Posts by Tony Dierckins
Sneak Peek: The DSS&A’s Flour Slogan Trains
This week‘s sneak peek from our forthcoming book Twin Ports Trains: The Historic Railroads of Duluth & Superior 1870–1970 features the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic railroad’s efforts to market not only its services, but the products of Duluth as well. In particular, the DSS&A used “flour slogan trains” to get the word out. Enjoy!…
Read MoreAerial Bridge Talk to Kick Off Twin Ports Festival of History
The third-annual Twin Ports Festival of History kicks off Wednesday, April 3, at Glensheen Historic Estate with Zenith City Press publisher Tony Dierckins presenting “Before the Lift Bridge Lifted,” which explains why and how Duluth built the most unique aerial bridge ever constructed—twice! This fun and fascinating look at Duluth’s iconic bridge explains it all,…
Read MoreSneak Peek: The D&IR Locomotive Three Spot
This week‘s sneak peek from our forthcoming book Twin Ports Trains: The Historic Railroads of Duluth & Superior 1870–1970 features another early locomotive, the Duluth & Iron Range Railroad’s Three Spot, which helped build the D&IR’s original line from today’s Two Harbors to Tower on the Vermilion Iron Range after surviving a harrowing crossing of…
Read MoreSneak Peek: The NP’s Grassy Point Bridge
West Duluth and West Superior were first connected in 1887 when the St. Paul & Duluth Railroad built the first incarnation of the St. Louis River Bridge—aka the Grassy Point Bridge—the second of eventually five mechanical swing-arm draw bridges (with a total of six draw spans) constructed over the St. Louis River between Superior Bay…
Read MoreSneak Peek: The Twin Ports Depots of the Omaha Road
The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railroad (CStPMO, aka the “Omaha Road”) first arrived in the Twin Ports in 1885 and served Duluth and Superior providing both freight and passenger until 1961, after it had been absorbed by the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. Below is the history of the Omaha‘s passenger stations at the…
Read MoreSneak Peek: The NP’s Fond du Lac Branch & Lost Forbay
About a month back we shared a story about the old St. Paul & Duluth‘s Short Line, aka the “Skally Line,” which was built so that the St.P&D could stop running trains over the dangerous trestles between Thomson and Fond du Lac. This week‘s sneak peek from our forthcoming book Twin Ports Trains: The Historic…
Read MoreSneak Peek: The Locomotive Minnetonka
A few weeks ago we introduced you to the historic Great Northern Railroad‘s locomotive Wm. Crooks, which went on to become the motive power for James J. Hill‘s private train and eventually ended up right here in Duluth at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum. This week‘s sneak peek from our forthcoming book Twin Ports Trains:…
Read MoreSneak Peek: The NP‘s St. Louis Bay Bridge
As you drive over the Blatknik Bridge fro Duluth and Superior, if you look out the passenger window you can see a small island in the bay, often covered with ring-billed gulls and common terns during warmer months. Some call it Bird Island, but its technical name is Interstate Island. It is entirely man-made and…
Read MoreSneak Peek: Duluth’s First “Union Depot”
This week’s sneak peek from our forthcoming book Twin Ports Trains: The Historic Railroads of Duluth & Superior 1870–1970 takes us back to 1870 and the very first passenger train depot built at the Head of the Lakes, where people could board an LS&M or Northern Pacific passenger train and, briefly, trains on the Omaha…
Read MoreSneak Peek: What was the “Skally Line”?
Recently the Duluth Monitor, which publishes the work of intrepid independent journalist John Ramos, ran a wonderful story titled “Abundant remnants of Duluth’s first railroad overlooked in Jay Cooke Park.” It includes photographs of trestle foundations and views taken from the former Lake Superior & Mississippi Railroad (LS&M) line built along and over the St.…
Read MoreLooking Forward: The Locomotive William Crooks
As we work toward the completion of Twin Ports Trains: The Historic Railroads of Duluth & Superior 1870–1970, we are sharing excerpts from the book to give readers a little taste of what’s in store. As we finish editing selected stories from the book, we will share them with you here through our Monday Updates.…
Read MoreHere’s What’s in Store for 2024!
