Dan Turner

The Tunnels of Subterranean Duluth

The great cities of Europe are often known for what goes on below their streets as above—the London Underground, the vaults of Edinburgh, the catacombs of Paris. Duluth has its own subterranean features, though they are much less on the minds of its people. Many of Duluth’s downtown buildings are connected below street level, and…

Nopeming Tuberculosis Sanatorium

On May, 22, 1912, a caravan of horse-drawn carriages carried nearly 50 very sick Duluthians from downtown to a place called Nopeming, ten miles southwest of the Zenith City in the middle of the woods. No paved roads led to the facility, though a path had been recently cleared for construction crews. The carriage passengers…

Duluth’s Grainy Memories

Duluth is home to many landmarks, and its most iconic, the Aerial Lift Bridge, anchors the Zenith City’s historic hillside and dainty downtown to the greatest Great Lake, pinning the scent of freshwater waves to the soul of the city. Across the bay from the bridge along Rice’s Point stands another sort of skyline, more…

North Shore Ghost Towns

Ghost towns rarely look the way they do on television, especially those in Northeastern Minnesota. There are no tumbleweeds, nor faded saloon doors flapping along a well-preserved Main Street. Winter sees to that. Instead, in Minnesota’s Arrowhead, ghosts tend to stay underfoot. Piles of rusting cans, abandoned vehicles, and the rough outlines of cinderblock foundations…

Iron Range Ghost Towns

Ghost towns rarely look the way they do on television, especially those in Northeastern Minnesota. There are no tumbleweeds, nor faded saloon doors flapping along a well-preserved Main Street. Winter sees to that. Instead, in Minnesota’s Arrowhead, ghosts tend to stay underfoot. Piles of rusting cans, abandoned vehicles, and the rough outlines of cinderblock foundations…