Spalding Hotel

Postcards from Superior Street at Fifth Avenue West

By Paul Lundgren | April 17, 2026

The intersection of Fifth Avenue West and Superior Street — featuring the Lyceum Theatre and Spalding Hotel — is near the top of the list of Duluth scenes featured most frequently in early 20th century Duluth postcards. Many have been featured on Perfect Duluth Day in the past, but we’re pretty sure the six in this post have not appeared on this website previously. (more…)

Mark Twain and Joseph Conrad Destroy a Duluth Hotel Suite

By Jim Richardson (aka Lake Superior Aquaman) | February 21, 2026

Introduction

Historic hotels worldwide falsely claim the globe-spanning author Joseph Conrad was a former guest. However, it should come as no surprise that, while struggling with the untitled manuscript that would become Heart of Darkness, Conrad stayed the winter of 1898-1899 in a top-floor suite of Duluth’s Spalding Hotel. It was a suite he destroyed with Mark Twain after the two writers met in the gilt-muraled hotel bar and things got out of hand. The incident might have been forgotten but for the young Duluth Herald reporter on the scene who wrote an article about it.

Conrad, 41, the Polish exile living in England, was stranded in Duluth because he’d missed the departure of his cruise ship. He’d dashed into town to get a tooth pulled and it simply took too long. He was going to catch the next steamer out, but the freighter Marchande wrecked at the mouth of the canal. Then winter arrived and shut down the shipping season anyway — and he was only interested in traveling by ship. So although he missed his wife of two years back in England, he decided to winter in the Spalding, dreaming up ideas for his manuscript, and hopefully, a title. (more…)

The Rise and Fall and Rise and Fall (and Rise and Fall?) of Downtown Duluth’s Fifth Avenue West

By Matthew James | December 19, 2023

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 West Superior Street

By Paul Lundgren | November 3, 2023

This undated postcard, published by W. G. MacFarlane, shows Superior Street in Downtown Duluth with the Lyceum Theatre at left and Spalding Hotel at right marking the intersection of Fifth Avenue West. The Maurices headquarters and Ordean building and plaza occupy those corners today. (more…)

Postcard from the Spalding Hotel Lounge

By Paul Lundgren | January 8, 2023

This undated postcard shows the stylish design and furnishings in the lounge at Duluth’s Spalding Hotel circa the early 1900s. (more…)

West Superior Street, Spalding Hotel, Lyceum Theatre

By Paul Lundgren | July 11, 2022

This photo from Detroit Publishing Company is a similar perspective to a shot previously posted on PDD. It shows Downtown Duluth at Superior Street and Fifth Avenue West at the turn of the 20th century, with the Spalding Hotel at right and the Lyceum Theatre at left.

Postcard from Fifth Avenue West and Superior Street

By Paul Lundgren | April 29, 2022

One of the more common postcard views of Duluth in the early 1900s was the scene looking east down Superior Street from Fifth Avenue West, showing off the Spalding Hotel (right) and Lyceum Theatre (left).

The Spalding was demolished in 1963, and the Lyceum came down in 1966. The Ordean building now stands in the Spalding location; the Maurices headquarters in the Lyceum spot.

Enjoying the Glorious Climb-it of Duluth

By Paul Lundgren | December 26, 2020

Oh, those wacky puns. This postcards was mailed from Duluth 115 years ago today — Dec. 26, 1905. It arrived in Newark, N.J. three days later, and eventually at the home of Mr. L. Volland. (more…)

Postcard from the Spalding Hotel: “Duluth’s Popular Rendezvous”

By Paul Lundgren | January 8, 2020

This undated postcard, printed by Brown & Bigelow of St. Paul, depicts the Spalding Hotel in Downtown Duluth. The back of the card notes the Spalding was “Duluth’s Popular Rendezvous” and offered a coffee shop, cocktail lounge and bar.

The Spalding opened at 428 W. Superior St. on June 6, 1889 and was demolished on Sept. 25, 1963.

West Superior Street, Spalding Hotel, Lyceum Theatre circa 1904

By Paul Lundgren | November 28, 2019

This photo from Detroit Publishing Company shows Downtown Duluth at Superior Street and Fifth Avenue West circa 1904. At right is the Spalding Hotel, at left the Lyceum Theatre.

Due to the clarity of this particular image, it’s possible to zoom in for some pretty clear closeups, as illustrated below. (more…)

Postcard from the Publicity Bureau of Edwin H. Lee

By Paul Lundgren | October 23, 2019

For a little background on what the deal is with Edwin H. Lee, we turn to a supplement of the Nov. 1, 1913 issue of Skillings Mining and Market Letter. (more…)

Postcard from Lyceum Theatre and Spalding Hotel

By Paul Lundgren | October 5, 2019

It’s not known who scrawled a date on this postcard, when it was scrawled, or what the date is supposed to represent. But the date is one century ago today — Oct. 5, 1919.

It could represent the date the photo was shot, but that seems unlikely. The date was probably written by someone who bought the postcard and wanted to remember the date of a visit to that spot.