Minnesota Point Lighthouse Painting
This painting by the late Sylvia S. Reasor was sitting among the Pink Floyd lighters, Bob Marley patches, bongs, sex toys and whatnot at the Last Place on Earth liquidation auction this past weekend. (more…)
Condemned Esmond building gutted by fire
The Duluth Fire Department tweeted this photo at 7:55 a.m. noting a heavy fire on the second floor of the Esmond building.
The former Seaway Hotel, more recently known as the Esmond building, burned for seven hours today while fire fighters struggled in sub-arctic temperatures to extinguish it. The condemned structure at 2001 W. Superior St. in Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood has been vacant since 2020 with future plans for demolition and redevelopment. (more…)
The Slice: Claire Sahara
Claire Lemp, aka Claire Sahara, is an illustrator based in Duluth who showcases diversity in beauty in her illustrations and uses her life experience and everyday things for inspiration.
In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.
Historic Floorplans
I recently bought an older home in Congdon. Nothing special, but I like it. The previous owner made many changes to the interior in a misguided attempt to modernize the home. I am thinking about restoring it to its former layout, but I’m not finding much historic information about the home. Does anyone have any ideas on where I might get some information? The home is likely an American Foursquare that had some arts and crafts touches. Thanks for any help!
Ripped at Pizza Lucé in 2002
[Editor’s note: For this week’s essay we’ve once again pulled out a relic from the archive of Slim Goodbuzz, who served as Duluth’s “booze connoisseur” from 1999 to 2009. Pizza Lucé opened its Duluth location in 2001 and quickly caught the attention of the Sultan of Sot, who penned his review for the Jan. 9, 2002 issue of the Ripsaw newspaper. The restaurant has undergone several renovations in the past two decades, so we note here that the U-shaped semi-unisex restroom is no longer as it was. Also, the early morning openings are no longer a thing.]
As an old-fashioned Duluth rum hound, I want to dislike Pizza Lucé. When a Twin Cites enterprise expands to Duluth and sets up in a nice, clean new building, I pretty much go into auto-hate mode. But not this time. Pizza Lucé is a friend of the drinking class.
First off, there’s a decent happy hour seven days a week. Plus, there’s the extended hours — you can go there and get drunk at 7 a.m. (they actually have a list of morning-time cocktails for people who want to do just that), you can check out some live music in the evenings or you can go there for booze-soaking victuals after bar close. (more…)
Charlie Parr – “Blues for Whitefish Lake, 1975”
The new music video from Duluth’s Charlie Parr was shot and edited by Lei Shi, directed by Lance Lindahl and features Gar Lindahl as the boy. The song is from Parr’s album — Last of the Better Days Ahead, released in 2021.
Two Superior warehouses destroyed by fire
Fire destroys 2 buildings in Superior's North End - Duluth News Tribune | News, weather, and sports from Duluth, Minnesota
Two buildings were lost in the fire.
duluthnewstribune.com
Warehouses at 1507 and 1515 N. First St. in the North End of Superior were destroyed by fire this morning. The Blatnik Bridge was temporarily closed due to smoke from the blaze. (more…)
Ferocious Finn falls to Polish strong boy in 1922 mat tussel
It was 100 years ago today that Henry Karhunsaari, “the Ferocious Finn of Virginia,” was knocked unconscious in the deciding fall of what Duluth Herald sportswriter Sandy MacDonald called “the most spectacular and most fiercely contested wrestling match ever staged in this city.” (more…)
Monthly Grovel: January 2022
We urge everyone to proceed with caution while the Omicron variant works to spoil the parties, but events go on and the PDD Calendar has all the details as usual. Each month we reach out with one beggarly blog post to remind everyone that human beings and not machines are at work editing and publishing calendar events. So if you appreciate it, drop a few bucks in the PayPal account. (more…)
Low – “I Can Wait”
The new music video from Duluth band Low follows five people bogged down by the realities of their world, dreaming of a better life. Directed by Manuel Aragon, it is the sixth video release from the Grammy nominated 2021 album Hey What. The nomination is in the category “Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical” for the work by mastering engineer BJ Burton. (more…)
Postcard from a Bird’s Eye View of Duluth
This undated postcard photo of Duluth’s Downtown and Central Hillside area must have been shot from Point of Rocks, probably in the very early 1900s. (more…)
Seletive Focus: Sea Smoke
Instagram
159 likes, 9 comments - drone_grown_photography on January 2, 2022: "Sea Smoke 💨 #destinationduluth #captureduluth #visitduluth #exploreminnesota #lakesuperior #greatlakesshipping #canalpark #duluth #minnesota #minnesota365 #aerialliftbridge #northshore #lakesuperiormagazine #dji #drone #dronephotography #dronestagram #picoftheday #picture #seasmoke #sunrise #instagood #instagram #travel #cold #winter".
