Lester Park Posts

Lester Park Literary Club

In visiting the new local history librarian at the Duluth Public Library, I am uncovering even more gems about the history of writing and literature in Duluth.

One of those gems is the Lester Park Literary Club.

Postcard from the Rustic Bridge at Lester Park in 1912

This postcard of the Rustic Bridge at Lester Park was mailed on New Year’s Eve of 1912 — 110 years ago today — to Mrs. Frank Larson of Stockholm, Wis.

Postcard from Lester Park Falls in 1905

The message penned on the front of this postcard is dated 115 years ago today — Nov. 24, 1905. Someone named Ernest is apparently writing from Michigan and has been to Montana, where the falls might have impressed him more than the ones in Duluth.

Better mail your letter for Thursday on Monday, to make sure. Some day I want you to see Red Rock Falls, when the water is high.

Aerial video from Amity Creek

Adam Jagunich offers a bird’s eye view of Amity Creek as he flies his drone along Seven Bridges Road at Lester Park.

A Swimming Hole at Lester Park

The Library of Congress dates this photo from Detroit Publishing Company as circa 1904.

Rustic Bridge in Lester Park, Summer of 1899

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.

Postcard from the Rustic Bridge at Lester Park in 1910

The message on this postcard of the Rustic Bridge and Pavilion in Lester Park is dated Jan. 21, 1910, and postmarked Jan. 22. The sender’s name isn’t easy to read, but the recipient is Henry Seeam of Rice Lake, Wis.

Does anyone have any info on the pioneer behind the name of the Lester River?

My maiden name is Lester. Through the years we have been told of a great-great grandfather Albert Julius Lester, who fathered a son William O. Lester.

Christmas Greetings from Lester Park in Duluth, Minn.

The Duluth Hard Enduro

The Duluth Hard Enduro is coming up on Oct. 28. It is a big-mountain style all-day epic enduro race across the city of Duluth hitting all of the raddest trails from fast and flowing to rocky techy gnar!

Postcard from the Shores of Lake Superior at Lester Park in 1907

One hundred ten years ago today these gals posed on the shores of Lake Superior at Lester Park. On the left is Stella, age 17. On the right is “Miss Rhorback.” They worked at Duluth Daily Financial Record, according to notes on the back of the postcard, which was mailed to Miss Jessie Green of Excelsior, Minn.

Duluth Trail Skate

Daredevil downhilling in a video from Andrew Kilness, shot in Duluth’s Lester Park, giving new meaning to the phrase “multi-use trails.”

Bull Moose Party at Lester Park

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The Duluth News Tribune reports the Eckels family picnic at Lester Park today “included a visit from a bull moose that gave a few snorts and, at one point, passed within 20 feet of the group.”

Bull moose meanders through Lester Park

Know Your Duluth Liquor Laws!

DuluthPint

Over the next week or so, Zenith City Online is publishing five separate stories on the history of Duluth’s liquor laws so that voters and elected officials can better understand the historic context of the issue they face in this November’s citywide referendum. I have included links to all five stories below so you can read them now. This issue is embedded in misinformation and myth. In fact, former Mayor Herb Bergson recently told Zenith City Online he vetoed a 2007 City Council resolution to request the repeal of the 1891 law because he believes that all of Lakeside and Lester Park was a gift to Duluth from the philanthropic Marshall sisters (Julia and Caroline) and that Myrtle Marshall, who fought to keep the law in place in 1973, was one of those sisters—none of which is true. So here’s a chance to catch up on Duluth liquor history so you can make a well-informed decision on this issue.

Lester Park Waterfall Time Lapse

Video by Douglas Feltman.