This postcard, captioned “Balloon View Harbor, River and Natural Breakwater; Duluth to Left, Superior to Right” raises a few questions. Perhaps the most important one is, how did that tree on the left edge get so tall?
Peterson Arena on Grand Avenue in West Duluth was gutted by fire on Dec. 19, 2004. The image of the wreckage at left is a Bob King photo for the Duluth News Tribune, boosted from USA Today‘s story about the unfortunate and scary, yet still undeniably comical, Zamboni explosion. The fire marked the end of Peterson Arena, which served as the only indoor ice rink in western Duluth from 1971 to 2004. It was replaced by the Duluth Heritage Sports Center at Clyde Park, which opened in 2008.
Slate ran an article today from “The Vault,” its associated history blog. Titled “A beautiful Depression-era route map makes transcontinental bus travel look glamorous,” it details the history of Pacific Greyhound Lines, the company that eventually became Greyhound. The map above is from 1935.
I was struck by the amount of routes covering Minnesota — all the way up to Thunder Bay makes sense, but no state other than Ohio seems to have the saturation that Minnesota does. What gives?
Back in the day, Denfeld art students competed in the Proctor and Gamble contest, the Scholastic Award or the House Beautiful Cover Design contest. Miss Genevieve Bancroft was the art instructor, with the assistance of Miss Nellie Smith.
The flood of 2012 left its mark on Keene Creek, Highland Avenue and 57th Avenue West in West Duluth. This relatively boring video was shot a few days before the roads were closed and one day after completion of the summer-long, 11-million-dollar reconstruction project. Let’s take a rip from Grand Avenue to Skyline for some before/after video.
The 2014-’15 UMD Bulldog basketball team plays its first home game tonight against UW-Superior. In recognition of that, we roll out this nostalgia from 30 years ago.
Perhaps Duluth’s most famous rock is Elephant Rock in Lincoln Park. It looks a bit like a giant, half-buried elephant, hence the name.
“Finds ‘Duke’ to be Insane,” Duluth Weekly Herald, 15 January 1908
In the interest of furthering the ongoing fascination with the “Duke of Duluth” on PDD [1][2] and in the broader Duluth community, I submit this 15 January 1908 clipping from the Duluth Weekly Herald. Given the description of the unfortunate Arthur J. Baird–“claimed to have acquired his nickname by reason of his hirsute adornment, his education and general demeanor“–it seems possible that he might in fact be the same man in the photograph Nemadji posted in 2010.
It would appear that some members of the local community, inspired by Nat M. Wills’ 1905 musical “The Duke of Duluth,” bestowed the mocking title on Baird, but that’s the limit of what I’ve (accidentally) found. Stay tuned for more fascinating updates if/when they appear.