Welcome to 2024! While the world will no-doubt be focused on war and the U.S. presidential election, we here at Zenith City Press are focused on completing a project we’ve been working on (with many interruptions!) since about 2015: Twin Ports Trains: The Railroad History of Duluth and Superior, 1870–2020. My coauthor on the project…
Read MoreMerry Christmas from Zenith City Press
We here at Zenith City Press wish all our readers happy holidays, merry Christmas, splendid Hanukkah, wondrous Kwanza, celebratory solstice, and/or just a plain old-fashioned good time with family and friends no matter what you choose celebrate this time of year. Since it is December 25, we thought we‘d share some of our favorite Christmas-related…
Read MoreReminder: Books Make Great Gifts!
Give someone on your list a historic gift this year with a book—or set of books—from Zenith City Press! Our Holiday sale continues through December 29, but you‘ll want to order this week in order to get books in time for Christmas and Kwanza. 20% off means that: Duluth‘s Grand Old Architecture, normally $60, is…
Read MoreArchive Dive: Superior’s Northern Brewing Company
Superior’s Northern Brewing Company grew out of the family-operated Klinkert Brewing Company and thrived in the 1890s and early 1900s with its flagship Blue Label Beer. The brewery was busted during Prohibition for making strong bear instead of near beer, but got back on its feet in the 1930s with Northern Select and later Vic’s…
Read MoreArchive Dive: Meet George Stuntz
Some called George Stuntz “Duluth’s first permanent settler.” Other called him the first resident of both Duluth and Superior. Of course, the Ojibwe were here long before Stuntz, and he came to the Head of the Lakes to both survey the region and trade with the Ojibwe—but he was the first Euro-American to make a…
Read MoreHappy Cyber Monday!
It‘s “Cyber Monday,” a great time to remind you that all Zenith City Press books are on sale for 25% off now through December 31. And guess what? Books make wonderful Holiday gifts! 25% off means that: Duluth‘s Grand Old Architecture, normally $60, is now $48 Duluth‘s Aerial Bridge, normally $20, is now $16 Duluth‘s…
Read MoreHoliday Sale: 20% Off All Titles!
We had such a wonderful response to our 20% off sale last weekend at the Junior League‘s annual Festival of Trees, we decided to take it online for our readers who don’t live locally or don’t get out much (or heck, just plain prefer shopping online). That means that: Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture, normally $60,…
Read MoreDid Walt Whitman Really Pen a Poem Celebrating Duluth?
For the second time in a dozen years, X-Presso Books (a subsidiary of Zenith City Press) is proud to have helped David Ouse self-pubish a book about historic Duluth. His first, Forgotten Duluthians, featured stories of Duluthians who left their home town to become famous performers, scientists, politicians, and more. He is back with Duluth…
Read More25% Off All ZCP Books this Weekend at Fest o‘ Trees!
We‘ll be setting up shop at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center (The DECC) as part of the Junior League‘s annual Festival of Trees. It‘s a lot of heavy work schlepping books back and forth for this event, so to make sure they sell we are taking 25% off all our titles! That means that:…
Read MoreA Fresh Take on Duluth’s “Other” Lynching
This past spring X-Presso Book, a subsidiary of Zenith City Press, was honored to help Clyde Annala self-publish a book he had been researching for years: Slackers & Sammy Backers: The Twin Ports in the Great War. Born and raised in Duluth, Annala has spent his life protecting America and Americans, first as a highly…
Read MoreArchive Dive: The Incan Superior
One of the most unique lake vessels to sail through the Twin Ports was the M/V Incan Superior. While it operated from 1974 to 1992, this vessel is often overlooked in the history of shipping on Lake Superior. She was a railroad car ferry—a flat decked rail car carrying boat—that operated on the big lake…
Read MoreArchive Dive: The Lonsdale Building
This week’s archive dive takes us to downtown where in 1895 a new office block rose along the lower side of West Superior Street—and still stand there today, but it is several stories taller than when it was first built. It was also once owned by newborn John Nicholas Brown II, dubbed the “richest baby…
Read MoreArchive Dive: Duluth’s Decline and Adaptation (1956–1987)
This week’s archive dive presents the fourth chapter of Zenith City Press publisher Tony Dierckins’s Duluth: An Urban Biography, winner of the 2020/2021 Northeast Minnesota Book Award. Titled ”Duluth’s Decline and Adaptation (1956–1987)” the excerpt explains how Duluth navigated Prohibition, the Great Depression, the Second World War, and the brief boom that followed the conflagration…
Read MoreFree Talk on Duluth’s Lost Industries Wednesday, October 11
Zenith City Press publisher Tony Dierckins will deliver a presentation on “Duluth’s Lost Industries Along the St. Louis River,” as the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Program’s ongoing River Talks Series. The shores of the lower St. Louis River were once lined with ore and coal docks, grain terminals, flour and lumber mills, steel plants,…
Read MoreArchive Dive: People’s Brewing Co.
