History Posts

Gleanings from the book of Eli

Jun 06, 2017 No Comments

In honor of a decade+ of writing for the Duluth Budgeteer — gone forever — I wanted to share this piece. At just 45 miles from Duluth, the Wirtanen Pioneer Farm is a swell destination to add to your summer bucket list. A quiet place, with little programming, it’s the sort of environment that might bore some of you. If you have ears to hear, however, there is much to be heard. We can learn a lot from the work ethic of pioneers like Eli. I jotted down some thoughts at Ed’s Big Adventure, and am curious about yours.


History ,

Postcard from Alpert’s Motel on Scenic Highway 61

Jun 06, 2017 No Comments

Alpert’s Motel was located “13 miles from Downtown Duluth on North Shore Drive. Scenic Highway 61 on Lake Superior Circle Route.” The back of the postcard shown here indicates the motel offered “all the modern conveniences for your comfort, spacious grounds and beautiful view of Lake Superior.”

Joe and Mary Beth Alpert moved from Duluth to the French River area in 1952 to build the motel. They managed it until 1976. Joe died in 2004; Mary Beth in 2012. The motel was auctioned off in 1992.


History, Photos , , ,

Standing Alone

Jun 05, 2017 No Comments

Duluth filmmaker/musician/artist Ariane Norrgard just premiered this at the Zinema. It is about Anishinaabe elder, Jim Merhar, of Coleraine Minnesota, who once rocked both the Armory and the Opry.


History, Music, Videos

Duluthian Phillip Merritt and the Manhattan Project

Jun 02, 2017 No Comments

A new posting at the Vintage Duluth / Duluth Public Library blog (formerly Reference @ Duluth) is about “Duluthian Phillip Merritt and the Manhattan Project.”


History

Mystery mural found during NorShor Theatre renovation

Jun 01, 2017 No Comments

At a May 31 news conference, Duluth Playhouse Executive & Artistic Director Christine Gradl Seitz showed off a canvas painting discovered by workers busy renovating the NorShor Theatre. The Duluth News Tribune reports the painting was “behind a suspended ceiling that was installed in 1941 when the existing Orpheum Theatre was converted into the NorShor. The grand theater’s original balcony had been concealed and transformed into a makeshift attic. But Gradl Seitz said a careful exploration of the space revealed ‘this beautiful mural, which we believe dates back to 1910, and the original Orpheum.'”

The NorShor is expected to open in early 2018; the Playhouse has a run of the musical Mamma Mia scheduled for Feb. 8-24. Renovation work is about 60 percent complete.

The theater was purchased by the Duluth Economic Development Authority in June 2010 for $2.6 million. The $30.5-million renovation began in summer 2016. It is a partnership between Sherman Associates and DEDA. The 750+ seat theater will serve as an arts center managed by the Duluth Playhouse.

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History, News and Current Affairs

Postcard from Brindos’ London Road Court

May 29, 2017 No Comments

Marketed as “Duluth’s finest auto court,” located “on the shore of beautiful Lake Superior,” Brindos’ London Road Court boasted 14 “all modern” units. Amenities included housekeeping facilities, electric refrigeration, gas range, shower baths, lavatories, automatic gas heat and hot water.

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History, Photos , ,

Exploring the Superior Entry Lighthouse on Wisconsin Point

May 25, 2017 1 Comment

The latest adventure on the Substreet website takes readers inside the Superior Entry Lighthouse, where every step “happens with an echoing crunch.”

As for the view from the top: “For 180 degrees, there is nothing but water, clouds, and a beautiful sandy beach backgrounded by pine trees and dune grass.”


History, Photos , , ,

Remains of James J. Hubert finally coming home to Duluth

May 24, 2017 No Comments

U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant James Joseph Hubert, a Duluthian who fought and died during the Battle of Tarawa Island in the Pacific Theater of World War II, is finally coming home. He was killed in action and buried in 1943, but when the war was over his remains were not found … until more than seven decades later.

Sgt. Hubert will be returned to Duluth this summer with full military honors. A formal funeral and burial will be held at Calvary Cemetery on July 15.

The full story is available on jamesjosephhubert.com and will likely be heavily featured in Duluth media over Memorial Day weekend.

A detailed interview with Jay Hagen, nephew of Sgt. Hubert, was broadcast in March on WDSM radio’s Sound Off! with Brad Bennett program. The interview is available for listening and downloading at wdsm710.com.


History, News and Current Affairs

Postcards from New Yorker Patio Restaurant in Duluth

May 21, 2017 2 Comments

New Yorker Patio Restaurant was known as the “home of Duluth’s original hickory charcoal broiler.” Located in the Fifth Avenue Hotel at 9 S. Fifth Ave. W., the restaurant offered fine food and cocktails, “expertly prepared and served in a unique atmosphere of comfort rarely found anywhere.” The proprietors were Fred and Loretta McAllister.

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History, Restaurants ,

Duluth Trivia Board Game

May 15, 2017 6 Comments

Savers is a wonderful thing. For $1.99, I picked up a Duluth Trivia board game.

Some doozies:

1. What was on the roof of the former Goldfines building on Garfield Avenue?
2. What business is located there now? (It’s still there, I think.)
3. What movie starring Patty Duke was filmed at Glensheen?
4. For many years, the Duluth Zoo had the only living specimen in the US of one animal. Name that animal.

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History

Mystery Photo #52: The homely mugs of Ella and Dave

May 15, 2017 3 Comments

This postcard photo of a couple perhaps from or visiting Duluth appears to have never been mailed, though it is addressed to Mrs. F. Welch of Eau Galle, Wis. On the back of the card, in the upper left corner, are presumably the names of the photo subjects, Ella and Dave. Their last name is faded out, but clearly the final three letters are s-o-n.

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Video Archive: Billy Jack Haynes and Adrian Adonis cut wrestling promos for 1987 Duluth appearances

May 14, 2017 No Comments

The World Wrestling Federation brought its first card to Duluth on May 14, 1987. The main event featured Billy Jack Haynes losing a chain match to Hercules Hernandez. The syndicated TV program Superstars of Wrestling featured two promos for the Duluth Arena card tucked into the commercial breaks of local broadcasts. One featured Haynes (above) and another starred Adrian Adonis (below).

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History, Sports ,

PDD Quiz: Lake Superior Zoo

May 14, 2017 No Comments

 

Test your knowledge of the Lake Superior Zoo, its history and its inhabitants in this month’s quiz.  The next PDD Quiz, covering May 2017 headlines, will be published on May 28. Please send any question suggestions to Alison Klawiter at [email protected] by May 25.


History ,

No city in America is growing so rapidly today as is Duluth

May 12, 2017 No Comments


History

Duluth Street Railway Trolley Barns

May 10, 2017 No Comments

Duluth Street Railway trolley barns on the upper side of Superior Street between 26th and 27th avenues west. Photo dated May 10, 1927.


History, Photos ,