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==History== ===Native history=== [[File:Ojibwe-women-canoe-St Louis River.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=Three or four dark haired women near the shore in a canoe|[[Ojibwe]] women on the [[Saint Louis River (Lake Superior tributary)|St. Louis River]], date unknown]] The [[Ojibwe]] occupied a historic settlement at ''Onigamiinsing'' ("at the little portage"), the [[portage]] across Minnesota Point between Lake Superior and western St. Louis Bay, which forms Duluth's harbor.<ref name="Ojibwe People's Dictionary">{{Cite web |title=Owjibwe People's Dictionary |url=http://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/en/main-entry/onigamiinsing-name-place |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809043007/http://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/en/main-entry/onigamiinsing-name-place |archive-date=August 9, 2016 |access-date=June 14, 2016}}</ref> For both the Ojibwe and the Dakota, interaction with Europeans during the contact period revolved around the [[fur trade]] and related activities. According to Ojibwe [[oral tradition|oral history]], Spirit Island, near the [[Spirit Valley (Duluth)|Spirit Valley]] neighborhood, was the "Sixth Stopping Place" where the northern and southern branches of the Ojibwe Nation came together and proceeded to their "Seventh Stopping Place" near the present city of [[La Pointe, Wisconsin]]. The "Stopping Places" were places the Native Americans occupied during their westward migration as the Europeans overran their territory.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Duluth MN Facts |url=http://duluthtreeservices.com/city_info.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909031157/http://duluthtreeservices.com/city_info.html |archive-date=September 9, 2013}}</ref> ===Exploration and fur trade=== [[File:MinnPointCamp.jpg|thumb|left|alt=black and white image of two teepees with a dozen or more people, some in suite|Ojibwe camp and white visitors on Minnesota Point, 19th century]] Several factors brought fur traders to the Great Lakes in the early 17th century. The fashion for [[beaver hats]] in Europe generated demand for pelts. The French trade for beavers in the lower [[St. Lawrence River]] led to the depletion of the animals in the region by the late 1630s, after which the French searched farther west for new resources and new routes, making alliances with the Native Americans along the way to trap and deliver furs. [[Étienne Brûlé]] is credited with the European discovery of Lake Superior before 1620. [[Pierre-Esprit Radisson]] and [[Médard des Groseilliers]] explored the Duluth area, [[Fond du Lac (Duluth)|Fond du Lac]] (Bottom of the Lake), in 1654 and again in 1660. The French soon established fur posts near Duluth and in the far north where [[Grand Portage]] became a major trading center. The French explorer [[Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut]], whose name is sometimes anglicized as "DuLuth", explored the [[Saint Louis River (Lake Superior tributary)|St. Louis River]] in 1679. After 1792 and the independence of the United States, the [[North West Company]] established several posts on Minnesota rivers and lakes, as well as in areas to the west and northwest, for trading with the Ojibwe, the [[Dakota (given name)|Dakota]], and other native tribes. The first post was where [[Superior, Wisconsin]], later developed; known as Fort St. Louis, the post became the headquarters for North West's new Fond du Lac Department. It had stockade walls, two houses of {{convert|40|ft|m}} each, a shed of {{convert|60|ft|m}}, a large warehouse, and a canoe yard. Over time, Native American peoples and European Americans settled nearby, and a town gradually developed. In 1808, German-born [[John Jacob Astor]] organized the [[American Fur Company]]. The company began trading at the Head of the Lakes in 1809. In 1817, it erected a new headquarters at present-day [[Fond du Lac (Duluth)|Fond du Lac]] on the St. Louis River. There, portages connected Lake Superior with [[Lake Vermilion]] to the north and with the [[Mississippi River]] to the south. After creating a powerful [[monopoly]], Astor got out of the business around 1830, as the trade was declining. But active trade continued until the failure of the fur trade in the 1840s. European fashions changed, and many American areas were getting over-trapped, causing game to decline. In 1832, [[Henry Schoolcraft]] visited the Fond du Lac area and wrote of his experiences with the Ojibwe Indians there. [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]] based the [[Song of Hiawatha]], his epic poem relating the fictional adventures of an Ojibwe warrior named Hiawatha and the tragedy of his love for Minnehaha, a Dakota woman, on Schoolcraft's writings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=An Ethnographic Study of Indigenous Contributions to the City of Duluth |url=http://www.duluthstories.net/downloads/DuluthEthnographicStudy2015.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329210515/http://www.duluthstories.net/downloads/DuluthEthnographicStudy2015.pdf |archive-date=March 29, 2020 |access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref> Natives signed two [[Treaty of Fond du Lac|Treaties of Fond du Lac]] with the United States in the present neighborhood of Fond du Lac in 1826 and 1847; in them, the Ojibwe ceded land to the American government. As part of the Treaty of Washington (1854) with the [[Lake Superior Band of Chippewa]], the United States placed the [[Fond du Lac Indian Reservation]] upstream from Duluth near [[Cloquet, Minnesota]]. ===Permanent settlement=== [[File:Minnesota Point.jpg|thumb|Minnesota Point from the hill above Duluth in 1875]] [[File:Jay Cooke.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Statue of [[Jay Cooke]] by [[Henry Shrady]], located in Jay Cooke Plaza]] As European Americans continued to settle and encroach on Ojibwe lands, the U.S. government made a series of treaties, executed between 1837 and 1889, that expropriated vast areas of tribal lands for their use and subsequently relegated the Native American peoples to a number of small reservations. Interest in the area was piqued in the 1850s by rumors of [[copper mining]]. A government land survey in 1852, followed by a treaty with local tribes in 1854, secured wilderness lands for gold-seeking explorers, sparked a [[land run|land rush]], and led to the development of [[iron ore]] mining in the area.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Duluth, Minnesota |url=http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h2126.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110630182218/http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h2126.html |archive-date=June 30, 2011 |access-date=June 26, 2012}}</ref> The 1854 Ojibwe Land Cession Treaty would force the Ojibwe onto what are now known as the Fond du Lac and Grand Portage Reservations, though some land rights such as hunting and fishing were retained.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1854: Ojibwe |url=http://treatiesmatter.org/treaties/land/1854-ojibwe |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200721024744/http://treatiesmatter.org/treaties/land/1854-ojibwe |archive-date=July 21, 2020 |access-date=September 20, 2020 |website=Treaties Matter}}</ref> Around the same time, newly constructed [[channel (geography)|channels]] and [[canal lock|locks]] in the East permitted large ships to access the area. A road connecting Duluth to the [[Minneapolis–St. Paul|Twin Cities]] was also constructed. Eleven small towns on both sides of the [[Saint Louis River (Lake Superior tributary)|St. Louis River]] were formed, establishing Duluth's roots as a city. By 1857, copper resources were scarce and the area's economic focus shifted to timber harvesting. A nationwide financial crisis, the [[Panic of 1857]], caused most of the city's early pioneers to leave. A history of Duluth written in 1910 says: "Of the handful remaining in 1859 four men were unemployed and one of those was a brewer. Capital idea; build a brewery. The absence of malt and hops and barley did not at all embarrass those stout-hearted settlers."<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Woodbridge |first1=Dwight Edwards |last2=Pardee |first2=John Stone |year=1910 |title=History of Duluth and St. Louis County Past and Present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DeTGZQETyxIC |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518123059/https://books.google.com/books?id=DeTGZQETyxIC |archive-date=May 18, 2021 |access-date=July 23, 2017}}</ref> The water for brewing was obtained from a stream that emptied into Lake Superior that came to be called Brewery Creek. While the brewery "was not a pecuniary success", it became the [[Fitger Brewing Company]] a few decades later.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fitger's Brewhouse |url=https://fitgersbrewhouse.com/history/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111033928/http://fitgersbrewhouse.com/history/ |archive-date=November 11, 2017 |access-date=July 23, 2017}}</ref> The opening of the canal at [[Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan|Sault Ste. Marie]] in 1855 and the contemporaneous announcement of the railroads' approach made Duluth the only port with access to both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Soon, the lumber industry, railroads, and mining were all growing so quickly that the influx of workers could hardly keep up with demand; storefronts popped up almost overnight. By 1868, business in Duluth was booming. In a [[Fourth of July]] speech, Thomas Preston Foster, the founder of Duluth's first newspaper, coined the expression "The Zenith City of the Unsalted Seas". In 1869–70, Duluth was the fastest-growing city in the country and was expected to surpass Chicago in only a few years.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hudelson |first1=Richard |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/j.ctttv8km |title=By the Ore Docks: A Working People's History of Duluth |last2=Ross |first2=Carl |date=2006 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-0-8166-4636-4 |edition=NED - New |pages=2 |jstor=10.5749/j.ctttv8km |access-date=June 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309024351/https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/j.ctttv8km |archive-date=March 9, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> When [[Jay Cooke]], a wealthy [[Philadelphia]] land speculator, convinced the [[Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad]] to create an extension from [[Saint Paul, Minnesota|St. Paul]] to Duluth, the railroad opened areas due north and west of Lake Superior to [[iron ore]] mining. Duluth's population on New Year's Day of 1869 consisted of 14 families; by the [[Fourth of July]], 3,500 people were present to celebrate.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brunt |first1=Walter Van |title=Duluth and St. Louis County, Minnesota; Their Story and People: An Authentic Narrative of the Past, with Particular Attention to the Modern Era in the Commercial, Industrial, Educational, Civic and Social Development |date=1921 |publisher=American Historical Society |page=171 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=flM0AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA171 |access-date=June 2, 2024 |language=en}}</ref> In the first ''Duluth Minnesotian'' printed on August 24, 1869, the editor placed the following notice on the editorial page: {{Blockquote|text=Newcomers should comprehend that Duluth is at present a small place, and hotel and boarding room accommodation is extremely limited. However, lumber is cheap and shanties can be built. Everyone should bring blankets and come prepared to rough it at first.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Woodbridge |first1=Dwight Edwards |last2=Pardee |first2=John Stone |year=1910 |title=History of Duluth and St. Louis County, Past and Present, Volume 1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DeTGZQETyxIC&q=Newcomers+should+comprehend+that+Duluth+is+at+present+a+small+place%2C+and+hotel+and+boarding+room+accommodation+is+extremely+limited.+However%2C+lumber+is+cheap+and+shanties+can+be+built.+Everyone+should+bring+blankets+and+come+prepared+to+rough+it.%22&pg=PA173 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518123124/https://books.google.com/books?id=DeTGZQETyxIC&q=Newcomers+should+comprehend+that+Duluth+is+at+present+a+small+place%2C+and+hotel+and+boarding+room+accommodation+is+extremely+limited.+However%2C+lumber+is+cheap+and+shanties+can+be+built.+Everyone+should+bring+blankets+and+come+prepared+to+rough+it.%22&pg=PA173 |archive-date=May 18, 2021 |access-date=July 21, 2017}}</ref>}} In 1873, Cooke's empire crumbled, and the [[Panic of 1873|stock market crashed]], causing Duluth to almost disappear from the map. But by the late 1870s, with the continued boom in lumber and mining and the completion of the railroads, Duluth bloomed again. By the turn of the century, it had almost 100,000 inhabitants and was again a thriving community with small-business loans, commerce, and trade flowing through the city. Mining continued in the [[Mesabi Range]], and iron was shipped east to mills in Ohio. The trade continued into the 20th century. {{Clear|left}} ===="The Untold Delights of Duluth"==== Early doubts about the Duluth area's potential were voiced in "The Untold Delights of Duluth," a speech U.S. Representative [[J. Proctor Knott]] of [[Kentucky]] gave in the U.S. House of Representatives on January 27, 1871. His speech opposing the St. Croix and Superior Land Grant lampooned Western [[boosterism]], portraying Duluth as an Eden in fantastically florid terms. The speech has been reprinted in collections of folklore and humorous speeches and is regarded as a classic.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Untold Delights Of Duluth: {{!}} ''American Heritage''<!-- Bot generated title --> |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/content/untold-delights-duluth |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329000721/http://www.americanheritage.com/content/untold-delights-duluth |archive-date=March 29, 2014 |access-date=November 9, 2012}}</ref> The nearby city of [[Proctor, Minnesota]], is named after Knott. Duluth's unofficial sister city, [[Duluth, Georgia]], got its name in 1871 shortly after Knott's speech gained national attention. Prominent Georgia newspaperman and politician [[Evan Howell]] had been called upon to make remarks at the dedication of a new railroad line into Howell's Crossing, a village named for his grandfather. There, Howell humorously suggested that the community be called "Duluth" instead, and townspeople agreed. Proctor Knott is sometimes credited with characterizing Duluth as the "zenith city of the unsalted seas," but the honor for that coinage belongs to journalist Thomas Preston Foster, who spoke at a Fourth of July picnic in 1868.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Macdonald |first=Dora Mary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ADOlAAAACAAJ&q=This+is+duluth |title=This is Duluth |year=1999 |isbn=978-1-889924-03-8 |page=281 |publisher=Paradigm Press |access-date=October 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518123101/https://books.google.com/books?id=ADOlAAAACAAJ&q=This+is+duluth |archive-date=May 18, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> {{wide image|General view from bluffs, Duluth, Minn. c1898.jpg|900px|Duluth panoramic view, {{Circa|1898}}}} ===20th century=== [[File:Superior Street, Duluth, Minn (NYPL b12647398-67839).tiff|thumb|Superior Street, circa 1900]] [[File:Chester Terrace-Duluth.jpg|thumb|[[Chester Terrace (Duluth, Minnesota)|Chester Terrace]], built in 1890]] During the 20th century, the Port of Duluth was, for a time, the busiest port in the United States, surpassing even New York City in gross tonnage.<ref name="Port of Duluth">{{Cite web |title=Port of Duluth |url=http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/review/USA_MN_Port_of_Duluth_101.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708170744/http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/review/USA_MN_Port_of_Duluth_101.php |archive-date=July 8, 2017 |access-date=July 22, 2017 |website=World Port Source}}</ref> [[Lake freighter]]s carried iron ore through the Great Lakes to processing plants in Illinois and Ohio. Ten newspapers, six banks, and an 11-story skyscraper, the Torrey Building, were founded and built.<ref>{{Cite web |last=GmbH |first=Emporis |title=Torrey Building, Duluth - 124061 - EMPORIS |url=http://www.emporis.com/building/torreybuilding-duluth-mn-usa |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627072407/http://www.emporis.com/building/torreybuilding-duluth-mn-usa |archive-date=June 27, 2014 |access-date=June 26, 2012}}</ref> As of 1905, Duluth was said to be home to the most millionaires per capita in the United States.<ref name="Zenith City Archives">{{Cite web |title=An Extremely Brief History of Duluth |url=http://zenithcity.com/zenith-city-history-archives/duluths-development/3126-2/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728231151/http://zenithcity.com/zenith-city-history-archives/duluths-development/3126-2/ |archive-date=July 28, 2014 |access-date=July 21, 2014 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> In 1907, [[U.S. Steel]] announced that it would build a $5 million plant in the area. Although steel production did not begin until 1915, predictions held that Duluth's population would rise to 200,000–300,000. Along with the [[Duluth Works]] steel plant, U.S. Steel developed [[Morgan Park, Duluth, Minnesota|Morgan Park]] as a company town for steel workers. It is now a city neighborhood within Duluth. The [[Diamond Calk Horseshoe Company]] was founded in 1908 and later became a major manufacturer and exporter of wrenches and automotive tools. Duluth's huge wholesale Marshall Wells Hardware Company expanded in 1901 by opening branches in [[Portland, Oregon]], and [[Winnipeg]], [[Manitoba]]; the company catalog totaled 2,390 pages by 1913. The Duluth Showcase Company, which later became the Duluth Refrigerator Company and then the Coolerator Company, was established in 1908. The Universal Atlas Cement Company, which made cement from the slag byproduct of the steel plant, began operations in 1917. ====Immigration==== Because of its numerous jobs in mining and industry, the city was a destination for large waves of immigrants from Europe during the early 20th century. It became the center of one of the largest [[Finnish people|Finnish]] communities in the world outside Finland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Port of Duluth |url=http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/USA_MN_Port_of_Duluth_101.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707214024/http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/USA_MN_Port_of_Duluth_101.php |archive-date=July 7, 2012 |access-date=June 26, 2012}}</ref> For decades, a Finnish-language daily newspaper, ''Päivälehti,'' was published in the city, named after the former [[Grand Duchy of Finland]]'s pro-independence liberal [[Päivälehti|paper]]. The [[Finnish people|Finnish]] community of [[Industrial Workers of the World]] (IWW) members published the widely read labor newspaper ''[[Industrialisti]].'' From 1907 to 1941, the [[Finnish Socialist Federation]] and then the IWW operated [[Work People's College]], an educational institution that taught classes from a working-class, socialist perspective. Immigrants from [[Swedish Americans|Sweden]], [[Norwegian Americans|Norway]], [[Danish Americans|Denmark]], [[German Americans|Germany]], [[Austrian Americans|Austria]], [[Czech Americans|Czechoslovakia]], [[Irish Americans|Ireland]], [[English Americans|England]], [[Italian Americans|Italy]], [[Polish Americans|Poland]], [[Hungarian Americans|Hungary]], [[Bulgarian Americans|Bulgaria]], [[Croatian Americans|Croatia]], [[Serbian Americans|Serbia]], [[Ukrainian Americans|Ukraine]], [[Romanian Americans|Romania]], and [[Russian Americans|Russia]] also settled in Duluth.<ref name="Port of Duluth" /> At one time, Duluth was home to several historic immigrant neighborhoods, including Little Italy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Duluth History: Little Italy, AKA the Glenn |url=http://secure-web.cisco.com/1NvOWs_kmchLbl2g5EdNKYHwNr93GXXqYcjRTagPUf4O2FzCmwrrBnQ13D-wwayEBoTXJ-KI161IVoZm5UZWehmbrHWAcV92V5VizvCFlE9X8BAcdUl_W0irwU5qpthKVUeT47wcAaGZU1O0CUKo82Qn7HhcUPp3fRGlFriSbStFjTXVtbejlzYqhtZGTbKWcr0Xd2Zp-AFvS1oO2MbcIiQdNHaBmjj842sA3aOxkkiSGuwEqJgTfy0r_yYi_O0apd-T1-HULLPul2wya8Ztcn1TO3v4UVrrYDtAgI48GAKHaH-s9v3bCepXJP7kUl7zFVa21vgzNMBLghaA5f_-3EQ/http%3A%2F%2Fzenithcity.com%2Farchive%2Fduluth-history%2Flittle-italy-aka-the-glenn%2F |website=Zenithcity.com}}</ref> Today, people of Scandinavian descent constitute a strong plurality of Duluth's population, accounting for more than a third of the residents identifying European ancestry. ====Duluth lynchings==== In September 1918, a group calling itself the [[Knights of Liberty (vigilante group)|Knights of Liberty]] dragged Finnish immigrant [[Olli Kinkkonen]] from his boarding house, tarred and feathered him, and [[Lynching in the United States|lynched]] him. Kinkkonen had not wanted to fight in [[World War I]] and instead planned to return to Finland. His body was found two weeks later hanging in a tree in Duluth's Lester Park.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MPR: Postcard From A Lynching |url=http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/projects/2001/06/lynching/olli.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812220443/http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/projects/2001/06/lynching/olli.shtml |archive-date=August 12, 2012 |access-date=June 25, 2012}}</ref> Another lynching in Duluth occurred on June 15, 1920, when three innocent black male circus workers—Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie—were attacked by a white mob and hanged after purportedly raping a teenage white girl. The [[Duluth lynchings]] took place on First Street and Second Avenue East. In 1970, journalist Michael Fedo wrote ''The Lynchings in Duluth'', which began to raise awareness of the event. Members of many different communities then began to come together for reflection and education. The men's unmarked graves were soon found. In 1991, gravestones were erected with funding from a local church. Vigils were held at the intersection where the men were lynched. In 2000, a grassroots committee was formed and began to offer speakers to groups and schools. It decided to commemorate the event with a memorial; the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial, which includes a corner wall and plaza, was dedicated in 2003. It includes three {{convert|7|ft|m|adj=on}}-tall bronze statues of the three men. The CJMM Committee continues to work for racial justice through educational outreach, community forums, and scholarships for youth.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kraker |first=Dan |title=Duluth marks anniversary of memorial to 3 lynching victims |date=June 15, 2013 |url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2013/06/15/duluth-marks-anniversary-of-memorial-to-3-lynching-victims |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111190320/https://www.mprnews.org/story/2013/06/15/duluth-marks-anniversary-of-memorial-to-3-lynching-victims |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |access-date=August 2, 2020}}</ref><ref>[http://www.claytonjacksonmcghie.org/?page_id=92 "The Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial, Inc."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814070738/http://www.claytonjacksonmcghie.org/?page_id=92 |date=August 14, 2016 }}, official website; accessed August 22, 2016</ref> ====1918 Cloquet Fire==== In 1918, the [[1918 Cloquet Fire|Cloquet Fire]] (named for the nearby city of [[Cloquet, Minnesota|Cloquet]]) burned across Carlton and St. Louis Counties, destroying dozens of communities in the Duluth area. The fire was the worst natural disaster in Minnesota history in terms of the number of lives lost in a single day. Many people died on the rural roads surrounding the Duluth area, and historical accounts tell of victims dying while trying to outrun the fire. The ''News Tribune'' reported: "It is estimated that 100 families were rendered homeless by Saturday's fire in the territory known as the Woodland District... In most cases, families which lost their homes also lost most or all of their furniture and personal belongings, the limited time and transportation facilities affording little opportunity for saving anything but human life."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Duluth: the Homecroft City – Zenith City Online |url=http://zenithcity.com/duluth-the-homecroft-city/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221215309/http://zenithcity.com/duluth-the-homecroft-city/ |archive-date=February 21, 2014 |access-date=June 9, 2013}}</ref> The [[Minnesota National Guard|National Guard]] unit based in Duluth was mobilized in a heroic effort to battle the fire and assist victims, but its troops were overwhelmed by the enormity of the fire. Retired ''Duluth News Tribune'' columnist and journalist Jim Heffernan<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jim Heffernan – Zenith City Online |url=http://zenithcity.com/author/hef/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130904233603/http://zenithcity.com/author/hef/ |archive-date=September 4, 2013 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> wrote that his mother "recalled an overnight vigil watching out the window of their small home on lower Piedmont Avenue with her father, her younger sisters having gone to sleep, ready to be evacuated to the waterfront should the need arise. The fire never made it that far down the hill, but devastated what is now Piedmont Heights, and, of course, a widespread area of Northeastern Minnesota."<ref>{{Cite web |title=West End confidential: Goat Hill to Slabtown – Zenith City Online |url=http://zenithcity.com/west-end-confidential-goat-hill-to-slabtown/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906111841/http://zenithcity.com/west-end-confidential-goat-hill-to-slabtown/ |archive-date=September 6, 2013 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> In the fire's aftermath, tens of thousands of people were left injured or homeless; many of the refugees fled into the city for aid and shelter.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yesterday's News » Blog Archive » "Monday, Oct. 14, 1918: Hundreds die in Cloquet fire" |url=http://blogs2.startribune.com/blogs/oldnews/archives/45 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702024929/http://blogs2.startribune.com/blogs/oldnews/archives/45 |archive-date=July 2, 2012}}</ref> ====Continued growth==== [[File:Duluth Ore Docks.jpg|thumb|Duluth Ore Docks and freighters circa 1900–1915|left]] For the first half of the 20th century, Duluth was an industrial port boom town dominated by its several [[grain elevator]]s, a cement plant, a nail mill, wire mills, and the [[Duluth Works]] plant. Handling and export of iron ore, brought in from the Mesabi Range, was integral to the city's economy, as well as to the steel industry in the Midwest, including in manufacturing cities in Ohio. [[File:Aerial transfer bridge (ferry), Duluth, Minnesota, ca.1920 (CHS-5034).jpg|thumb|[[Aerial Lift Bridge|Aerial Bridge]] ca. 1920, as a [[ferry bridge]] before conversion to a [[vertical-lift bridge]]]] The [[Aerial Lift Bridge]] (earlier known as the "Aerial Bridge" or "Aerial Ferry Bridge") was built in 1905 and was known at that time as the United States' first [[transporter bridge]]. Only one other like it was ever constructed in the country.<ref>{{Cite web |title=shorpy.com, Photo of original bridge showing gondola |url=http://www.shorpy.com/node/4348 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170719112205/http://www.shorpy.com/node/4348 |archive-date=July 19, 2017 |access-date=July 20, 2017}}</ref> In 1929–30, the span was converted to a vertical-lift bridge, which was also rather uncommon. The bridge was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1973. In 1916, after Europe entered [[World War I]], a shipyard was constructed on the St. Louis River. A new workers' neighborhood, today known as Riverside, developed around the large operation. Similar industrial expansions took place during [[World War II]] as Duluth's large harbor and the area's vast natural resources were put to work for the war effort. Tankers and [[submarine chasers]] (usually called "sub-chasers") were built at the Riverside shipyard. Duluth's population continued to grow in the postwar decade and a half, peaking at 107,884 in 1960. ====Economic decline==== [[File:ORE DOCKS OF BURLINGTON NORTHERN RAILROAD. WATER IS DISCOLORED BY ORE SPILLAGE AND CLAY WASHED INTO THE BAY FROM THE... - NARA - 551599.jpg|thumb|254x254px|Duluth's Ore Docks in 1973. All three pictured docks are now abandoned.]] Economic decline began in the 1950s when high-grade iron ore ran out on the [[Iron Range]] north of Duluth; ore shipments from the Duluth harbor had been critical to the city's economy. Low-grade ore ([[taconite]]) shipments continued, boosted by new taconite pellet technology, but ore shipments were lower overall. In the 1970s, the United States experienced a [[steel crisis]] and a recession in the global steel market. Like [[Rust Belt|many American cities]], Duluth entered a period of industrial restructuring. In 1981, U.S. Steel closed its [[Duluth Works]] plant—a blow to the city's economy with effects including the closure of the cement company, which had depended on the steel plant for raw materials (slag). More closures followed in other industries, including [[shipbuilding]] and [[heavy machinery]]. By the decade's end, unemployment rates hit 15%. The economic downturn was particularly hard on Duluth's West Side, where ethnic Eastern and Southern European workers had lived for decades. During the 1980s, plans were underway to extend [[Interstate 35]] through Duluth and up the [[North Shore (Lake Superior)|North Shore]], bringing new access to the city. The original plan called for the interstate to run along the shore on an elevated concrete structure, blocking the city's access to Lake Superior. Kent Worley, a local landscape architect, wrote an impassioned letter to then mayor [[Ben Boo]] asking that the route be reconsidered. The [[Minnesota Department of Transportation]] then agreed to take another look, with Worley consulting. The new plan called for parts of the highway to run through tunnels, which allowed preservation of Fitger's Brewery, Sir Ben's Tavern, Leif Erikson Park, and Duluth's Rose Garden. Rock used from the interstate project was used to create an extensive new beach along Lake Superior, along which the city's Lakewalk was built.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Creger |first=Mike |title=Construction of Duluth's freeway drips with stories |url=https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/lifestyle/3320814-construction-duluths-freeway-drips-stories |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809171739/https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/lifestyle/3320814-construction-duluths-freeway-drips-stories |archive-date=August 9, 2019 |access-date=August 9, 2019 |website=Duluth News Tribune |language=en}}</ref> ===21st-century development=== [[File:Horse and carriage-Duluth-2006.jpg|thumb|left|Canal Park Lakewalk carriage ride]] With the decline of the city's industrial core, the local economic focus gradually shifted to [[tourism]]. The downtown area was renovated to emphasize its pedestrian character: streets were paved with red brick, and [[skywalk]]s and retail shops were added. The city and developers worked with the area's unique architectural character, converting old warehouses along the waterfront into cafés, shops, restaurants, and hotels. Combined with the new rock beach and Lakewalk, these changes developed the new [[Canal Park (Duluth)|Canal Park]] as a tourism-oriented district. Duluth's population, which had declined since 1960, stabilized at around 85,000. In the 21st century, Duluth has become a regional center for banking, retail shopping, and medical care for northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, and northwestern Michigan. It is estimated that more than 8,000 jobs in Duluth are directly related to its two hospitals. Arts and entertainment offerings, as well as year-round recreation and the natural environment, have contributed to the tourist industry's expansion. Some 3.5 million visitors each year contribute more than $400 million to the local economy. A group of like-minded businesses in [[Lincoln Park (Duluth)|Lincoln Park]], an old rundown blue-collar neighborhood with high unemployment and poverty rates, was cultivated by a group of entrepreneurs who have been rebuilding and revitalizing the area. Since 2014, at least 25 commercial real estate transactions have occurred, and 17 businesses have opened, including restaurants, breweries, coffee shops and artist studios.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kraker |first=Dan |title=Craftsmen, backpacks, beer build hope in a needy Duluth neighborhood |work=MPR News |url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/04/18/duluth-lincoln-park-businesses-spark-revival |url-status=live |access-date=April 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423211342/https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/04/18/duluth-lincoln-park-businesses-spark-revival |archive-date=April 23, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=MPR News |title=The creative economy in Duluth's craft district |url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/05/12/chris-farrell-on-creative-economy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423211333/https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/05/12/chris-farrell-on-creative-economy |archive-date=April 23, 2019 |access-date=April 23, 2019 |website=www.mprnews.org|date=May 11, 2017 }}</ref> Due to the neighborhood's revitalization, many developers are also investing in housing projects in anticipation of further growth.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Busche |first=Kelly |date=March 9, 2020 |title=Following business boom, Duluth's Lincoln Park sees housing influx |url=https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/business/real-estate/4984156-Following-business-boom-Duluth%E2%80%99s-Lincoln-Park-sees-housing-influx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200310202252/https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/business/real-estate/4984156-Following-business-boom-Duluth%E2%80%99s-Lincoln-Park-sees-housing-influx |archive-date=March 10, 2020 |access-date=April 25, 2020 |website=Duluth News Tribune}}</ref> ====Waterfront reclamation efforts==== Duluth's prominence as a port city gave it an economic advantage in its early years, but as various industries began to wane, new efforts to reclaim areas of the waterfront for public use emerged. Notable among them is the reclamation of the St. Louis River corridor, which runs along the edge of the city's western neighborhoods. Many of these sites, filled with legacy pollutants due to previous industrial use, have been or are in the process of being restored by the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA) with several developments, such as Pier B Resort and Hotel, demonstrating the revitalization opportunity of these former industrial spaces.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Slater {{!}} |first=Brady |date=August 17, 2019 |title=Study highlights Duluth's cleanup efforts along the St. Louis River |url=https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/science-and-nature/4615703-Study-highlights-Duluths-cleanup-efforts-along-the-St.-Louis-River |access-date=November 30, 2021 |website=Duluth News Tribune |language=en}}</ref> Other efforts to reclaim waterfront space in Duluth have been led by the Duluth Waterfront Collective.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://www.highway61duluth.com/about |access-date=November 30, 2021 |website=Highway 61 Duluth |language=en}}</ref> One notable example includes the Highway 61 Revisited concept, which seeks to reimagine the I-35 corridor as it runs through the city's downtown. The group's efforts have been met with interest, with the city council voting to explore options for the corridor in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tribune |first=Brooks Johnson Star |title=Duluth council looking at reimagining I-35 downtown |url=https://www.startribune.com/duluth-council-looking-at-reimagining-i-35-downtown/600087766/ |access-date=November 30, 2021 |website=Star Tribune}}</ref> While the acreage of land utilizing the waterway for port-related purposes has shifted in recent years, the goods being shipped through the Duluth–Superior port have shifted to reflect a changing economy. In recent decades, declines in the shipment of coal and iron ore have been met by increases in the shipment of wind turbine components<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 28, 2020 |title=As energy use changes in the Great Lakes, so too does the Port of Duluth-Superior |url=https://www.minnpost.com/environment/2020/04/as-energy-use-changes-in-the-great-lakes-so-too-does-the-port-of-duluth-superior/ |access-date=November 30, 2021 |website=MinnPost |language=en-US}}</ref> and multimodal shipping containers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tribune |first=Brooks Johnson Star |title=Calling all containers: Duluth port expands capabilities |url=https://www.startribune.com/calling-all-containers-duluth-port-expands-capabilities/600109325/ |access-date=November 30, 2021 |website=Star Tribune}}</ref>
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