Christmas in Duluth

Christmas in Duluth
When I started writing this blog, some of my intention was to compare Duluth in 1969 and early 70’s to the Duluth we now have.

I worked on my Christmas cards today, and late this afternoon I took the majority of my Christmas cards to the main post office out in the other part of town, so they would go out right away. When I went by the freeway on the way there I noticed the lights at Bay Front Park. I wrote earlier this fall about how the city made a beautiful park down by the bay front across from the arena-auditorium (DECC). The park was built in recent years. Returning from the post office, I stopped in to see the park. In the winter they have been flooding the lawn in front of the building where rest rooms, etc. are, for ice skating. I have heard about it, but apparently never checked it out, especially over the holidays. There are lighted decorations everywhere, and it is a beautiful spot for kids and families to go for skating. It really was beautiful. I took some photos, don’t know if they will turn out, but if they do, I will post them when I get them back. It would have been so nice to have a place like that to go to when our kids were little. I’m happy that it is there for today’s families. The temperature in my car said 42 degrees outside, so it is the perfect night for ice skating, and I’m sure the ice is good, with all the sub and teen temps we had during the week. In the late 70’s a play park was built next to where the bayfront park is now. It was a project of the Junior League of Duluth, and was paid for by them, and built with volunteer labor. It became known as “Playfront Park”. That park was there for our two younger children and our grandchildren.

Then I took time to drive around the DECC and down Canal Park Drive. I couldn’t help but remember that when I came to Duluth, Canal Park Drive was all warehouses, and not a pretty sight. The only thing pretty in that area was the Marine Museum that had just been built in the late 60’s. Now, it is beautiful. There are hotels all along the bay front, and shops all along on the other side. Lamps and landscaping, sculptures, trees, it’s so nice. In the dark, with all the lights and the Holiday lights, it was really pretty. Also, the Aerial Lift Bridge is lit all the time, 365 days a year, thanks to a project the Rotary Club had years ago. I don’t know how long the bridge has been lit, but I know it had no lights on it when I first lived here. (I should look up that information).

Downtown was beautiful and very festive looking, with Holiday lights on the skywalks, and banners on the lamps. There is a large decorated with colorful lights, tree in the Minnesota Power courtyard, in the heart of downtown.

This year, the downtown merchants made a special effort to decorate their store fronts for the holidays, and that has been a nice touch. I haven’t seen that since the department stores in downtown left, by the way, in 1969 everyone shopped downtown. There wasn’t a mall, and there wasn’t much over the hill. Now it is so crowded over the hill, last night I had to go that way from downtown, to run an errand, and I couldn’t believe the traffic. I was so thankful that I didn’t need to go home that route on a daily basis!

Tomorrow I’ll write more about what downtown Duluth was like 37 years ago.