instagram.com
Lake Superior sea smoke is all the rage on Instagram. (more…)
Duluth’s Emerson School
Emerson School, located at 1028 W. Third St. in the Observation Hill area of Duluth’s Central Hillside neighborhood, opened for classes 130 years ago today — Jan. 2, 1892. The school closed circa 1982 and became apartments. The building was purchased by the Emerson Tenants Cooperative in 1994. (more…)
Perfect Duluth Day’s Best Videos of 2021
Another year of groovy music, wacky stunts and events, mathematical impossibilities, and our first TikTok inclusion. It’s time for PDD’s best videos of 2021. (more…)
2021: The Year in Duluth Gig Posters
It wasn’t quite the wild and crazy return to rawk that Duluthians longed for, but 2021 did mark the transition away from livestreams to in-person concerts. Sometimes outdoors, sometimes masked, sometimes with vaccine cards required and often just with fingers crossed, music fans edged back into the concert scene in year-two of the COVID-19 pandemic. If one thing remained normal, it was that Perfect Duluth Day collected a bunch of gig-poster images to share at the end of the year. (more…)
Superior looking to save Princess Theatre
Study tallies costs to save historic Superior theater - Superior Telegram | News, weather, sports from Superior Wisconsin
Opened in 1913 as the Theatre Princess, Frankie's Tavern downtown could see new life with the right project.
superiortelegram.com
The building at 1310 Tower Ave. in Superior — known in modern times as the home of Frankie’s Tavern — is the subject of a feasibility study to determine the cost of saving it. The Superior Telegram reports it was built as a theater. (more…)
Jazz Time
Duluth Public Access Community Television presents Duluth band Jazz Time, performing six tunes. (more…)
New restaurants abound in Duluth/Superior; trend is tacos
Aaron Maloney and Alex Giuliani prepare tacos in July during a popup preview of their future Canal Park restaurant, Chachos Taqueria. Image via Facebook
Though 2021 was another year punctuated by pandemic problems, new Duluth-area restaurants proliferated. The Twin Ports gained more than a dozen restaurants, as seasoned and fresh-faced entrepreneurs alike took the leap to open eateries. (more…)
Among 2021 restaurant closures were two of Guy Fieri’s favorites
Television personality Guy Fieri poses outside Shorty’s Pizza and Smoked Meats with members of the restaurant’s staff. Fieri visited four restaurants in the Twin Ports area in 2014 — Shorty’s, Gannucci’s Italian Market, Pak’s Green Corner and the Kounty Quarthouse. All four have since closed.
The effect of COVID-19 on the restaurant industry is tricky to quantify, but in the Duluth area there is one noticeably positive trend. More new eateries are opening than existing ones are closing.
While the ongoing pandemic played a role in pushing some eateries that were in trouble over the edge, in most cases other factors were at play. At the top of the list of closings in 2021 were three family-owned ethnic restaurants. (more…)
It Takes a (Shipping) Village: Duluth’s Harbor springs to life
Since 1871, when the Duluth shipping canal first opened, the St. Louis River has seen many changes. This video from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency briefly outlines a century of river use by many industries, and how cleanup and restoration of the estuary began. For St. Louis River Area of Concern resources visit pca.state.mn.us.
Selective Focus: Snow Day 2021
Instagram
73 likes, 0 comments - bauer50km on December 27, 2021: "Checking conditions on Chester. Looks pretty good.
#perfectduluthday #befromduluth #authenticduluth #captureduluth #captureminnesota #northshoremn #exploremn #superiorhikingtrail #duluthmn #duluthparks #chesterpark".
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A few select images from today’s blizzardry via Instagram. (more…)
Great Lakes Now: Resilient Duluth
“Great Lakes Now checks in with Duluth mayor Emily Larson in an update on the improvements being made to the Lake Superior city’s waterfront, which resiliency efforts were featured in a ‘Resilient Duluth’ segment in June. “
On the Water Trail
On the Water Trail is a six-part series that explores the science of the St. Louis River Watershed. Host Emily Lockling, student researcher from Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, introduces the people who are working to improve the waterway after decades of dumping sewage and other legacy contamination. (more…)
Moment of Nature: North Shore of Lake Superior
Today’s episode of CBS Sunday Morning concluded with the usual “Moment of Nature,” segment. The focus of videographer Scot Miller was the north shore of Lake Superior. The televised clip was only a few seconds long, but the expanded version, embedded here, is a full minute.