Street scene, Lake & Superior Streets 21 July 1909 (Minnesota Reflections)
I ran across this photo last year on Minnesota Reflections.
It was the people who caught my interest though. Looking into the faces of people caught in a random freezeframe of Superior Street traffic from 101 years ago grabbed me for whatever reason. I guess the fact that they’re gawking at a ruined street gives it a timeless quality.
A coworker recently left this poster in her office so I:
1) Pounced all over it.
2) Wondered if others in Duluth have old posters from big name (whatever that means) rock shows that took place here.
Does anybody else have posters they can upload a picture of … or just knowledge of other big acts that have come through Duluth?
The photo above is from 1910. It was almost certainly shot from North 59th Avenue West, near where Tacony Street intersects it. I tried to replicate it with the modern shot below, but trees, fences and houses kept me from shooting at the same spot, and the view is much more limited.
Behind all the trees across the street is a rock outcropping that matches the one in the 1910 photo.
This ad for Northern Natural Gas Company ran in Time magazine on Sept. 17, 1965. Hats off to Susie LeGarde Menz for the find.
Now that the Denfeld and Central High School student bodies have been united, it seems like a good time to look back at some of the pranks students played on each other.
The most infamous, of course, was during the 1974-75 school year. Denfeld kids somehow managed to hoist a Volkswagon to the top of Central High School. The car had “Hunters” painted on the side.
The statute of limitations is probably up, so anyone willing to come forward, admit participation and explain how it was done will surely be held harmless. (Although I can’t promise some middle-aged Central grad won’t toilet paper your house. And I suppose administrators could still revoke your diploma. Better keep quiet.)
One rumor I heard was that the whole prank was based on a lesson from a physics class at Denfeld.
Another prank I remember hearing about, I think also from the 1970s, involved Denfeld kids setting a greased pig loose at Central. Again, anyone with details should chime in on the comments.
And, of course, there was the fall of 1979, when Central kids threw eggs at the Denfeld marching band before the Homecoming game, which prompted Denfeld kids to throw eggs at Central’s band during halftime. I think that was the last significant prank before Duluth Public Schools entered an era of civility and brotherhood and whatnot.
Certainly there were some other good pranks not mentioned here. Let the discussion begin. Hell, we’ll even let cake eaters participate.
Laurie Hertzel, author of News to Me: Adventures of an Accidental Journalist, is going to be in Duluth launching her new book, Thursday evening, Sept. 16, at 7 pm, in Fitgers’ Spirit of the North theater.
News to Me tells the story of the 18 years Laurie spent working for the Duluth News Tribune, including her accompanying a group of Duluthians to what was then the Soviet Union in 1986, when they went to talk to the city officials in Petrozavodsk about setting up a sister city relationship. It’s a compelling read, and there’s some fabulous stories about what Duluth was like in the ’70s and ’80s. And to sweeten the deal, there’s going to be a cash bar, free meatballs, and I am introducing Laurie!
It’s amusing to me that the soundtrack to this slideshow is by Dokken. You might think that’s a poor choice, but I remember 20 years ago the only Duluth kids into Dokken were from Morgan Park, so it makes sense.
Also, tragically, the one sentence of text in the video contains multiple errors, but oh well.
A collection of Duluth-related stuff from City Pages’ Best of the Twin Cities issues over the years.
2011
Best Blues Artist
Charlie Parr
Charlie Parr is the real deal. A Duluthian through and through, he’s about as unpretentious as they come. Climbing up on stage dressed in a flannel shirt, carpenter’s pants, and work boots, he wields his steel-stringed guitar like it’s an extension of his body, effortlessly gliding over the frets with a slide and letting it reverberate before trading it for a banjo or a 12-string. Sometimes when he plays he’s accompanied by an unassuming young lad who looks like he’s been plucked straight from the ore mines on the Iron Range, who clangs on train spikes and steel bars while Parr sings and strums. And while Parr’s guitar playing is technically complex and seemlingly effortless, it’s his voice-a blues howl with a soft side, which can climb up from a sweet moan into a loud bellow at a moment’s notice-that accentuates the stark, sad nature of his songs, painting vivid portraits through lyrics about loneliness, the devil, and making things right with the Lord.
I didn’t ask around, with the crowd as thick as it was, but I’m assuming this big wooden arch must be the one from the Spalding Hotel that was retrofitted into O’Gara’s fairgrounds restaurant in St. Paul.
Does anyone know about the history of West Duluth’s “Goat Hill” area or how it got that name?
Left:
Cormier Dry Goods, 6227 Grand Ave., West Duluth, in 1907.
(Northeast Minnesota Historical Center photo.)
Right:
The same building in 2010, now entirely apartments.
(Perfect Duluth Day photo.)
Cormier Dry Goods stayed in business well into the 1930s. Gustave Cormier was the proprietor and lived upstairs. By the mid-1930s, J.A. Lundeen’s shoe store shared the building.
My mom, who was born in Duluth in 1935, was re-telling me stories about the amusement park at the end of Park Point. She recalled bumper cars (she called them “dodge-em carts”), a penny arcade, a carousel, spinning swings, a candy shop (Fritz’s) and various other amusements. I know the canopy for the carousel is in the Sports Garden, but I have never seen any pictures of this park and don’t know if the topic has been addressed here. Just wondering if anyone has any insight as to whether my mom’s recollections are accurate.
I found some amazing pictures of the chapel in St. Joseph Orphan Home. It was mostly referred to as “the orphanage” and was located just to the east of the Mariner Mall in Superior.
See the photos at the Badger Catholic blog.
I’ve lived in Duluth for 21 years and have only recently discovered that we’ve got a flag — one that actually looks kind of cool (for a flag).
My questions are:
1) Why doesn’t this flag get used more often?
2) Where can I get one?
(Note: This post originally linked to a slideshow about the NorShor’s history, which is why comments to the post rave about time travel.)
