It Takes a (Shipping) Village: Duluth’s Harbor springs to life

Since 1871, when the Duluth shipping canal first opened, the St. Louis River has seen many changes. This video from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency briefly outlines a century of river use by many industries, and how cleanup and restoration of the estuary began. For St. Louis River Area of Concern resources visit pca.state.mn.us.

Selective Focus: Snow Day 2021

A few select images from today’s blizzardry via Instagram.

“The Peace Pipeline” film wins best documentary short

Shot in Duluth, the film won Best Documentary Short at the 2021 North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival.

Great Lakes Now: Resilient Duluth

“Great Lakes Now checks in with Duluth mayor Emily Larson in an update on the improvements being made to the Lake Superior city’s waterfront, which resiliency efforts were featured in a ‘Resilient Duluth’ segment in June.

On the Water Trail

On the Water Trail is a six-part series that explores the science of the St. Louis River Watershed. Host Emily Lockling, student researcher from Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, introduces the people who are working to improve the waterway after decades of dumping sewage and other legacy contamination.

Moment of Nature: North Shore of Lake Superior

Today’s episode of CBS Sunday Morning concluded with the usual “Moment of Nature,” segment. The focus of videographer Scot Miller was the north shore of Lake Superior. The televised clip was only a few seconds long, but the expanded version, embedded here, is a full minute.

PDD Quiz: 2021 in Review

Put your memory to the test in this week’s year-in-review quiz!

The next PDD quiz will preview upcoming events for 2022; it will be published on Jan. 16. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Jan. 12.

Postcard from Duluth’s Shipping District

This postcard was mailed 110 years ago today — Dec. 26, 1911. John Sisco of Scottsdale, Penn. was the recipient.

Not much is recognizable in this view of the western downtown area and waterfront. The steeple of Sacred Heart Cathedral still stands today at Sacred Heart Music Center. The Board of Trade Building is now Board of Trade Lofts. What other structures in this postcard have stood the test of time?

Saturday Essay: Select Gems from 2021

Saturday Essay logo genericTypically the “select gems” feature on the last Saturday of the year has nothing to do with Google Analytics popularity contests, and instead is more of an “editor’s choice.” But 2021 wasn’t an ordinary year for Perfect Duluth Day’s “Saturday Essay” series. As reported last week, a single author swept our annual list of the five most-read essays.

So this year’s “select gems” are the five most-read essays of the year that weren’t authored by Jim Richardson. Because the rest of us aren’t exactly chopped liver.

In the past six years PDD has published 263 essays showcasing the work of 43 different writers, and we’re always looking to expand that roster. Anyone who has an original piece of literary excellence that seems to fit (or appropriately defy) the established format should email paul @ perfectduluthday.com to get involved.

And now, links to a few select gems from season six …

Roy Halvorson: Christmas Tree King

From the December 1957 issue of Flying magazine, “the world’s most widely read aviation magazine,” comes the story of Duluth’s Roy Halvorson, “Christmas Tree King.”

Literary History of Duluth: Duluth Benedictine Books

It looks like (from the Online Computer Library Center records and the books I found at Gabriel’s) Duluth Benedictine Books was a brief experiment in recording the lives and institutions of sisters who live at St. Scholastica. (I just finished a jar of strawberry rhubarb jam I purchased at their most recent jam sale — so yummy.)

I wonder whether this was a project fueled by one of the sisters? By someone determined to write down history or by someone who recognized that telling these stories could also help recruit for the sisterhood (whose numbers are dwindling)?

LEAN Duluth Citizen Blotter: December 2021

The Citizen Blotter is the monthly newsletter of LEAN Duluth — Law Enforcement Accountability Network — a volunteer-run data-analysis group and public communications resource for organizers working for police accountability. To support LEAN’s work, email leanduluth @ gmail.com.

Duluth Underground Ice Tunnel

Trudge through the icy underground of the Brewery Creek drain tunnel in this new video from Duluth Urbex.

The Last of the (I Think) Futter Collection

So, this is the last batch of records purchased at a $5 bag sale at Gabriel’s Books in Lakeside.

New Lincoln Park housing takes over old furniture row

The Anderson Furniture Building, 2032 W. Superior St., was recently purchased by a Duluth developer. The building was constructed in 1910 for use by the Otis Elevator Company. (Photos by Mark Nicklawske).

A historic “Furniture Row” anchor store in Duluth’s Lincoln Park Craft District has new owners who plan to renovate the building and add more housing and retail space to the booming neighborhood. The former Anderson Furniture building at 2032 W. Superior St. was purchased earlier this year by Ohana Holdings LLC of Duluth. St. Louis County property tax records show the company purchased the three-story, 37,000-square-foot property for $500,000.