History Posts

Rustic Bridge in Lester Park, Summer of 1899

Jul 10, 2020 No Comments

The elaborate cedar bridge spanning Duluth’s Lester River was about one year old in the summer of 1899 when photographer William Henry Jackson visited Duluth and captured the image above. By 1931 the bridge was gone.

The book Duluth’s Historic Parks: Their First 160 Years by Nancy S. Nelson and Tony Dierckins notes the bridge was “a popular tourist stop, with picnic tables on the bottom deck and lounging on the upper promenade.” The ravages of weather limited the bridge’s life. The upper deck was removed in 1916, followed by the lower deck 15 years later.


History ,

Postcard from the Flamingo Excursion Yacht

Jul 09, 2020 No Comments

Duluth’s Vista Fleet excursion business got its start in 1959 under the name Flamingo Excursions. The 144-passenger S.S. Flamingo replaced the businesses’ original boat, the Streamliner, in 1961.

Read More


History ,

Duluth Ferris Wheels

Jul 06, 2020 No Comments

COVID-19 kept the Mighty Thomas Carnival from making its annual summer appearance in Duluth. Instead, we get our Ferris wheel kicks from the photo archive.

Read More


History, Photos

Mystery Photo #117: Fourth of July Parade in West Duluth

Jul 04, 2020 3 Comments

The written caption tells us pretty much everything we need to know, except for one critical thing: What year was this?

Read More


History, Photos , , ,

The War Years: Duluth News from Above the Fold

Jul 04, 2020 No Comments

A collection of World War II-era newspapers, saved in a bushel box by an old timer, make up the content of a Facebook page called Duluth News Tribune and Herald the War Years. Rick Hamilton has been showcasing pieces of the old newspapers there since July 2017.

In a series of four posts, Perfect Duluth Day is featuring samplings from the collection. This final gallery displays a few front page headlines.

Read More


History ,

The War Years: World War II Duluth News Clippings

Jul 04, 2020 No Comments

A collection of World War II-era newspapers, saved in a bushel box by an old timer, make up the content of a Facebook page called Duluth News Tribune and Herald the War Years. Rick Hamilton has been showcasing pieces of the old newspapers there since July 2017.

In a series of four posts, Perfect Duluth Day is featuring samplings from the collection. This third gallery displays news clips related to the war.

Read More


History ,

The War Years: Life in Duluth

Jul 04, 2020 No Comments

A collection of World War II-era newspapers, saved in a bushel box by an old timer, make up the content of a Facebook page called Duluth News Tribune and Herald the War Years. Rick Hamilton has been showcasing pieces of the old newspapers there since July 2017.

In a series of four posts, Perfect Duluth Day is featuring samplings from the collection. This second gallery displays general Duluth-related news stories.

Read More


History

The War Years: Duluth Commerce

Jul 04, 2020 No Comments

A collection of World War II-era newspapers, saved in a bushel box by an old timer, make up the content of a Facebook page called Duluth News Tribune and Herald the War Years. Rick Hamilton has been showcasing pieces of the old newspapers there since July 2017.

In a series of four posts, Perfect Duluth Day is featuring samplings from the collection. This first gallery displays advertising clips.

Read More


History

Hayes Block Downtown Duluth Post Office

Jul 02, 2020 No Comments

From 1870 to 1894, Duluth’s downtown post office was located in the Hayes Block, a building that still stands at 26 E. Superior St. as part of the Wieland Block apartments.

Read More


History, Photos

Robin Washington interviews Jim Richardson about PDD Confederate essay

Jun 30, 2020 2 Comments

Robin Washington interviewed me on Wisconsin Public Radio about the essay I wrote for PDD denouncing my white Confederate heritage.


History, Politics ,

PDD Video Lab: Cruising the Duluth Harbor on the Flame

Jun 30, 2020 4 Comments

In this edition of the PDD Video Lab we take a cruise with Lorraine and the kids on the Flame excursion boat in 1964. At the midway point of the video, the scene switches to the Edgewater Motel.

Read More


History, Videos , , , ,

Postcard from Franklin School in 1910

Jun 27, 2020 No Comments

This postcard was mailed 110 years ago today — June 27, 1910. It shows Franklin Elementary School at 411 E. Seventh St., and the surrounding neighborhood. Franklin School was demolished in 1979 and is today the site of Hillside Sport Court Park. More on the history of Franklin School can be found on zenithcity.com.

Read More


History , ,

Postcard from George A. Gray Company of Duluth

Jun 24, 2020 2 Comments

The George A. Gray Company was located at 117 W. Superior St. The building became a Wahl’s department store in 1936 and is still standing today, though it looks quite different.

Read More


History

Mystery Photos: Wide Awake Studios

Jun 21, 2020 2 Comments

The same pair of gentlemen appear in the photos above from the Wide Awake Studio in Duluth. In addition to the mystery of who the subjects of these photos might be is the question of why the particular studio they are standing in was open seven days a week until midnight. Why would people at the turn of the 20th Century want to, for example, get their photos taken at 11 p.m. on a Sunday? Was that normal?

Read More


History, Photos ,

For Father’s Day I Denounce My White Confederate Heritage

Jun 20, 2020 11 Comments

I am disgusted by the Confederate flag, and by those white people who defend its display as “honoring their heritage.” I say this as a white native of the South, with deep Southern roots. I was born in Texas (slave state) to a mother from North Carolina (slave state) and a father from Georgia (slave state). I was raised below the Mason-Dixon line in Maryland (slave state).

The year I was born (1969), my father taught at an all-white private high school in Houston. The Civil Rights era raged. When the headmaster refused to desegregate the school, my father was part of a faculty exodus. My folks found a Maryland school that did not discriminate, and went to teach there. They raised me to believe in equality. But looking back through the history of the country, the full story of my family and race is a terrible thing: the Richardsons owned slaves for generations, and I can document it.

My dad was a Civil War buff. When I was a child, he told me many things about it, including: 1) there were Richardsons on both sides of the war, and 2) the Southern, slave-owning Richardsons were angry when their slaves were freed.

Read More


History ,