West Duluth‘s People‘s Brewing Company was founded by Duluth liquor retailers so they could increase their profits by NOT selling beer made by other breweries. The business model was tossed out when Prohibition became law. The brewery did not survive the 1920s, but was reinvigorated in 1933 and went on to make beloved brands such…
Read MoreArchive Dive: Kitchi Gammi Park
OK, here’s the deal: Duluth has no “Brighton Beach” park. Brighton Beach is within Kitchi Gammi Park. It was originally created as a tourist camp and it development is linked to Congdon Boulevard, which runs along the path of Scenic Highway 61 to Stoney Point. Learn much more abut the park and boulevard in this…
Read MoreArchive Dive: The Locomotive Minnetonka
Visitors to Duluth’s Lake Superior Railroad Museum have seen this week’s archive topic first-hand and fully restored. The Locomotive Minnetonka arrived in Duluth in 1870 on a boat to be used by the Northern Pacific Railroad to carry construction materials to today’’s Carlton and beyond, playing an instrumental role in the railroad’s construction west across…
Read MoreArchive Dive: First Unitarian
This week’s archive dive takes us to Duluth‘s Endion neighborhood, where in 1910 Duluth Unitarians constructed a new Tudor-inspired chirch designed by local architect Anthony Puck. From our book Duluth‘s Grand Old Architecture 1870–1940. Check out the story here.
Read MoreArchive Dive: “Prohibition, Depression, and War (1920–1955)”
This week’s archive dive presents the fourth chapter of Zenith City Press publisher Tony Dierckins’s Duluth: An Urban Biography, winner of the 2020/2021 Northeast Minnesota Book Award. Titled “Prohibition, Depression, and War (1920–1955),” the excerpt explains how Duluth navigated Prohibition, the Great Depression, the Second World War, and the brief boom that followed the conflagration…
Read MoreArchive Dive: The West Superior Brewing Company
This week’s dive into the ZCP archive tells the story of Superior’s West Duluth Brewing Company, created in 1889 by Bernard Schwanekamp and his very wealthy brother-in-law, Joseph Hennes. The brewery initially thrived, then struggled in the wake of the panic of 1893 and later became part of the Northern Brewing Company. From our book.…
Read MoreArchive Dive: Duluth’s Jefferson Brothers
Meet Duluth’s Jefferson brothers, Ernest and Robert. One of them helped plat the original streets of Duluth, built the town’s first hotel, and then went off to war and never returned. The other never stepped foot in Duluth until after the war, where he had had lost a leg, but thrived in the Zenith City…
Read MoreArchive Dive: How one crossed the canal before the Aerial Bridge
Once the Duluth Ship Canal was cut in 1871, the lower half of Minnesota Point became an island—and for those living below the canal crossing into the rest of Duluth was no easy task. The only bridge was a rickety wood-and-wire temporary bridge that stood from the end of the season’s navigation until Lake Superior…
Read MoreArchive Dive: Hayes Block
This week‘s trip to the archive takes us to the southwest corner of Superior Street and First Avenue East, where two different buildings—both called the Hayes block—have stood since 1870. The first was financed by Duluth parks visionary William K. Rogers and his pal, future US. president Rutherford B. Hayes. Read a history of the…
Read MoreArchive Dive: “Expansion and Prosperity (1888–1919)”
This week’s archive dive presents the fourth chapter of Zenith City Press publisher Tony Dierckins’s Duluth: An Urban Biography, winner of the 2020/2021 Northeast Minnesota Book Award. Titled “Boom to Bust to Boom (Expansion and Prosperity (1888–1919),” the excerpt explains how Duluth boomed over this 30-year period, expanding its borders, adding immigrants to its population,…
Read MoreArchive Dive: Duluth Brewing & Malting
This week’s dive into the ZCP archive tells the story of Duluth’s “Moose Brewery,” Duluth Brewing & Malting, a West End fixture from 1896 to 1966. DB&M produced such beloved brands as Rex Beer and Love-It Soda during Prohibition—until Fitger’s purchased both brands at the start of the Great Depression. After Prohibition, DB&M produced Karlsbrau,…
Read MoreArchive Dive: Fairmount Park & the Duluth Zoo
Did you know that Fairmount Park (no, not Fairmont—that’s a mistake the city has been making since the park was created) was never intended to contain a zoo? And that West Duluth residents insisted that the city create the Park? Or that to save money, for a time zoo founder Bert Onsgaard did not feed…
Read MoreArchive Dive: Duluth‘s Grainy Memories
Moving grain from the Red River Valley through Duluth via railroads and Great Lakes freighters to flour mills int he east helped Duluth get back on its feet after the Panic of 1873, played an important link in Duluth for the next one hundred years, and still contributes to the local economy. Consequently, Duluth was…
