DULUTH ~The Zenith City of the Unsalted Seas~

[Kitirion]

Here are some photos I have taken of Duluth after many visits over the years. Truly a city of unique natural beauty nestled along the hilly and rocky shores of Lake Superior. I apologize that a few photos are from the pre-digital age.


1. Aerial View

2005_0616Image0089 by kitirion, on Flickr

2. View from Skyline Blvd.

dul1_0001 by kitirion, on Flickr

3. The dramatic approach into Duluth, nearly a 900 ft. drop into the downtown area.
dul1_0002 by kitirion, on Flickr
4.

2005_0616Image0086 by kitirion, on Flickr
5.

2005_0616Image0088 by kitirion, on Flickr

6. The Duluth Entertainment Convention Center along the bayfront.

2005_0616Image0051 by kitirion, on Flickr

7. Duluth’s signature landmark, the Aerial Lift Bridge

DSCF6506 by kitirion, on Flickr
8.

2004_1017Image0009 by kitirion, on Flickr
9.
2006_0731Image0028 by kitirion, on Flickr

10. The north pier and lighthouse adjacent to the bridge.

DSCF6207edx by kitirion, on Flickr

11. The Lakewalk follows the lake shore for 6 miles.

DSCF6195edx by kitirion, on Flickr
12.

DSCF6179 by kitirion, on Flickr
13.

DSCF6188 by kitirion, on Flickr
14.

DSCF6500 by kitirion, on Flickr

15. Placid waters…

DSCF6474edx by kitirion, on Flickr

16. Turbulent waters..

2004_1017Image0058 by kitirion, on Flickr

17. The crystal clear waters of Lake Superior

DSCF6194 by kitirion, on Flickr
18.

DSCF6193 by kitirion, on Flickr
19.

DSCF6285edx by kitirion, on Flickr
20.

DSCF6178edx by kitirion, on Flickr

21. Leif Erikson Park Amphitheater -

DSCF6187edx by kitirion, on Flickr

22. Duluth Rose Gardens, the brutal winters require that the plants be removed and replanted in the spring.

2004_1017Image0028 by kitirion, on Flickr
23.

2009_07050119 by kitirion, on Flickr

24. Downtown Duluth business district.

2009_07050091 by kitirion, on Flickr

25. Union Depot (1892) and the Duluth Library (1980).

2009_07050093 by kitirion, on Flickr

26. Superior Street.

2009_07050094 by kitirion, on Flickr
27.
2009_07050095 by kitirion, on Flickr

28. U.S. Bank Building built in 1984.

2009_07050097 by kitirion, on Flickr

29. Historic Wirth Building, Romanesque revival brownstone built in 1886 by Oliver Traphagen.

2009_07050098 by kitirion, on Flickr

30. Duluth Soft Center

2009_07050100 by kitirion, on Flickr
31.

2009_07050105edx by kitirion, on Flickr
32.

2009_07050101 by kitirion, on Flickr

33. Weiland Block built in 1889 by Oliver Traphagen and renovated in 2009 with offices and condos.

2009_07050104 by kitirion, on Flickr

34.

2009_07050150 by kitirion, on Flickr
35.

2009_07050103 by kitirion, on Flickr

36. The Old Duluth Police Station built in 1890 by Oliver Traphagen.

2009_07050106 by kitirion, on Flickr

37. The Temple Opera Block built in 1889.

2009_07050107 by kitirion, on Flickr.

38. The Greysolon Plaza (formerly the Hotel Duluth) built in 1924 and the Sheraton Duluth Hotel built in 2006 from the Lakewalk.

DSCF6177edx by kitirion, on Flickr

39. Ornate details of the Hotel Duluth designed by Martin Tullgren.

2009_07050153 by kitirion, on Flickr
40.

2009_07050111 by kitirion, on Flickr
41.

2009_07050110 by kitirion, on Flickr
42.

2009_07050109 by kitirion, on Flickr

43. The Lake Superior Plaza and corporate headquarters for Allette (MN Power & Light) built in 1978.

2009_07050102 by kitirion, on Flickr
44.

DSCF6263 by kitirion, on Flickr

45. Park Point Beach, the longest freshwater sandbar in the world.

DSCF6290edx by kitirion, on Flickr

46. The new Duluth International Airport terminal designed by RS&H and opened in 2013.

DSCF6217 by kitirion, on Flickr
47.

DSCF6224edx by kitirion, on Flickr

48. The beautiful and rugged North Shore of Lake Superior.


2004_1017Image0038 by kitirion, on Flickr

49. Split Rock Lighthouse built in 1910 near Two Harbors, MN.


2004_1017Image0035 by kitirion, on Flickr

50. Perched on 130 ft. cliff.


2006_0816Image0013 by kitirion, on Flickr

51. The Palisade cliffs, a 300 ft drop to the lake.

2006_0731Image0145 by kitirion, on Flickr.

