This autumn aerial view is one of many taken by Wayne Gatlin. Enger park is at the left and Enger Tower in the midst of it. The park acquired partly by gift from J. B. Enger, was acquired by the city of Duluth between 1891 and 1928. Enger Tower cost $30,000 to build, is built six stories high, 70 feet tall, and 583 feet above Lake Superior. You can see 31.4 miles on a clear day. It has a 10 foot conical shaped beacon at the top with 32 vertical tubes. One third of the $185,000 Enger estate, $61,000, was to be used for a civic memorial. Canal Park is to the left of the aerial bridge and Minnesota Point stretches to its right. Sailboats are in the harbor. The Duluth Public Library is under construction and will have its dedication in the summer of 1980. Duluth-born Mr. Gatlin enlisted in the aviation cadet program in 1942. Later he flew 55 combat missions for the 360th Fighter Group in England and downed an ME-262 jet fighter. In 1948, he joined the Texas Air National Guard but eventually transferred to Duluth, where he became operations officer for the 179th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. Gatlin flew jet fighters while stationed at Duluth during the Korean War. He was the high individual scorer at the 1954, 1955 and 1956 National Air Guard gunnery meets. Gatlin served as commander of the Air Technician Detachment at Duluth, wing commander, group commander and finally chief of staff for the Minnesota Air National Guard. He logged over 6,700 military flying hours during his career. Gatlin studied photography over the years and his marvelous portraits of Guard aircraft have appeared in many publications and journals.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
The Duluth Missabe and Iron Range ore docks are the two reddish brown linear structures in the foreground. Ore boats are pulled between the docks by tugboats. Railroad cars loaded with ore or taconite pellets move along the railroad tracks on the top or the length of the dock. A chute or steel pocket beneath the tracks is lowered to the open cargo hatch and a door at the bottom of the pocket opens, allowing the pellets to run into the ore boat that moored parallel to the dock. Four hours is typical for loading ore. Loading is the responsibility of the First Mate. It is important to load the ore in a proper sequence to avoid over stressing the boat unevenly. Each chute (or drop of pellets) is about 20 tons.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
Every student in Duluth learned about the Aerial Bridge from family or teachers. This table-top model in clay is typical in demonstrating how central to children and families the structure and impact of the bridge was and is to residents of Duluth.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
This summertime view is from about Fourth Street and Third Avenue West looking toward the Aerial Bridge and Minnesota Point over a segment of the Duluth downtown business district. Minnesota Slip is a private marina but will be the berth of the 600-foot SS William A. Irvin ore boat museum beginning in 1986. The tall center building (white) is the back of the Normandy Inn (1977) that will become the Holiday Inn and Holiday Center in the 1980s. To its left is the copper (green patina) dome of the Duluth Carnegie Library (1901) on Second Street. The tallest Duluth building, 16 stories, is the Alworth (1909) at the right at 306 West Superior Street with the Medical Arts to its right at 324-330. Tho photographer, Duluth-born Wayne Gatlin, enlisted in the aviation cadet program in 1942. Later he flew 55 combat missions for the 360th Fighter Group in England and downed an ME-262 jet fighter. In 1948, he joined the Texas Air National Guard but eventually transferred to Duluth, where he became operations officer for the 179th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. Gatlin flew jet fighters while stationed at Duluth during the Korean War. He was the high individual scorer at the 1954, 1955 and 1956 National Air Guard gunnery meets. Gatlin served as commander of the Air Technician Detachment at Duluth, wing commander, group commander and finally chief of staff for the Minnesota Air National Guard. He logged over 6,700 military flying hours during his career. Gatlin studied photography over the years and his marvelous portraits of Guard aircraft have appeared in many publications and journals.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
This carbon copy of a Claude Turner document is an historical overview about the bridge re-design. It includes discussion of contracts, alternate design, and petitions. Also includes exhibits A, B, and C from interested parties communicating with the Duluth City Council.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
Fifty-second Congress First Session Executive Document Number 80 United States Senate
Date Created:
1892-04-18
Description:
Thirty-one page government document, beginning with a letter form the Secretary of War, in response to Senate resolution of April 12, 1892, relative to the proceedings of the board of officers convened to consider the construction of a bridge in Duluth. This document is discussing placing a bridge over the Duluth ship canal where a bridge has never existed. The document uses the language "Aerial Lift Bridge" which must have been a design under consideration. In fact, the Aerial Ferry Bridge, or Aerial Transporter Bridge was the initial bridge constructed in 1904-1905. It wasn't until 1929 that the first bridge was remodeled with a lift span.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
Set of 37 sheets of architectural drawings accepted for the City of Duluth by Samuel F. Snively, Mayor, and John Wilson, City Engineer, Plans Accompanying Specifications of January 1929. Technical drawings with varying degrees of legibility. There is only one elevation in the set; Sheet 1. The original bridge was the Aerial Bridge constructed in 1904-1905. The bridge was modified in 1929 with a lift span and subsequently called the Aerial Lift Bridge. These plans are highly technical and were designed for the use of engineers and specialty contractors. Each drawing indicates that certain features of the structure have been revised. This set appears to represent the final revision. The Lift Bridge was designed by Harrington, Howard and Ash Consulting Engineers, Kansas City and New York. Patented in the United States from 1909-1925.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections