Ask the Historian: Duluth’s Lady Liberty
A patron at the Duluth Public Library recently asked me about the Statue of Liberty replica that sits between Amzoil Arena and the Great Lakes Aquarium. I had researched the statue a few years ago,...
View ArticleAsk the Historian: Duluth’s historic tea rooms
Bill Ames of Dallas, Texas, recently sent us a kind email thanking us for the work we do on Zenith City Online. He also had this question: “Are there any historical items about a 1930s-1940s downtown...
View ArticleAsk the Historian: The “Old Snow White”
Can you tell me why the stone building on the northeast corner of Woodland Avenue and Oxford Street is always referred to as “the Snow White” or “the old Snow White”? There are four business operating...
View ArticleThe Many Hospitals of…West Duluth?
Recently a patron at the Duluth Public Library, where I volunteer, asked the reference staff if they knew anything about the Webber Hospital in West Duluth. I was surprised to learn there was more than...
View ArticleThe fate of “The City of Duluth,” a B-29 Bomber
In September, after a Duluth News Tribune story on the death of native Duluthian and World War II Veteran Robert J. Willman, a bomber pilot, reader Kyle Chisolm asked us, “Do you think you can track...
View ArticleAsk the Historian: Riverside Hospital
Do you have any info on the hospital in Riverside? I was told by my grandfather that the building (now a private house) was built with stolen materials from the McDougall shipyard when Riverside was...
View ArticleAsk the Historian: Who made my Mackinaw?
Your article about Miscellaneous Manufacturers suggests that the F.A. Patrick Co. and their woolens business (Patrick Duluth) closed during the Depression. Do you have any more information on this...
View ArticleAsk the Historian: Was this building a courthouse?
Earlier this month, Mark Frederickson, co-owner of Shel/Don Reproduction at 124 East Superior Street, responded to an editorial in the Duluth News Tribune by Zenith City publisher Tony Dierckins,...
View ArticleAsk the Historian: West Duluth’s Longfellow School
This request was originally sent to the Duluth Planning Department and was forwarded to me. Kim Cooper, who now lives in Ohio, lived in Duluth as a small boy. He told the planning department he...
View ArticleWas Tycoons Ale House ever a jail?
We were recently approached by a UMD journalism student who wanted to learn more about “How Tycoons restaurant was converted from a jail or prison into a restaurant.” It’s a fascinating question that...
View ArticleAsk the Historian: Lost golf courses of the Twin Ports
Who would have thought an article on early West Duluth hospitals would lead us to find five nearly forgotten golf courses in Duluth and Superior? In October, 2012, this column answered a question about...
View ArticleAsk the Historian: the Park Point Community Club Clubhouse
Recently a Duluth Library patron asked for help researching the history of the Park Point Community Club Clubhouse in Lafayette Square at 3026 Minnesota Avenue. She didn’t have a specific question,...
View ArticleAsk the Historian: Was there a lake in Duluth Heights?
In May we received an email from reader Chuck Kolasinski that read in part, “I have tried over the years to get information on the lake that was Duluth Heights. I think it was drained in the 1880s when...
View ArticleAsk the Historian: A Cemetery in Chester Park?
Most Duluthians are familiar with Forest Hill Cemetery on Woodland Avenue. Recently we’ve received questions about an “Old Forest Hill Cemetery” and its location. We looked into the matter, and here’s...
View ArticleAsk the Historian: What was “The Birches”?
This summer the City of Duluth Planning Department received an email from Alaska resident Marilyn Borell who was trying to locate a private rest home called “The Birches” in which her mother had been a...
View ArticleAsk the Historian: the Hidden House along Greysolon Road
This summer local news media reported about the recent sale of a house along Greysolon Road. Some neighbors were upset at plans to turn the house into an alcohol treatment center. Since then we’ve...
View ArticleAsk the Historian: Did a Duluth Police Chief live in my home?
Jeff Stark wrote to Zenith City about the house he and his wife Laura Brandt recently purchased at 1631 East 5th Street. They were told the house had been built by a Duluth police chief and were...
View ArticleAsk the Historian: Are you sure that’s the right house?
Zenith City publisher Tony Dierckins and I wrote about the history of Bethany Children’s Home at 4000 West 9th Street—the predecessor of today’s Northwoods Children’s Home—in our book Lost Duluth. The...
View ArticleAsk the Historian: What is the Palladio Building’s past?
Monday’s Duluth News Tribune announced that the 1938 Palladio Building at 401–403 West Superior Street would be demolished to make room for the Duluth Corporate Tower, which will also become Maurice’s...
View ArticleAsk the Historian: What was on that empty lot?
A while back I was talking with some of the Duluth Library’s reference staff about what once stood on now empty lots and parking lots. For as long as I can remember, the northeast corner of Third...
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