Happy 20th birthday to us!
Expressions of gratitude, reflections on past perfection and visions for the future might come later, but right now it’s time to party. Yes, Duluth’s Duluthiest website is 20 years old today.
Expressions of gratitude, reflections on past perfection and visions for the future might come later, but right now it’s time to party. Yes, Duluth’s Duluthiest website is 20 years old today.
This image from a 35mm Kodachrome slide shows Northern Pacific Dock No. 4 on Duluth’s waterfront in 1953 — 70 years ago. The location is where Bayfront Park is today.
Bloomer’s Drive-in was a roadside restaurant in Duluth, located near the ore docks and Wade Stadium. It opened in 1955, operated by Walter Bloomer and his younger brother Robert. It was sold in 1960.
The first edition of Perfect Duluth Day’s weekly email newsletter, the PDD Transmission, will be sent out June 29. It’s free, but to receive it you must spend roughly 20 seconds entering your name and email address into a form. We hope you are up to the task.
Whether you need additional inspiration or not, a prize is dangling in front of you.
Select photos from Instagram spanning mid-May to mid-June 2023, all hashtagged with the name of a certain website. #perfectduluthday
There are a few songs on Perfect Duluth Day’s list of songs with “Duluth” in the lyrics or title that are not available online. The one we highlight here is “Duluth St. Paul & Winona” by Marty Marflow and the Melody Makers (featuring the Calhoun Sisters), which was released 20 years ago.
The identities of the four gentlemen in this photo are not known, but the postcard is marked as having been shot at the Ely Studio. Photographer Cook Ely operated in Duluth from roughly 1895 to 1914, with a stint in St. Paul somewhere in the middle. Ely Studio was located at 2030 W. Superior St. — the corner where the Anderson Furniture building stands today.
This photo sold recently on eBay, where it was titled “RPPC Handsome Men w Hats Ely Studio of Duluth Studio Real Photo Postcard.”
This early 20th century postcard shows the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Passenger Station, which was located in Duluth’s old waterfront warehouse district — basically between Amsoil Arena and the Ordean Building where I-35 is now.
One century ago the Miller Brothers opened Miller Music Company at 8 W. First St. in Duluth’s Spina Building. According to the Kathryn A. Martin Library’s Archives & Special Collections at the University of Minnesota Duluth, “Abe Miller was a violinist and the manager of the Duluth Symphony for 37 years beginning in 1932. Ben was an assistant manager of Northern Drug prior to launching the music store in 1922.”
Modern and fireproof, featuring the finest food and liquors, located at the center of everything and on the shore of beautiful Lake Superior, containing all possible comforts and conveniences, with lodging available for the whole family, they are the classic hotels and motels of Duluth.
This is the fourth in Perfect Duluth Day’s series of matchbook collection posts. As always, we remind everyone to please close the cover before striking.
This image is from a postcard mailed 115 years ago today — May 23, 1908 — available for sale on ebay. It’s been touched up a bit here for easier viewing. The obvious mystery is what organization the people in the photo belong to.
The item is listed on eBay as “1908 RPPC Duluth Minnesota College Club Vintage Postcard MN Land Point Idaho ID.” The “college club” part of that is clearly speculative. Many of the men have sashes and badges that suggest perhaps they are part of a fraternal club like the Odd Fellows.
Select photos from Instagram spanning mid-April to mid-May 2023, all hashtagged with the name of a certain website. #perfectduluthday
Three of Duluth’s best sledding hills are at Bayfront Park, Wheeler Field and Keene Creek Dog Park. One of the city’s best beaches is at the base of Ely’s Peak. OMC Smokehouse is a popular spot in Canal Park.
The 25th annual Homegrown Music Festival featured 171 acts. I made it to 57 — which is a lot, but also only one-third of the available options. The scope of the festival makes each experience unique, so obviously one person’s photo collection will vary significantly from another’s.
