Postcards
Postcard from the Famous Aerial Bridge
This undated postcard of Duluth’s Aerial Lift Bridge appears to be circa the 1960s, but perhaps there is a clue in there somewhere to narrow the date down. (more…)
Postcard from the Lyceum Building
This undated postcard of Duluth’s Lyceum Theatre does not appear to have been mailed, though it does have a message on the back. (more…)
Postcard from the old trading post in Fond du Lac
This postcard was mailed on Nov. 13, but the year on the postmark is blurred so we’re going to estimate it was about 80 years ago.
The American Fur Company began trading on the St. Louis River at Fond du Lac in 1817 and continued until 1847. A replica was built as a tourist attraction in 1935, and that’s what is depicted in the postcard image. The replica was demolished in the late 1960s. (more…)
Postcard from the Steamer David Z. Norton
This undated postcard shows the 500-foot Steamer David Z. Norton loading 3,000 bushels of wheat in the Duluth Harbor. Note the postcard has “J” as the middle initial of David Norton. That is presumably a misprint. David Zadock Norton was a director of the American Ship Building Company and the namesake of the ship. (more…)
Postcard from the Ladies’ Parlor at Duluth’s Hotel St. Louis
And now, a little something for the ladies. The St. Louis Hotel was Duluth’s premier lodging establishment in the 1880s. It stood where the Medical Arts Building is today. (more…)
Postcard from Dredging in the Duluth Harbor
Keeping Duluth’s shipping channels open requires occasional dredging. This undated postcard offers a look at the process in the early 20th century.
Postcard from the Jorgensons on Minnesota Point
Remember the Pettersen gals photo on Point of Rocks? Well, they’ve turned up in another old Duluth pic, this time on the beach at Minnesota Point. (more…)
Sky-Diver and Cold Turkey
Geeks will help out in the comments, but it appears what we have here is a QSL card — a postcard mailed to confirm receipt of a ham or citizens-band radio transmission. The CM 76 presumably means it was a calling card of Duluth ham radio operator Charles F. Makowski circa 1976. (more…)
Postcard from Up North, 2001
This postcard appears to have never been mailed, but it has the name of a recipient on the back and is dated Oct. 3, 2001 — 20 years ago today. The card was published by Erickson Post Cards & Souvenirs in Hermantown, and the photo is credited to Benjamin Fondrik. (more…)
Postcard from the Incline Railway with View of Minnesota Point
This postcard was mailed from Superior on Sept. 27, 1906 — 115 years ago today — by W. F. McMannis. The recipient was Miss Mabelle Reed of West Dover, Ohio. The image depicts the Duluth Incline Railway, showing the view from the top of the Duluth harbor and waterfront district, and of course Minnesota Point. (more…)
The Pettersen Gals at Point of Rocks
And the award for best Duluth photo of 1911 pretty much has to go to this postcard image of three gals on Point of Rocks looking out over the city. And someone was smart enought to write their names on the back. Nora, Emma and Inga Pettersen posed for this shot 110 years ago. (more…)
Postcard from the Central Motel in West Duluth
This postcard of the Central Motel was mailed Sept. 20, 1956 — 65 years ago today. The address, 24 N. Central Ave., is now greenspace across Main Street from Irving Park. The land is controlled by the idled Duluth paper mill, which was sold by Verso Corporation in May to ST Paper. (more…)
Postcard from the Coal Docks in 1911
This postcard was mailed Sept. 18, 1911 — 110 years ago today. For some reason it took more than a month to reach it’s destination. It bears a second postmark of Oct. 26; indicating it took 38 days to travel about 250 miles from Duluth to Miss Martha Moe in Wood Lake. (more…)
Postcard from the College of St. Scholastica, 1931
This postcard of the College of St. Scholastica was mailed Sept. 13, 1931 — 90 years ago today. Robert Strauss of Snyder, N.Y. was the recipient. The message on the back is from his parents, who write: “Hello Boy. On our way to Seattle.” (more…)
Postcard from First Methodist Episcopal Church
The written message on the back of this century-old postcard is dated Sept. 9 by “Aunt Martha,” but has no postmark or other indication of the year. The card shows First Methodist Episcopal Church on the corner of Third Avenue West and Third Street in Duluth. The building stood there from 1893 to 1969. (more…)
Postcard from a Coaching Party on Boulevard Drive
This postcard bears the date of Aug. 31, 1906 — 115 years ago today. It shows horse-drawn carriages on “the Boulevard,” now known as Skyline Parkway. The illustration might be an interpretation of the Twin Ponds area; it’s not clear. The artist apparently felt the popular scenic byway’s gravel surface should be green.
The handwritten message on the card reads, “Will leave here to-day for home,” and the sender’s name looks like “Smith.”
Postcard from the Aerial Lift Bridge at Night
This undated postcard, published by Zenith Interstate News Company, depicts the Duluth Ship Canal and Aerial Lift Bridge circa the early half of the 20th century. (more…)
Postcard from Bethany Children’s Home in 1916
This handsome structure at 4000 W. Ninth St. was originally the home of Alfred and Jane Merritt. They sold it to the Swedish Lutheran Church of West Duluth the same year this postcard was mailed, 1916, and it became an orphanage. The home was destroyed by fire on Oct. 10, 1920. (more…)
Postcard from the Hiawatha in 1961
Another postcard bearing this image was previously posted on Perfect Duluth Day, but this one bears a postmark from 60 years ago today — Aug. 15, 1961. (more…)
Postcard of a Night Scene in Duluth
This postcard was mailed Aug. 14, 1941. It shows the Aerial Lift Bridge and western Downtown Duluth buildings in the city lights and illumination from the Moon. (more…)
Postcard from Third Avenue in Hibbing, 1921
This postcard was mailed 100 years ago today — Aug. 6, 1921. The image shows Third Avenue in Hibbing looking north, including the Oliver Hotel at 422 Third Avenue. The card was published by T. C. Congdon. (more…)
Postcard from Marshall Wells Slip and Building
This postcard was mailed July 31, 1911 — 110 years ago today — to Miss Emma Perkins of Cleveland, Ohio. It shows what is today known as Minnesota Slip, where the William A. Irvin is docked. At right is the headquarters of Marshall-Wells Hardware Company, one of the world’s largest hardware wholesalers a century ago. (more…)
Postcard from the Alger-Smith Sawmill
This postcard was mailed July 29, 1911. By then the Alger-Smith Sawmill in West Duluth had been dismantled following a decade-long decline in the sawmilling industry.
Anyone with a century-old garage in West Duluth likely owns scraps of the Alger-Smith mill. “There must be 100 garages in West Duluth that have been built this summer out of lumber taken during the process of dismantling,” the company’s president told the Duluth Herald in a story that appeared in the Sept. 22, 1920 edition. “Every day or two some person inquires for the lumber, and when we ask him what it is for he says, ‘A garage.’ Our lumber must have built almost all of the garages in West Duluth this summer.” (more…)
West Duluth’s Allyndale Motel circa 1971
The Allyndale Motel has been in operation at 510 N. 66th Ave. W. since 1952. The backside of the postcard image above boasts the motel’s features circa the 1970s: “Overlooking Duluth – Free TV – Room Phones – Tubs and Showers – Large Units – Individually controlled Hot Water Heat.”
Postcard from the St. Louis Hotel, Duluth
This postcard was mailed July 18, 1911 — 110 years ago today. The recipient was Mrs. Anna Carlson of St. Louis, Mo. The written message seems to be in a foreign language; the sender’s name looks like Mrs. Emma Ellstrand. (more…)