Read MoreArchive Dive: Irving Elementary School
This week we walk the hallowed halls of the 1895 Irving Elementary School, designed by architects Palmer, Hall & Hunt and the model for the main building of the original Duluth Normal School (now UMD) campus, ‘Old Main.” Rad the history of the school the Duluth News Tribune once called News Tribune called it “the…
Read MoreArchive Dive: “Boom to Bust to Boom (1869–1887)”
This week’s archive dive presents the third chapter of Zenith City Press publisher Tony Dierckins’s Duluth: An Urban Biography, winner of the 2020/2021 Northeast Minnesota Book Award. Titled “Boom to Bust to Boom (1869–1887)” the excerpt tells the tale of how Duluth booked with the coming of the railroads in 1869, went bust when Jay…
Read MoreArchive Dive: The Fitger Brewing Co.
This week’s dive into the ZCP archive tells the story of Duluth’s longest-lived manufacturer: The Fitger Brewing Company. Discover how brewmaster August Fitger and his business partner Percy Anneke took a modest brewery on the Lake Superior shore and turned it into a regional powerhouse that dominated northern Wisconsin and Northern Minnesota for decades until…
Read MoreArchive Dive: Meet legendary Park Superintendent F. Rodney Paine
As the son of a prominent banker, Duluth park superintendent F. Rodney Paine was born with a silver spoon in his mouth—and with no need to pursue wealth selflessly dedicated himself to the creation of one of the most remarkable park systems in the nation. Read a biography of the man who helped create Jay…
Read MoreArchive Dive: Why Duluth Dug its Canal
Duluth’s is of course renown for the aerial bridge over its ship canal, but have you ever wondered why the city dug the canal in the first place? Find out in this week’s Archive Dive, here. The story itself comes from our book Duluth’s Aerial Bridge (and the Canal It Crosses), which you can preview…
Read MoreArchive Dive: St. James Orphanage
This week’s Archive Dive takes us inside our newest book, “Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture 1870–1940,” for a look at the 1910 St. James Orphanage at 4321 Allendale Avenue and designed by Duluth architect A. Werner Lignell. You might know the building as Woodland Hills, a residential youth treatment center later renamed the Hills Youth and…
Read MoreArchive Dive: At the Head of the Lakes (1850–1869)
This week’s archive dive presents the second chapter of Zenith City Press publisher Tony Dierckins’s Duluth: An Urban Biography, winner of the 2020/2021 Northeast Minnesota Book Award. Titled “At the Head of the Lakes,” the excerpt covers the period that includes the creation of both Duluth and Superior, a failed copper rush along the Lake…
Read More“Duluth‘s Greatest Myths” Free at the Duluth Public Library
Please join us for the annual meeting of the Friends of Duluth Public Library on Tuesday, May 16, 4 p.m., in the Green Room of the Duluth Public Library. Following a very brief meeting and introduction to the wonderful work of the selfless folks of FODPL (which advocates for the library’s importance in our community…
Read MoreArchive Dive: South Shore Breweries
This week’s dive into the ZCP archive takes us along Lake Superior‘s Wisconsin South Shore to revisit the historic breweries of Ashland and Washburn. The story involves one notorious brewery owner who was arrested for arrest for “assault with attempt to kill.” after slashing another man’s jugular vein. From our book Naturally Brewed, Naturally Better:…
Read MoreArchive Dive: Chester Park
Did you know that a portion of Chester Park was once the site of the first Forest Hill Cemetery? That the park is NOT named for Chester Congdon, but was once named for assassinated U.S. president James Garfield? That the upper portion of the park was once home to the world’s largest ski jump? What…
Read MoreArchive Dive: The World‘s First Transfer Bridge
Many people believe that Duluth’s 1904–1930 Aerial Transfer Bridge was the first such bridge ever constructed, but while it was the first in the western hemisphere and unique in its construction, it was not the first. But it was indeed inspired by the first, which you can learn about —along with other transfer bridges—in this…
Read MoreArchive Dive: The F. A. Patrick House
This week’s Archive Dive takes us inside our newest book, “Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture 1870–1940,” for a look at the 1900 Patrick House at 2306 E. Superior Street and designed by Duluth architect I. Vernon Hill. One of the few homes in Duluth using a Picturesque design, accented with some Tudor Revival, it was a…
Read MoreArchive Dive: “First Peoples”
This week’s archive dive presents another excerpt from the first chapter of Zenith City Press publisher Tony Dierckins’s Duluth: An Urban Biography, winner of the 2020/2021 Northeast Minnesota Book Award. Titled “First Peoples,” the excerpt explains the early human history of the far western end of Lake Superior from the Paleo-Indians to the Ojibwe migration…
