The annual biochemical process is underway in Duluth and surrounding areas. Progression of fall and peak leaf colors can be tracked with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ Fall Color Finder.
Featured here are select images from Instagram showcasing nature’s palette.
Is it a hummingbird? Is it a moth? No, it’s a hummingbird moth. This short video clip, shot last week at the Rose Garden in Leif Erikson Park, shows the little weirdo feeding on the nectar of flowers in the same hovering fashion of a hummingbird. Meanwhile, lightening flashes across Lake Superior.
This postcard from the early 1900s primarily shows the buildings on the 300 block of West Superior Street in Downtown Duluth. The white building with the flag is the Alworth, Duluth’s tallest building from 1910 to 2022. Construction of the new Essentia Tower is relegating the Alworth to second-tallest status.
The big news behind the scenes at Perfect Duluth Day is that our longtime calendar editor has moved on and we have launched the search for a replacement. But before we get into that, we lead with the standard reminder that the PDD Calendar is run by human beings and not machines. So if you appreciate it, drop a few bucks in the PayPal account.
This 90-year-old postcard was mailed Sept. 21, 1932 — 90 years ago today. It boasts the principal attributes of Duluth.
This postcard was mailed 110 years ago today — Sept. 20, 1912. The recipient was Mr. Guss Ferdettel [or Ferdellet?] of Bentley, Mich.
When Duluth National Bank held the grand opening event for its new building on Sept. 16, 1922, newspapers touted it as “a triumph of artistic design and architecture,” and “a model and a monument to the craftsmen who planned and built it.” A century later, the structure in many ways remains in grand condition, but without a defining tenant. Titanium Partners, the building’s new owner, hopes to change that.
This postcard of the Aerial Bridge, circa 1915-1925, notes its span is “393 feet 9 inches, 135 feet high from water line” and its construction cost was $100,000. The image shows a ferry car being transferred across the canal. The bridge’s era as a transfer bridge ran from March 27, 1905 to July 1, 1929.
This past weekend was aurora galora as the northern lights danced across Minnesota skies. Collected here are select images from Instagram.
With the state of independent publishing being what it is, Perfect Duluth Day will no doubt continue groveling for donations for years to come. We’re going to start doing it in different ways, however, so this is the final “Monthly Grovel” post. Basically we’re just going to stop calling our grovel a grovel, but we’re also going to start providing a little more behind-the-curtain information.
Among the many silly obsessions on Perfect Duluth Day is the practice of noting whenever Duluth is mentioned in a mainstream film — which by our count has happened at least 26 times. But what about when the script calls for a Duluth namedrop and the director or editor nixes it? Well, there are at least five examples of that.
Here’s PDD’s look at movies that were supposed to reference Duluth but ultimately didn’t.
Beanies are not likely to make any back-to-school fashion lists in 2022, but at some point in time Denfeld High School had a line of round, brimless, snug-fitting, maroon-and-gold skullcaps.
Shot with a simple iPhone — little leopard frogs gobbling up mayflies on the edge of the St. Louis River in Duluth’s Riverside neighborhood.
Duluth Mayor George W. Johnson reads a newspaper while he samples some of his own cooking before bringing the breakfast tray up to his wife. This United Press Photo comes with a recommended headline: “The (breakfast) tables are turned.” (Photo via Historic Images Outlet)
The women of Duluth were feasting comfortably in their pajamas 70 years ago. Or, at least, that’s what they were entitled to. A competition between the men and women of the city to increase voter registration was won by the women — 27,204 to 27,123. Mayor George W. Johnson proclaimed that husbands must serve their wives breakfast in bed for seven days or take them out to dinner for the same length of time. In many cases, however, the men either reneged on the bet or supplied a subpar meal, according to news accounts at the time.
