Pedestrians stand on the bridge as the lift span opens for vessel traffic. In 1971 tickets for the Lift Bridge rides sold for twenty-five cents. Riders were required to stay within an enclosure during the ride.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
A distant view of the Aerial Lift Bridge is framed by the plants in the foreground of this photograph taken at Brighton Beach (Kitchi Gammi Park), Scenic Highway 61 and London Road. The shore here is entirely rocky, in contrast to the sandy beaches of Minnesota Point.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
A bulk carrier enters the harbor under the Lift Bridge as an excursion boat approaches the canal. In the foreground of the image is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Vessel Yard, 901 Minnesota Avenue.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
Noronic was the largest Canadian passenger steamship vessel on the Great Lakes. It was owned and operated by the Canada Steamship Lines Limited. On September 16, 1949, docked in the Toronto harbor, the ship burned in the middle of the night with more than 130 passengers losing their lives. The fire started in a linen closet. The design and construction of the 36-year-old ship were also found to be at fault. The interiors had been lined with oiled wood instead of fireproof material. Exits were only located on one deck instead of all five. None of the ships fire hoses were in working order. Damage suits for the Noronic were settled for just over $2 million. In 1911, the peak year, 80,000 passengers traveled to Lake Superior. After 1920, the number of passenger cruise ships diminished with the advent of "motor-cars." Very few cruise ships were still in service after World War II. The last of those, the South American, made its last visit to Duluth in the 1966 season.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
View of the lift span taken from the southeast corner of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers building (1906). The canal's piers have walkways, and there are benches for visitors to linger to watch the ships enter and exit the harbor. The Aerial Lift Bridge is the largest tourist attraction in the state of Minnesota. The enclosed portion on the lift span is the operator's house or the power house of the bridge. On one side of the operator is Lake Superior and the other side is Superior Bay and the Duluth Harbor Basin. Leonard P. Green was the bridge operator for 36 years (died September 16, 1944). He was supervisor when the Aerial bridge was altered to become the lift bridge. In 1932, Mr. Green's seven operators worked in eight-hour shifts, two operators to a shift.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
View of a lake vessel in the canal entering the Duluth harbor. There are a number of sites visible where rubble is evident as Duluth razes older structures to make way for new construction. Canal Park is evolving from a light industrial commercial district into what will be a model tourist destination in another decade. The Flame restaurant is the bright white rectangle at the left center. The Flame supper club opened in 1930. The Aerial Lift Bridge was first operated on March 19, 1930. The present bridge has a clearance of 138 feet when the lift section is completely up and when down it is 16.5 feet above the water. The length of the span is 386 feet and weighs 900 tons. The distance from the water to the lower edge of the truss is 172 feet 7 inches; to the top of the truss it is 227 feet. During the shipping season it makes about 25 lifts a day. 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
This post card caption says Dutch Ship Colytto - 475 feet-long and 62-feet wide with a tonnage capacity of 9075 tons arrives at Duluth coming through the canal and under the famous Aerial Lift Bridge. Duluth is the westerly terminus of the St. Lawrence Seaway. This is an ocean general cargo vessel. Its derricks and booms enable it to load various package cargoes. The St. Lawrence Seaway is the common name for a system of locks, canals and channels that permits ocean-going vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the North American Great Lakes, as far as Lake Superior. Legally it extends from Montreal to Lake Erie, including the Welland Canal. The seaway is named after the Saint Lawrence River, which it follows from Lake Ontario to the Atlantic Ocean. Proposals for the seaway started in 1909, but were met with resistance from railway and port lobbyists in the United States.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
This post card caption says D-117 Foreign Vessel entering Duluth Canal and passing under the famous Aerial Lift Bridge. Duluth is the westerly terminus of the St. Lawrence Seaway. It looks like this is the Dutch vessel Colytto. The lift span is up. The sand beach of Minnesota Point is at the right with waves moving toward it. The neighborhood on Minnesota Point is called Park Point. There are a number of spots along the Point where access to the beach is especially popular, but life guards and a beach house are only at "the end" where you can also find playing fields including a place for polo. The address is 5000 Minnesota Avenue for the recreation area, and it is not truly at the end of the Point. Further along is the Sky Harbor Airport and further yet is the bird sanctuary.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
This image gives a view down Fifth Avenue West to the harbor. The Duluth Civic Center complex includes the Duluth City Hall, St. Louis County Courthouse, the former County Jail building, and the Federal Building. At the center of the complex is the Priley Fountain. Named for County Commissioner Joseph C. Priley, the fountain was constructed in the late 1960s as a part of the Gateway Urban Renewal Project. Julia Marshall, Caroline Marshall, and Dorothy Congdon contributed $100,000 toward constructing a landscaped mall descending from the Civic Center to Michigan Street. A formal city dedication of the Mall was held on September 12, 1971, the date that this photograph was taken.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
