Duluth Civic Center
Postcard from the Court House at Duluth
This undated postcard, created by the V.O. Hammon Publishing Company, shows the St. Louis County Courthouse in Downtown Duluth, which opened in 1909.
Postcard from a Bird’s-eye View of the Duluth Post Office in 1916
This postcard was mailed Feb. 23, 1916 — 110 years ago today. It shows the beginnings of the Duluth Civic Center, with the old Duluth Post Office at the center. (more…)
Engelbert Hattenberger: Honarary Citizen of Duluth
On Jan. 17, 1986 — 40 years ago today — Duluth Mayor John Fedo issued a proclamation declaring Engelbert Hattenberger an honorary citizen of Duluth, “with all the rights and privileges appertaining thereto, as recognition of the high regard and esteem in which this distinguished personage is held by the Citizens of Duluth.”
Hattenberger was a 65-year-old Austrian ice sculptor who was in the city for about two weeks to create art on the Duluth Civic Center plaza during the Winter Sport Festival. It was the first in a four-year stretch of ice-carving trips to Duluth for Hattenberger. (more…)
The Many Conveniences of the St. Louis County Jail in 1925
The April 15, 1925 issue of the Duluth Herald featured several photos of the then-new St. Louis County Jail, part of the Duluth Civic Center. The paper called it “a model in jail construction” and compared it to a “first-class hotel.” (more…)
Postcard from the St. Louis County Courthouse in 1924
This postcard was mailed June 1, 1924 — 100 years ago today. It shows the St. Louis County Courthouse in Downtown Duluth, which opened in 1909. (more…)
The most prestigious flagpole in Duluth. Or perhaps anywhere.
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument. (Photo by Matthew James)
A few weeks ago a postcard of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument appeared on Perfect Duluth Day that included the text “by the noted sculptor Paul W. Bartlett of Paris.” That didn’t seem like a particularly French name to me so I decided to see if he was actually a noted sculptor and actually from Paris. Both counts proved accurate.
Bartlett was from Connecticut, but grew up in France and spent a considerable amount of time in Paris. But Bartlett only designed the statue in front of the monument. The architect Cass Gilbert designed the base that supports the flagpole. And both of these people gained considerable attention during their respective careers. Their most prominent works are within a few minutes walk of each other in Washington D.C. And when I learned this, I was attending a conference in Washington D.C., so I paid a visit to those works. (more…)
Postcard from the Soldiers and Sailors Monument
This undated postcard, published by Duluth Photo Engraving Company, shows the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Priley Circle at the Duluth Civic Center. The monument honors soldiers who served during the American Civil War. Designed by architect Cass Gilbert, it was completed and dedicated on Memorial Day in 1919.
The Rise and Fall and Rise and Fall (and Rise and Fall?) of Downtown Duluth’s Fifth Avenue West
Looking down Fifth Avenue West toward Duluth’s Spalding Hotel in 1889. University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
A few weeks ago, David Beard wrote a post on the future of the plaza next to the Ordean Building, noting plans for it to be sold to a private developer in conjunction with a future housing project. I recently wrote a rather long post about Gunnar Birkerts, the architect of the Duluth Public Library, and because his firm also designed the plaza, I ended up with enough information about this project that I thought it might be worthy of a follow-up post on the history of the Fifth Avenue Mall, a name so forgotten that a 2015 Perfect Duluth Day post referencing the mall clarifies that the word ‘mall’ as used here is “not about a shopping mall, but instead something like the decorative median with trees that stands in the middle of the avenue today.” (more…)
Postcard from the Proposed Court House Group in Duluth
This undated postcard depicts plans for the Duluth Civic Center, a cluster of government buildings that includes the St. Louis County Courthouse (1909), Duluth City Hall (1928), Gerald W. Heaney Federal Building (1930), St. Louis County Jail (1923) and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument (1919). (more…)
Former St. Louis County Jail renamed Leijona
The Duluth News Tribune reports that remodeling of the former St. Louis County Jail is near completion. It is expected to open in January as a 33-unit apartment building named Leijona, the Finnish word for lion.
General Eisenhower’s visit to Duluth in 1952
Seventy years ago today — Oct. 4, 1952 — Gen. Dwight David Eisenhower campaigned at the Duluth Civic Center. He won the election a month later, becoming the 34th President of the United States. (more…)
Postcard from Priley Fountain and the Radisson Hotel
This 50-year-old postcard shows what was then the new Radisson Hotel behind the also new-at-the time Priley Fountain at the Duluth Civic Center. The message on the back of the card was written July 14, 1972, and the card is postmarked the next day. (more…)
Postcard from the St. Louis County Courthouse at Night
This undated postcard features a nighttime image of the St. Louis County Courthouse, which opened in 1909.
St. Louis County Jail designs approved in 1921 … sort of
One hundred years ago today — May 11, 1921 — the Duluth Herald published a story about plans for a new St. Louis County Jail. The building that would eventually be constructed looks somewhat similar to the drawing here, but there were numerous changes to the plan. (more…)
Postcards from the Duluth Civic Center
Duluth’s Civic Center includes the St. Louis County Courthouse (1909), Duluth City Hall (1928), Gerald W. Heaney Federal Building (1930), St. Louis County Jail (1923) and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument (1919). (more…)
Postcard from the Duluth Civic Center
This undated postcard image from the Gallagher Studio of Photography shows the St. Louis County Courthouse and Duluth City Hall behind the Soldiers and Sailors Monument at the Duluth Civic Center. The card is perhaps a bit older than another postcard of the Civic Center featured on Perfect Duluth Day, which shows a more expansive garden.
Postcard from the Duluth Civic Center
This early 1970s postcard shows Duluth’s Civic Center, which includes the St. Louis County Courthouse, Duluth City Hall, Gerald W. Heaney Federal Building, St. Louis County Jail and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. (more…)
Mystery Photo #84: Building near Duluth Arena
Sitting awkwardly between the Duluth Arena and the Radisson Hotel in this photo by Perry Gallagher is a seven-story building that can’t be far from demolition. What was it? (more…)
Mystery Photo: Duluth Ice Sculpture
There’s not a lot to go on in the featured photo, but hold on … (more…)
Then and Now: St. Louis County Courthouse
There is no date on the above postcard image, but it appears to be 1960s-ish. The photo below is a modern-day view.
Can the Old County Jail be saved?
Folks, as you may know, the county has long wanted to tear down the historic St. Louis County Courthouse to create parking spaces. They are now pushing forward with those plans.
The jail is part of Duluth’s Civic Center, Duluth’s one-stop shop for some very impressive Classical/ Renaissance architecture. The center includes the St. Louis County Courthouse, Duluth City Hall, and the U.S. Federal Building-as well as the county jail, the Cass Gilbert-designed Soldiers & Sailors Monument (Fortitude Defending the Flag), and a fountain. The courthouse, which went up in 1909, was designed by famed architect Daniel H. Burnham, who among other accomplishments oversaw the entire design of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Abraham Olstead and William J. Sullivan designed the 1923 county jail, but did so in a manner in keeping with Burnham’s original idea and under Burnham’s direction. The gray granite building includes features such as Doric columns and lions heads. The jail is adorned with symbols of justice, including Roman fasces (a bundle of birch rods wrapped around an axe).
(The whole complex was part of the “City Beautiful” movement, a progressive reform movement of architecture and urban planning popular in the late 1890s and early twentieth century-it was thought that a beautiful city would create moral and civic virtue, people would behave, and the lives of inner-city poor would improve.)
The building is on the National Register of Historic Place and has been designated a Duluth Landmark property. Twice it has appeared on the Minnesota Historic Preservation Office’s “Ten Most Endangered Buildings” list.
Contrary to popular belief, the building can be successfully adapted for reuse, though it would be an expensive venture the county can’t afford. I know not everyone cares about saving our old buildings–and there are valid reasons the county has no more interest in maintaining the building. But to many like me, buildings such as the jail reflect our social and cultural heritage, and an effort should be made to at least attempt to sell the building to a party willing to invest in it–at the very least, demolition should only be discussed when all other options have been exhausted. They have not.
Technically, since the building has landmark status, the Duluth Heritage Preservation Commission (disclaimer: I sit on this commission) can do little else but deny any work on the building that does not meet it’s plan for renovation, and demolition does not fit the plan. Technically, the City Council can override the HPC, but only if the work on the building fits the Secretary of Interior’s standards for preservation projects, and again demolition does not fit such plans. But that does not mean it won’t happen.
If the future of this building matters to you and you want your voice heard on this issue, there will be a public hearing before the HPC at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24 in the City Council Chambers in City Hall where you can speak your mind. Please attend.
And if you have some time tomorrow, at 2 p.m. folks are gathering at the Jail to show their support for the building. Please come.