Lake Superior
Mystery Photo #58: Steamer Perry G. Walker
Although the date Dec. 11 is recorded on this image, it’s not clear what year it was when the steamer Perry G. Walker arrived in Duluth covered in ice. It’s also not clear if this is a photo or an illustration … or an illustrated photo. (more…)
A Walk to Lake Superior
Had a Perfect Duluth Day walking down to Lake Superior a few days ago. Here’s a video of the trip … algorithm used for filming and editing explained in the end credits. Love the fall light!
Winona LaDuke: Jingle Dress Dance for the Water
Winona LaDuke talks about the Jingle Dress Dance for the Water, held July 17 in Duluth. Video by Keri Pickett.
Photos from the Osterlund Collection, 1966
This batch of photos from the Osterlund Collection represents the year 1966. We start in Billings Park and make our way out to the big lake they call Gitchee Gumee. (more…)
Postcard from Lake Superior
This postcard of Lake Superior was postmarked July 25, 1947 — 70 years ago today. (more…)
Lake Superior Surfing at Stoney Point
Yes, this is the third time in two weeks that Perfect Duluth Day has featured a Lake Superior surfing video. It just happens to be what people are making good videos about these days. This one is the second surf video by Jasper Meddock Productions, shot on April 20 at Stoney Point, about seven miles north of Duluth in Duluth Township. The music is “Quick Musical Doodles” by Two Feet.
Postcard from the Hiawatha
The stamp was removed from the back of this postcard, and the postmark went with it, but it appears to be circa the 1960s. The caption reads: “Daily excursions during season from Grand Portage, Minn., to Isle Royale National Park. For further information write the Sivertson Bros., in Grand Portage or Duluth, Minnesota.” (more…)
Lake Superior Surfing Near Lester River
Jasper Meddock Productions shot this video at the mouth of the Lester River in Duluth on April 10. The song is “How Low” by José González.
Remembering America and her life on the water
A post last week of a 1925 photograph of the steamship America led to a tip about this story from the 2nd Quarter 2012 issue of Nor’easter, the journal of the Lake Superior Marine Museum Association. The story, written by Gina Temple-Rhodes and used here with permission from the LSMMA, includes a more complete history of the vessel, including tales from Arthur Wright, a Duluthian whose father was a crew member on America. Wright was 99 at the time of the article; he died a year later at the age of 100. (more…)
SS America, 1925
The America was a passenger and delivery ship that operated between Duluth and Port Arthur from 1902 to 1928, servicing outposts along the way such as Isle Royale and Split Rock Lighthouse. (more…)
Lake Superior Plate Ice Stacking Video, 2017 Edition
Dawn LaPointe of Radiant Spirit Gallery shot this video in Duluth on March 4.
“This winter has produced minimal ice cover on Lake Superior, so ice stacking events have been few and far between,” she writes in the YouTube description. “We were grateful to have witnessed this anticipated phenomenon come to life from our front row seats at Brighton Beach. … I never tire of these ice stacking events, and each one I have witnessed has had its own unique characteristics.”
Video Archive: Ice Cracking on Lake Superior
The 2016-’17 winter hasn’t been great for ice on Lake Superior, but ten years ago was one of the most magical freeze-overs in modern memory. In this video from Feb. 18, 2007, Zac Bentz captures the sounds of shifting and cracking ice off Park Point.
Christmas Waves at Tetteguche
Gary Fiedler of Radiant Spirit Gallery captured the power Lake Superior’s waves at Tettegouche State Park on Christmas Day.
Wall of Sea Smoke
Duluth photographer Levi Drevlow‘s video of the wall of sea smoke on Lake Superior last week blew up on Instagram and was shown nationally on both CBS and ABC network news programs. (more…)
Video Archive: 1964 Great Lakes Adventure
This 16mm film documentary was produced by Detroit Public Schools and the Ford Motor Company. It chronicles a trip aboard the Ford Motor Company freighter as it voyages from the River Rouge Factory Complex to Duluth and back with a load of iron ore.
The program is sexy throughout, but since it’s an educational film you might want the cheat sheet or Cliff Notes. The Duluth segment of the adventure starts at the 13-minute mark and ends at the 17-minute mark.
Much appreciation to the Detroit Historical Society for making this gem available to the masses.
Time Lapse Video: Lake Superior Sea Smoke
Photographer Travis Novitsky got up early on Dec. 15 to make the trek up Mt. Josephine to photograph sea smoke on Lake Superior. (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.
Castle Danger and Lake Superior Aerial Video
Shot by Kyle Christy of St. Paul.
Where is the Leadership?
I will remind Mayor Larson that alligator attacks have been recorded in Duluth since at least 2011 as documented here. Just because she claims she didn’t see one on the beach yesterday doesn’t mean they aren’t out there ATTACKING INNOCENT CONSTITUENTS. It goes without saying that it will be hard to get re-elected if you are eaten by an alligator.
Duluth Mayor Larson MIA on Alligator Attacks
A plea for action. After all that Mayor Ness did to keep Lake Superior shark-free, now is the time for the Larson administration to finally step up and tackle the growing alligator problem. We demand RESULTS.
Duluth and North Shore featured in Surfer magazine
In the August/September issue of Surfer magazine, Justin Housman travels to Duluth to discover “that isolated Midwestern surf scene” on Lake Superior, where surfers “chisel boards free from the roofs of their snowbound cars, trudge through forests and thigh-deep snow, paddle out for a few frigid waves, then emerge from the water with icicles growing from their shocked, pink faces.”
Video: Summer Solstice Full Strawberry Moon over Lake Superior
Dawn LaPointe of Radiant Spirit Gallery shot Monday evening’s Summer Solstice Full Strawberry Moon over Lake Superior.
“We were delighted when photobombed by the departing M/V American Century, a ‘thousand footer’ which transports iron ore pellets and western coal on the Great Lakes,” the YouTube description notes. “Minutes later the 740′ Whitefish Bay arrived under the same bridge lift.”
Paddling in and around Lake Superior
Highlights from a year of paddling in and around Lake Superior — St. Louis, Lester, Cascade, Beaver and Baptism rivers; Lester point break, Duluth and Apostle Islands.