This post card caption says D-103 NITE VIEW OF AERIAL LIFT BRIDGE Duluth, Minnesota Vessels from the world's ports arrive at the Duluth-Superior Harbor after transiting the St. Lawrence Seaway. A few more details could include that the St. Lawrence Seaway, after a 40 year struggle, was officially opened June 26, 1959, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth II. On July 11, 1959 several thousand people gathered in Canal Park, and more lined the lake shore as far north as the Lester River, to celebrate the first ocean-going vessels to arrive in Duluth following completion of the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
Small post card of the aerial lift bridge with the span up and an outbound lake vessel in the canal. On Monday, July 1, 1929, the suspended car made its last trip across the canal. The bridge's modification to operate with a lift span began on April 8, 1929, with a low bid of $448,000 by the Kansas City Bridge Company. The Aerial Lift Bridge was first operated on March 19, 1930. During the shipping season it makes about 25 lifts a day.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
Aerial view of a portion of Rice's Point and harbor facilities, in the foreground, including (right to left) two 90-ton gantry cranes of the Arthur M. Clure Public Marine Terminal, Peavey elevators, and Occident elevators. In the bay, on the far right, an excursion boat is leaving a wake behind it. A few sailboats dot the blue water. The anchored laker is unidentified. The tall, dark building to the left of the Aerial Lift Bridge is the DeWitt-Seitz building constructed in 1910. The plant, factory, warehouse and offices at 390 South Lake Avenue was one of Duluth's prosperous industries. The company organized in 1905 by Henry F. Seitz and C.E. DeWitt and manufactured all grades of mattresses and box springs, and the wholesale and jobbing of furniture and floor coverings. The DeWitt-Seitz best grade mattress and box spring, known as the Sanomade, carried the slogan "Remember the Name, the Rest is Easy," and was used and advertised all over the country. Its wholesale furniture and jobbing business covered Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and Michigan, North Dakota and parts of South Dakota and Montana. Including salesmen, the company employed a total of 60 persons in this nine story building now called the De Witt-Seitz Market Place in Canal Park. In 1930, it employed "more than 40 persons" and had a payroll of $100,000. F.S. Kelly Furniture Company bought the furniture stock of the De Witt-Seitz Co in June of 1961. De Witt-Seitz continued manufacturing mattresses and reorganized the firm, but the mattress company was sold in 1962.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
Spectators line the Ship Canal to celebrate the first foreign ship entering the Duluth harbor. The merchant vessel Ramon de Larrinaga arrived in Duluth on May 3, 1959, to load grain. Departing from its home port of Liverpool, it was the first foreign ship to arrive in Duluth through the newly opened St. Lawrence Seaway.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
The merchant vessel Ramon de Larrinaga arrived in Duluth on May 3, 1959, to load grain. Departing from its home port of Liverpool, it was the first foreign ship to arrive in Duluth through the newly opened St. Lawrence Seaway.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
Pedestrians cross the Aerial Lift Bridge on a foggy day. The photographer, Elizabeth Jo Goodsell, was a Duluth community activist, teacher, and long time resident of Minnesota Point.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
Fog in the harbor masks Canal Park, leaving the top span of the Lift Bridge visible above the Duluth Arena. In the lower left corner of the picture is the Medical Arts Building, 324-330 West Superior Street. Photographer, Elizabeth Jo Goodsell, was a Duluth community activist and a physical education teacher at Duluth East High School. She lived on Minnesota Point and was an avid photographer.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
View of a lake vessel entering the Duluth harbor under the Aerial Lift Bridge loaded with new cars and trucks. This style of street lamp on the piers was replaced in 1955. During the shipping season the bridge makes about 25 lifts a day. The Aerial Lift Bridge was first operated on March 19, 1930. It was remodeled from the side to side moving transporter or gondola to feature a lift span.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
Aerial bridge from bay; boats entering; canal; piers; Minnesota Point buildings on both sides; houses; light house on south pier; Corps of Engineers building.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
The full caption on this post card says Giant Ore Carrier going through the canal and under the famous Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth, Minn. Ore and grain carriers measure as long as 729 feet carrying up to 26,000 tons. Duluth is the westerly terminus of the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
Located at Point of Rocks at First Street near Mesabi Avenue, Higgins Observation Point Park was dedicated Tuesday, June 8, 1965. Money for the park was donated by the Higgins family. In the center of the image is the Flame Restaurant, 353 South Fifth Avenue West. Opened in 1930, it closed January 3, 1973, later reopened under other managements, and closed againon February 11, 1985
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
Formally known as the South Breakwater Inner Light Tower this 67 foot tall structure, seen here next to the south tower of the Aerial Lift Bridge, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The light was first lit in 1901. Originally owned by the federal government, the light tower was sold in December 2008.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections