View of the Aerial Lift Bridge with lift span raised to allow the William B. Schiller to leave the harbor. Built in 1910, the Schiller was laid up in 1974 and sold for scrap in 1978.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
On the morning of May 3, 1959, crowds along the north pier of the Duluth Ship Canal salute the arrival of the British-registered merchant vessel Ramon de Larrinaga, the first upbound ship to traverse the newly opened St. Lawrence Seaway. The ship loaded grain at the Peavey and Cargill elevators before departing for Montreal and a voyage across the North Atlantic.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
Two unidentified men hold a copy of a national magazine whose cover features the Aerial Bridge. These men are probably with the Chamber of Commerce. The June 14, 1947, Saturday Evening Post cover of Duluth Aerial Bridge with boat is by John Atherton. John Carlton Atherton was born in Brainerd, Minnesota, on June 7, 1900. Atherton would eventually illustrate over forty covers for Saturday Evening Post, starting with his December 1942 design, Patient Dog. In the late 1940s, Albert Dorne, fellow Saturday Evening Post illustrator, founded the Famous Artists School, an institution to teach the art of correspondence illustration. John Atherton was among the famous artists such as Al Parker, Jon Witcomb, and Norman Rockwell, who contributed to the program. Atherton eventually moved to Arlington, Vermont. The famous illustrator and artist died at age fifty-two (in 1952) in a drowning accident while fly-fishing in New Brunswick, Canada. He was survived by his wife, Maxine Breeze.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
Unidentified vessel and crew leave the Duluth harbor. They will pass under the raised lift span of the bridge in calm water. Minnesota Point is at the right with homes visible on Minnesota Avenue. The 6-foot tall lighthouse at the right is 107-years old. It was offered for sale in August 2008 by the federal government with limitations. Its formal name is South Breakwater Inner Light Tower and was owned by the federal government. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The towers light was first lit in 1901. It was bought in December 2008 by Steve Sola and Matt Kampf of Duluth. Their winning bid was more than $31,000. Mr. Sola grew up on Park Point, Kamps in Hibbing, but lived many years on Cape Cod before moving to Duluth. In an interview the men said they didn't know what they were going to do with it. The federal authorities will not allow the structure to be relocated.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
View from the top of the Aerial Lift Bridge looking over Canal Park toward Duluth's hillside taking in a vista to Leif Erikson Park. Pedestrians could ride on the lift span of the Aerial Bridge for a short time in the late 1960s for fifty cents. There was an enclosure to stand within. In 1966, the City Council approved a resolution to permit club members to have free rides on the bridge during 1966 and 1967. To be a club member you had to contribute at least one dollar to the fund to floodlight the bridge. Contributors received a membership card. Between September 13 and 16 the fund gained three thousand dollars. The cost to floodlight was twenty-one thousand dollars. The floodlights were first lit on November 17, 1966. Minnesota's U.S. Representative John A. Blatnik pulled the switch to light the bridge. Chief bridge operator Alfred L. Hass said in 1960 that the longest the bridge remained open (span up) was an hour and 27 minutes one night in 1937 when a fog on the lake lifted and 13 ships entered and departed in quick succession. The greatest number of ships to pass under the span in one day was 80, requiring 36 lifts, on April 19, 1937. The building in the shadow of the bridge is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Building constructed in 1906. The new bridge is owned and operated by the City of Duluth on permit authorized by Congress. The Ship Canal and grounds are under the authority of the Lake Superior Area Office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections