Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County. Duluth is about 65 miles south of the Superior National Forest and the Sawtooth Mountains. It is a hub for tourism and cargo shipping. Commodities shipped from the Port of Duluth include coal, iron ore, grain, limestone, cement, salt, wood pulp, steel coil, and wind turbine components.
Ely is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,460 at the 2010 census. It is on the Vermilion Iron Range, and is historically home to several iron ore mines.
Superior is a city in, and the county seat of, Douglas County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 26,751 at the 2020 census. Located at the junction of U.S. Highway 2 and U.S. Highway 53, it is immediately north of, and adjacent to, both the Village of Superior and the Town of Superior. Its neighborhoods include Billings Park, North End, South Superior, Central Park, East End, Allouez, and Itasca. Billings Park, South Superior, East End, and North End each have small business districts.
Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut was a French soldier and explorer who is the first European known to have visited the area where the city of Duluth, Minnesota, United States, is now located and the head of Lake Superior in Minnesota. His name is sometimes anglicized as "DuLuth", and he is the namesake of Duluth, Minnesota, as well as Duluth, Georgia. Daniel Greysolon signed himself "Dulhut" on surviving manuscripts.
The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and offers 16 bachelor's degrees in 88 majors, graduate programs in 25 different fields, and a two-year program at the School of Medicine and a four-year College of Pharmacy program.
The Twin Ports of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin, are located at the western part of Lake Superior and together are considered the largest freshwater port in the world. They are twin cities and seaports, connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The Twin Ports are at the core of the U.S. Census Bureau's "Duluth, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area", which includes all of Wisconsin's Douglas County, and Minnesota's Carlton, Lake, and Saint Louis counties. With a 2020 census population of 291,638, the Duluth MSA ranked as the 170th largest metropolitan area in the United States. Approximately 6.7 million tourists visit Duluth alone each year, this does not account for surrounding suburbs such as Virginia, Two Harbors, Ely, or Hibbing.
The Aerial Lift Bridge, earlier known as the Aerial Bridge or Aerial Ferry Bridge, is a landmark in the port city of Duluth, Minnesota. The span began life in 1905 as the United States' first transporter bridge: Only one other was ever constructed in the country, Sky Ride in Chicago. The span was converted in 1929–1930 to a vertical-lift bridge — also rather uncommon, although there are six such bridges along Ontario's Welland Canal — and continues to operate today. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 22, 1973. The bridge is owned and operated by the City of Duluth. The United States Army Corps of Engineers maintains a nearby maritime museum.
The North Shore of Lake Superior runs from Duluth, Minnesota, United States, at the southwestern end of the lake, to Thunder Bay and Nipigon, Ontario, Canada, in the north to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, in the east. The shore is characterized by alternating rocky cliffs and cobblestone beaches, with forested hills and ridges through which scenic rivers and waterfalls descend as they flow to Lake Superior.
Interstate Park comprises two adjacent state parks on the Minnesota–Wisconsin border, both named Interstate State Park. They straddle the Dalles of the St. Croix River, a deep basalt gorge with glacial potholes and other rock formations. The Wisconsin park is 1,330 acres (538 ha) and the Minnesota park is 298 acres (121 ha). The towns of Taylors Falls, Minnesota and St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin are adjacent to the park. Interstate Park is within the Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway and the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve. The western terminus of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail is on the Wisconsin side. On the Minnesota side, two areas contain National Park Service rustic style buildings and structures that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Canal Park is a tourist and recreation-oriented district of Duluth, Minnesota, United States. Situated across the Interstate 35 freeway from Downtown Duluth, it is connected by the Aerial Lift Bridge across the Duluth Ship Canal to the Park Point sandbar and neighborhood. Canal Park Drive and Lake Avenue South serve as the main routes in Canal Park. Canal Park is largely a conversion of an old warehouse district into restaurants, shops, cafés, and hotels. This conversion began in the 1980s as an attempt to use Duluth's rich industrial past, the decline of which had left the city in economic turmoil at the time, as an asset in a prospective tourist industry. The Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC) now connected to the new Amsoil Arena and the area's prominent entertainment venue, is also located in the district. The DECC provides an indoor connection to the skywalk system in Downtown Duluth.
Jay Cooke State Park is a state park of Minnesota, United States, protecting the lower reaches of the Saint Louis River. The park is located about 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Duluth and is one of the ten most visited state parks in Minnesota. The western half of the park contains part of a rocky, 13-mile (21 km) gorge. This was a major barrier to Native Americans and early Europeans traveling by canoe, which they bypassed with the challenging Grand Portage of the St. Louis River. The river was a vital link connecting the Mississippi waterways to the west with the Great Lakes to the east.
The Great Lakes Aquarium opened in 2000 and is located on the Duluth waterfront. A 501(c)(3) private nonprofit, Great Lakes Aquarium features animals and habitats found within the Great Lakes basin and other freshwater ecosystems such as the Amazon River. The Aquarium houses 205 different species of fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals. It is one of few aquariums in the United States that focuses predominantly on freshwater exhibits.
Minnesota Point, also known as the Park Point neighborhood of Duluth, Minnesota, United States; is a long, narrow sand spit that extends out from the Canal Park tourist recreation-oriented district of the city of Duluth. The Point separates Lake Superior from Superior Bay and the Duluth Harbor Basin.
SS William A. Irvin is a lake freighter, named for William A. Irvin, that sailed as a bulk freighter on the Great Lakes as part US Steel's lake fleet. She was flagship of the company fleet from her launch in the depths of the Great Depression in 1938 until 1975 and then was a general workhorse of the fleet until her retirement in 1978.
Lakeside – Lester Park is a neighborhood in Duluth, Minnesota, United States.
The St. Louis County Depot is a historic train station in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. It was built as a union station in 1892, serving seven railroads at its peak. Rail service ceased in 1969 and the building was threatened with demolition until it reopened in 1973 as The Depot St. Louis County Heritage & Arts Center. Train service also resumed from 1974 to 1985, by Amtrak.
Samuel P. Ely is a shipwreck in Two Harbors, Minnesota listed on the National Register of Historic Places. She was a schooner that sailed the Great Lakes carrying iron ore, coal, and other bulk freight. She was built in 1869 and was a fairly typical example of the 200-foot schooner built in the 1870s, though she was reinforced for the demands of carrying iron ore.
The Duluth Ship Canal is an artificial canal cut through Minnesota Point, providing direct access to Duluth harbor from Lake Superior. Begun privately in 1871, it was put under federal supervision and maintenance several years later. It is still an important component of the harbor facilities.
The Duluth Art Institute (DAI) is a contemporary, fine art and cultural institution that specializes in contemporary art from the Twin Ports Region and the Upper Midwest. It was founded in Duluth in 1907 and is one of the oldest art centers in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Based on the curatorial model of the German "kunsthalle", the DAI is a community arts center that works closely with artists and the community, creating associated symposia, workshops, and studios.