Read MoreThis Friday: “Duluth’s Greatest Myths” FREE at Glensheen
Was the Duluth Ship Canal really dug by hand over the course of a weekend? Did the Zenith City ever have “more millionaires per capita than any other city in America? Did Mark Twain eve utter the words, “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in Duluth”? Find out this Friday, March 31,…
Read MoreArchive Dive: Breweries of Minnesota‘s Iron Range
This week’s dive into the ZCP archive takes us north of Duluth to Minnesota’s Vermilion and Mesabi Iron Ranges to examine the two commercial breweries that operated on the Range prior to Prohibition. It’s a brief but interesting tale, including an effort by publicly disgraced Duluth alderman Mike Fink—who started the Lake Superior Brewery and…
Read MoreMeet Luther Mendhenall
Luther Mendenhall first showed up in Duluth in 1869 along with George C. Stone and George Sargent, each holding a great deal of Jay Cook’s money (as well as their own). All three were sent to the Zenith City by Cooke to build the town’s infrastructure as Cooke’s Lake Superior & Mississippi was under construction.…
Read More”The Depots of Duluth” Live at the Depot!
Join us this Thursday, March 9, at 6:30 p.m. at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum within the historic 1892 Duluth Union Depot as Zenith City Press publisher presents “The Depots of Duluth: Rail-Related Architecture of the Zenith City.” Dierckins’s presentation is adapted from both his newest book, Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture, and the forthcoming Twin…
Read MoreNew Book “Duluth’s Aerial Bridge” Available Now
Zenith City Press is proud to announce the release of our newest book, Duluth’s Aerial Bridge (and the Canal It Crosses)! Written by Duluth author Tony Dierckins, the book chronicles the life of Duluth’s iconic span, from its 1905 construction as an aerial transfer bridge to its 1930 conversion into a vertical lift bridge, as…
Read MoreArchive Dive: Imperial Mill, Duluth’s State-of-the-Art Flour Producer
With all of the grain flowing through the Twin Ports in the late 19th-century, it only made sense to build some flour mills along their shores. Superior actually out did Duluth when it came to Flour mills when it came to the amount of mills operating withing their orders, , but the largest and most…
Read MoreArchive Dive: Panton & Watson, aka the Glass Block Store
Scottish immigrant John Panton met his Irish counterpart Joseph Watson in the early 1880s when both worked for the Wm. Donaldson & Company dry goods store in Minneapolis, housed in the Glass Block building along Nicollet Avenue, known for its large plate-glass windows. The pair opened a dry goods store in Duluth in 1887, and…
Read MoreArchive Dive: Fire & Ice: Duluth’s Geological History
This week’s archive dive presents an excerpt from the first chapter of Zenith City Press publisher Tony Dierckins’s Duluth: An Urban Biography, winner of the 2020/2021 Northeast Minnesota Book Award. Titled “Formed By Fire & Ice,” the excerpt explains the geological history of the far western end of Lake Superior, including how the lake was…
Read MoreArchive Dive: The Pioneer Breweries of the Twin Ports
This week we dive into the archive to pull up some history on the pioneer brewers of Duluth and Superior. Brewing began in both communities in 1859, providing both a potent potable and jobs, as at the time the entire Head of the Lakes was struggling financially in the wake of the Panic of 1857.…
Read MoreArchive Dive: Fond du Lac Park
This week‘s dive into the Zenith City Press archive brings us to Duluth‘s far-western environs, home of Fond du Lac Park. Not only was the park once home to Duluth‘s municipal tree nursery and the seven bridges of Mission Creek Boulevard (mirroring the bridges of Seven Bridges Road nearly 28 miles to the east), but…
Read MoreArchive Dive: The Men Who Operated Duluth’s Aerial Transfer Bridge
This week‘s dive into the Zenith City Press archive takes us back to the days of Duluth‘s famed Aerial transfer Bridge to meet the men who operated the first such bridge in North America. It was often dangerous work that resulted in one operator losing his life, and it was always busy work—more and more…
Read MoreArchive Dive: The Duluth’s Polish Catholic Churches
This week’s Archive Dive takes us inside our newest book, “Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture 1870–1940” to tell the story of Duluth’s Polish Catholics through its three Polish Catholic churches: St. Mary’s Star of the Sea, Stes. Peter & Paul, and St. Josephat. Together their stories include mistreatment by Duluth’s Irish and German Catholics, the local…
Read MoreA Huge Thanks from Zenith City Press!