52. Aerial view of the Blatnik Bridge connecting Duluth with Superior, WI.

2005_0616Image0091 by kitirion, on Flickr

[MplsTodd]

Nice Photos! I've always been impressed by Duluth's collection of older buildings. It was great seeing the north shore again too.

[L1011driver]

Duluth is pretty damn attractive! Great set, I can't believe those people are SWIMMING in the Lake! lol Isn't the water very cold?

[marcus]

Just awesome! Two Duluth threads within a week or so of each other? I'll take it!

I always found it so cool that a city in Minnesota had such topography. When I think Minnesota, I think flat as a pancake. Duluth is so cool

[TexasRE]

I've visited Duluth & the North Shore 3 times in my life and fell in love with the city. It has the old industrial charm to the city with diverse neighborhoods. This city has enormous potential to rebound because it has all the infrastructure in place to support a much larger population base. With the population projections for Minnesota actually increasing in rate over the next decades, I suspect that Duluth will have strong growth in the decades ahead.

[xzmattzx]

Nice pictures. I never realized that Duluth has that big barrier island. The views from the top of the mountainside are great.

[Ex-Ithacan]

Lighthouse, beaches, working port, great old buildings, dense & tall for its size downtown, even a train shot. What's not to like. Thanks for the fun set, and welcome to the SSP clubhouse.

[ColDayMan]

Maine meets Minnesota.

[Chef]

Duluth is such a cool little city, thanks for posting these.

[IMBY]

My all-time favorite city in MN! At one time, they called this city "Poor-Man's San Francisco"!

But for fun, I cross over to Superior and go pub-crawling over there!

[shakman]

This is a city hardly mentioned on this forum. Thanks for the tour.

[Rbsanford]

Duluthian here. I just found this thread, this is awesome! I love the compliments! Duluth usually gets a lot of flak from the other residents because of the freezing winters and lack of zeal, so I'm ecstatic learning what everyone else thinks of the Zenith City!

Brilliant pictures Kitirion! I suggest checking out the Board of Trade Building and the Carnegie Library the next time you visit.

I strongly recommend visiting in 2016, when the 11 story Maurices Building will be completed downtown (the largest downtown commercial development in Duluth's history). The city is on the grow currently; construction on a new hotel and commercial development will be underway in an old cement terminal this summer, the DECC will expand, the Minnesota Slip Marina will spill into the harbor and expand with new cruise terminals, and the high-speed rail line between Duluth and Minneapolis/St. Paul should be underway soon...in theory...

[dennis]

Originally Posted by marcus

Just awesome! Two Duluth threads within a week or so of each other? I'll take it!

I always found it so cool that a city in Minnesota had such topography. When I think Minnesota, I think flat as a pancake. Duluth is so cool

Driving on I 94, the topography gets quite hilly starting around the half-way point between minneapolis and fargo.

[kool maudit]

great photos of the zenith city of the unsalted seas.

[The ATX]

Those photos bring back memories. I took two summer trips to that area about 10 years ago when I lived in Minnesota. I love the cliffs along the shore in that area. I spent a nice summer afternoon on that little island in this picture. That little harbor has a cool history, and was once a small village. Remains of the village can be seen among the rocks near the shore.

[Rbsanford]

I had the day off today, so I went downtown for some pictures. Now I reeeeaaaally don't want to sound lazy, but each picture is gigantic when it's spliced into the post, and I have dozens. For convenience I put them all in an album:

http://imgur.com/a/bzk74#0

By the way: I caught crews setting up for the demolition of the AT&T tower. It's pretty interesting, they're covering the brick street with huge wooden timbers. Meanwhile demolition on the KDLH building still has not started yet, however the lobby of the Palladio has been razed, the trees ripped down, and the street somewhat torn up.

[mobyhead]

Never been but the tour made me feel like I had. My son and his fiancé moved to Duluth about a year ago. How is the job market there? Is it a lot of touristy/seasonal stuff?

[Rbsanford]

Yeah, there's quite a bit of that. Some may say there's too much. It's all very tasteful though and either forest or nautically themed, very accessible and affordable, very family friendly. I don't really know about the job market though. There's been a lot of development and the Maurice's headquarters building will be done in approx. two years, so that should open up more options.

I also found a photo taken around 1960 from Enger Park.



The toddler in blue is actually my father, the woman with the brown hair and white shirt being my grandmother holding my aunt. In fact, I was just on that same rock today. Amazing how much the view of the city has changed.

[LSyd]

interesting collection, thanks

-

[zigzag]

Never seen much of this city before, thanks for sharing.