observations of Shakespeare’s 1616 death. Having first read Shakespeare in Duluth, I was thrilled to return for my hometown’s own First Folio celebrations, from the exhibit at the Tweed Museum to an early music concert. It was an honor to speak at St. Scholastica, where I was once part of the crew for Cymbeline, with librarian Todd White as the baddie Iachimo. At the Marshall School, I did the lighting for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, starring Maria Bamford (Titania) and Katie McGee (Puck) under the direction of Tim Blackburn. (Our Marshall librarian Louis Jenkins recently teamed up with Shakespearean actor Mark Rylance.) (more…)
Selective Focus: Ken Zakovich
Ken has been working for many years as a designer for print, interactive and other projects that typically make their way through the ad agency where he works. Recently, he’s been applying his design skills to some innovative 3-d and other projects. (more…)
Bob Dylan Nobel Prize for Lit.?
Did this happen? Is everyone shocked in a happy way? Hi to all hugs and kisses from Cali.
Matt Ray launches Kickstarter campaign
Matt Ray has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the release of his upcoming album, Minnesota Moon, produced by Ian Alexy of Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank and recorded/engineered by Ryan Young of Trampled by Turtles.
218-955-3416 | Breckenridge MN
The PDD Headquarters has been flooded with calls from this number. I’ve answered twice and no one responded.
In a meeting yesterday my cell phone rang with the same number. “Breckenridge again,” I said.
“I just got that call five minutes ago on my cell,” was the response from across the table.
Duluth-area happy hour food and drink deals to last the week
After a busy day, it’s tough to muster up the energy to cook a meal. But going out to eat and drink regularly is expensive. The good news? If you plan it right, you can drink and dine at plenty of local places any day of the week for 10 bucks or less. Here’s a daily planner for sampling of some of the best happy hour specials in Duluth and Superior. (more…)
How to Talk Minnesotan (Mocumentary)
Visiting or moving to Minnesota? Learn the native language and customs and feel right at home with simple lessons from the 1993 Twin Cities Public Television documentary “How to Talk Minnesotan.”
Haley Bonar Tiny Desk Concert
Former Duluthian Haley Bonar is MPR’s featured Tiny Desk Concert performer today. She sings three new songs — “Hometown,” “Jealous Girls” and “Called You Queen” — from her album Impossible Dream.
Trail construction around Enger Golf Course?
I live near the Enger Golf Course and this summer I noticed what appeared to be construction of a trail or small road on the edge of parts of the golf course. Since I couldn’t find anything about this online I figured this was probably some kind of service road for the golf course but I thought I would make this post and see if anyone out there has any info about the purpose of the recent road/trail created on the parameter of the Enger Golf Course.
Manitou River Falls Minnesota North Shore
Here are some shots from the seldom seen Manitou River falls on Lake Superior near Highway 61. There are two main sets of falls between Highway 61 and the lake, the last set drops 40 to 50 feet directly into Lake Superior, making it one of only a few waterfalls that drop directly into Lake Superior. (more…)
Twin Ports Best Kept Dining Secret
One of the best kept secrets of the Twin Ports is Sclavi’s Italian Restaurant at 1106 Tower Ave. in Superior. I am amazed that more people do not know about it. We live in Minneapolis and it is better Italian food than anything we can think of in the Twin Cities. But as the best things in Suptown are, it is quirky. (more…)
Mystery Photo: SS Columbia of Duluth
This postcard image bears the ink stamp of the Russell Photo Co. of Fond du Lac, Minn. on the back, along with a handwritten note: “The ‘Columbia’ of Duluth, Minn.” There have been numerous S.S. Columbia’s throughout the world, but this one seems likely to be the same as the one profiled on Zenith City Online, which was launched in 1885 as the Mascotte. There are numerous physical differences between the ship in the image shown there and the one shown here, but the article notes “in 1912 Duluth’s Clow & Nicholsen purchased the vessel, lengthened it by over thirty feet, and renamed it Columbia.” If they are the same SS Columbia, why do both images (presumably before and after the redesign of the ship) bear the name Columbia and neither Mascotte?
Mystery Photo: Family Portrait from the Zweifel Studio
Quick internet searches indicate John Rudolph Zweifel was a Duluth-based photographer from the very late 1800s to the mid 1900s. He had a few different offices on West Superior Street and was in the Phoenix Building circa 1918-’20. His home was at 4231 McCulloch St.
Who are the round-faced darlings in the photo? Well, that’s the Hail Mary pass being thrown here for the hell of it, just to see if anyone can figure it out.
Where in Duluth? #152
Time for another installment of Perfect Duluth Day’s ultra-thrilling photo-trivia sensation. Where in Duluth was this shot taken?
Call for Halloween Banners
We want to see your Halloween photos at the top of this page as banners. Keep in mind the hauntingly horizontal format, it can be tricky to work with, but a treat when it works well.
Sorry, that was terrible.
Click here for complete submission guidelines, but the basics are: 1135 pixels wide by 197 pixels high, e-mail them to banners@perfectduluthday.com. We’ll put them in rotation near the end of the month.
Sixteen Years on the Superior Hiking Trail: Swamp River to Cascade River
Digital cameras existed in the year 2000, but it wasn’t until about 2003 that using one became mainstream. I started my quest to complete the Superior Hiking Trail with a cheap 35mm pocket camera and a roll of black and white film … perfect for capturing lush fall colors. A grand total of four photos were taken during this five-day hiking trip.
By contrast, I have 35 photos and three videos from a five-minute window when I finished my hike in 2015. So the world has changed a bit. I worked for a newspaper then, I work for a website now. The World Trade Center buildings stood then, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum stands now. Time marches on at a faster pace than my hiking boots, apparently. My first trip covered nearly 60 miles of trail, however, and that’s not too shabby. Unfortunately, things slowed down after that.
On the sunny afternoon of Sept. 23, 2000, my friend Jeff and I drove the winding way of Highway 61 to Grand Portage. It’s not a place that is necessary or practical to go when seeking the start of the Superior Hiking Trail, but it’s a fun location to stop and look out over Lake Superior while there’s time to kill on the day before the adventure begins. (more…)
Duluth Shore August 2016
Andrew Hendricks shot this footage in August on the shore outside his hotel room while testing his new Zeiss Contax 85mm camera.
Selective Focus: Bill Coit via Valerie Coit
Earlier this year, my friend Val started posting photos her dad had taken to a Facebook album. They were obviously decades old, but they were pristine. These weren’t scans of tattered, faded, off-color prints found in a box in the basement, they were scanned from the slide film her dad shot. A couple years ago, my mother-in-law passed away, and my brother-in-law took on the job of scanning the best photos from a big chest of old pictures and sharing them with the family via Dropbox. All this makes me wonder what will happen as most or all of our family photos become electronic, not physical. (more…)
Castle Danger and Lake Superior Aerial Video
Shot by Kyle Christy of St. Paul.
Moose Lake Brewing selling big ol’ cans called ‘crowlers’
Moose Lake Brewing Company started selling 24 oz. crowlers this week. For those unfamiliar with the term, a crowler is an oversized can, which is filled on site, much like a growler. (more…)