Happy 2023, everyone! I wanted to use the first Monday update of 2023 to say thanks for the tremendous support I felt from you throughout the past year. As you may recall, we had all sorts of trouble trying to get the new book, Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture, printed. First there was no paper, and…
Read MoreHoliday Sale Continues!
We are continuing our online Holiday Sale through the end of December—and since we no longer sell our books via Amazon.com, these are the best prices you‘ll find on the internet. All our titles are on sale and we have some great package deals when you buy our latest, Duluth‘s Grand Old Architecture 1870–1940, and…
Read MoreSale at Depot Great Hall this Saturday; Holiday Sale Continues
Zenith City Press publisher and author Tony Dierckins will be selling and signing copies of all his books at the Duluth Depot’s Great Hall Marketplace from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Meanwhile, we are continuing our online Holiday Sale through the end of December—and since we no longer sell our books via Amazon.com, these…
Read MoreSigning Saturday At Glensheen; Holiday Sale Continues
Zenith City Press publisher and author Tony Dierckins will be signing copies of all his books at Glensheen Historic Estate this coming Saturday, December 10, from 1 to 3 p.m. Meanwhile, we are continuing our online Holiday Sale through the end of December—and since we no longer sell our books via Amazon.com, these are the…
Read MoreHOLIDAY SALE: 10–33% OFF ALL BOOKS!
Happy “Cyber Monday” to all! Here at Zenith City Press, we‘ll be honoring Cyber Monday every day now through New Year’s Eve—and since we no longer sell our books via Amazon.com, these are the best prices you‘ll find on the internet. All our titles are on sale and we have some great package deals when…
Read MoreLast Chance to Get Holiday Sale Deals!
It is now the final week of our Holiday Sale—and since we no longer sell our books via Amazon.com, these are the best prices you‘ll find on the internet. All our titles are on sale and we have some great package deals when you buy our latest, Duluth‘s Grand Old Architecture 1870–1940, and we’ve cut…
Read MoreSmall Business Saturday: Author Signing at Zenith Book Store!
SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY (November 26): Zenith City press’s Tony Dierckins will be signing copies of all his books—including the new “Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture 1870–1940” and “Duluth: An Urban Biography” (winner of the 2020-2021 Northeast Minnesota Book Award)—at Zenith Book Store, 318 N Central Avenue, from 1 to 3 p.m.
