Photos Posts

Where in Duluth?

Mystery Photo #17: Residence of Luther Mendenhall

Residence of Luther Mendenhall

Did those asbestos shingles last a century? Is the Luther Mendenhall residence still standing? Where is it, or where was it?

Where in Wisconsin?

In a twist on the usual game of “Where in Duluth?” we this time ask for the location in Wisconsin where this seven-year-old clipping from Atlantic Monthly hangs. The article was brought to PDD’s attention because it contains a quote by Duluth’s John Ramos, who also graces this website with various posts and comments.

Big ol’ snapping turtle on Duluth’s Western Waterfront Trail

Here’s an opportunity for someone who knows a lot about turtles to show off and tell us all what specific kind of snapping turtle we are looking at here. It was spotted around 2:30 p.m. today lolling around by that nice little swampy nook just west of Indian Point Campground.

Where in Duluth(ish)

Recent discussions made me think of this guy. I blurred out his sign to not make it too easy…

Postcards from Duluth’s Lester Park

Big Falls at Lester Park Brook Trout Fishing - Lester River

Russ Kendall’s Smokehouse: A few pre-fire photos of the adjoining bar

The May 11 fire that destroyed the processing area of Russ Kendall’s Smokehouse in Knife River didn’t do much damage to the adjoining bar area, but nonetheless I thought I’d share some pre-fire snapshots I took of it in the fall of 2012, before it got “smoked” … so to speak. (The shot above is obviously of the fire, taken from the smokehouse’s Facebook page.)

Mystery Photo #16: Holm’s Kaffe Stuga

Holm's Kaffe - Fond du Lac

This photo is labeled “Holm’s Kaffe Stuga, Fond du Lac, Duluth, Minn.” From that we can assume the Fond du Lac neighborhood had a Swedish coffee cottage at some time in history. When? Where? And who is this Holm character?

Duluth in Orion

This photo by Ian Kimmer is on page 8 of the current edition of Orion magazine.

So long, Stadium Lanes

ClubhouseBar1 ClubhouseBar8 StadiumLanes2 StadiumLanes3 StadiumLanes4 StadiumLanes5 StadiumLanes6 StadiumLanes7 StadiumLanes8

Stadium Lanes and the Clubhouse Bar have been wrapping up operations over the past two weeks. The building at 132 N. 34th Ave. W., between Wade Stadium and the ore docks, is being gutted and sold. There will be no more bowling in West Duluth … except for lawn bowling. Word is the new owner will divide the building up into some type of business center or mall, with mini storage units.

Stadium Lanes opened in 1960, owned then by Dick Karon and Jerry Singer. Randy Hill has owned it since 2004, later changing the name of the bar to Clubhouse. Before that it was Mary’s Place.

“Such a delightful time”

July 1909 — Seven billion gallons of water falls on the Duluth area in two days. Grass, trees, timbers, paving blocks, mud and debris are washed down the city’s hillside during the torrential rainfall. Two children drown after being swept out of their mother’s arms.

Within two weeks a postcard is made, and the mood on the back doesn’t quite seem to fit the mood on the front.

Abandoned places to see

Does anyone happen to know where these abandoned, yet beautiful, spots are? If you have some of your own, feel free to share pictures and locations so everyone can enjoy. There is a lot of little secrets along the North Shore like these. 

(Photos are by Christian Dalbec)

Duluth Mystery Photo #15: Honor Brand

This photo from 1910 depicts “Mrs. Goldsmith and associates ready to demonstrate Honor Brand pure food products at the Pure Food Show, Duluth.” That tells us quite a bit, but here’s the question(s): Where was the Pure Food Show held? What is the location of this photo? Is it an existing building or long-demolished one? Does anyone recognize that ceiling?

Homegrown 2014 Photo Retrospective

View the full set of 217 images from Homegrown 2014 on Flickr.

Homegrown Banners

We’re looking for new Homegrown photo banners to run across the top of PDD during the festival. Photos shot at last year’s festival are the best candidates, but if there are compelling images of preparations for this year, I suppose that’s fair game too. For full details on banner submissions, click here. The basic info is the image must be 960 pixels wide by 167 pixels high. The Perfect Duluth Day logo will be added by PDD’s art department. Send them to banners @ perfectduluthday.com.

The Homegrown banners will replace the regular banner photos at the top of the page starting Sunday.