Read MoreThis Week’s Author Events
THIS THURSDAY (November 17): Zenith City’s Tony Dierckins will present “Duluth’s Grand Old Buildings” at the University of Minnesota Duluth Kathryn A. Martin Library Rotunda. The presentation, which is derived from “Duluth‘s Grand Old Architecture 1870–1940” and introduces the audience to Duluth Landmark structures and those listed on the National Register of Historic Places,…
Read MoreThis Week’s Author Events
THIS WEEKEND (November 12–13): Zenith City Press will be setting up shop at the Festival of Trees at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. Publisher Tony Dierckins will be on hand to sign all of his books, and we are offering special prices on several titles. A great way to pick up a signed copy…
Read MoreUpcoming Author Events for November
Monday, November 7: Zenith City’s Tony Dierckins will give a brief presentation on the history of ski jumping in Duluth before Minnesota author Peter Geyer takes the stage to read from his newest work, ”The Ski Jumper.” Hosted by the Bookstore@ Fitger’s, the event will take place in the Fitger Complex’s Spirit of the North…
Read MoreTHIS SATURDAY: Author Signing at Bookstore@Fitger’s
This coming Saturday, October 28, Zenith City Press publisher and author Tony Dierckins will be signing copies of his books, including the brand-new Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture, at the Bookstore@Fitger’s in the Fitger’s Complex (600 E. Superior Street, Duluth) from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. (Next Public Signing: Saturday, November 26 at Zenith Bookstore in…
Read MoreArchitecture & Preservation Talk at First Presbyterian
Tomorrow, Tuesday October 18, Zenith City Press publisher Tony Dierckins will be presenting ”Duluth‘s Historic Architecture: An Introduction to Duluth Landmark Structures and those on the National Register of Historic Places’ at Duluth‘s historic 1892 First Presbyterian Church. Along the way Dierckins will discuss past preservation efforts associated with some of Duluth’s most iconic…
Read MoreTHIS THURSDAY: Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture Book Launch!
Pleas join us to celebrate the release of Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture this Thursday, October 13 at Glensheen Historic Estate. The evening includes a brief presentation by author/designer/publisher Tony Dierckins followed by a book signing. Doors open at 6:30 and the evening starts at 7. Everyone is welcome, and the event is free. In…
Read More“Duluth: An Urban Biography” wins 2020–2021 Northeast Minnesota Book Award
Duluth: An Urban Biography, written by Zenith City Press‘s Tony Dierckins and published by Minnesota Historical Society Press, has won the 2020–2021 Northeast Minnesota Book Award for Non-fiction. (Due to the pandemic, this year’s award is for the last two years.) This is the third time Dierckins has won the award, previous wins coming…
Read MoreDuluth’s Grand Old Architecture Book Launch October 13!
Please join us to celebrate the release of Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture on Thursday, October 13 at Glensheen Historic Estate. The evening includes a brief presentation by author/designer/publisher Tony Dierckins followed by a book signing. Doors open at 6:30 and the evening starts at 7. Everyone is welcome, and the event is free. In…
Read MoreUpcoming: Whiskey Wednesday & Book Launch Both @ Glensheen!
We have two big events coming up in the next couple of weeks. This coming Wednesday, September 28, Zenith City Press publisher Tony Dierckins will be presenting “Drying Out in Duluth: Prohibition in the Zenith City” at Glensheen as part of the historic estate’s Whiskey Wednesdays series. The event is FREE. Doors open at 6, …
Read MoreWhiskey Wednesday @ Glensheen: Lost Industries of the Zenith City
This coming Wednesday, September 21, Zenith City Press publisher Tony Dierckins will be presenting “Lost Industries of the Zenith City” at Glensheen as part of the historic estate’s Whiskey Wednesdays series. Come on down to Glensheen to taste and learn about some fine whiskey before Dierckins walks you through the rise—and demise—of the industries that…
Read MoreTour Historic First Presbyterian Church
The congregation of Duluth’s 1891 First Presbyterian Church is holding a fundraiser for their historic 1889 church building, designed by Oliver Traphagen along with Francis Fitzpatrick and featuring Tiffany stained-glass windows designed by Duluth’s own Ann Weston. The event includes a tour of the church, music from the church’s three-story 1917 Skinner pipe organ, and…
Read MoreWhiskey Wednesday @ Glensheen: Robber Barons on the Iron Range
This coming Wednesday, September 14, Zenith City Press publisher Tony Dierckins will be presenting “Robber Barons on the Iron Range” at Glensheen as part of the historic estate’s Whiskey Wednesdays series. Come on down to Glensheen to taste and learn about some fine whiskey before Dierckins explains how Chester Congdon built the fortune that paid…
Read MoreSneak Peek: Duluth Bethel
This week’s sneak peek at Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture 1870–1940 still stands and continues to serve its original purpose. You may know it as that oddly shaped building tucked under Point of Rocks as you head down Mesaba Avenue to get to Superior Street or I-35. Discover much more about the 1911 Duluth Bethel HERE.…
Read MoreSneak peek: CSS’s Tower Hall
This week’s sneak peek from Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture 1879–1940 started life as a private Catholic high school for girls called Villa Scholastica. Twenty or so years after it was built, it had been transformed via additions into Tower Hall—and the high school had evolved into the College of St. Scholastica. Read our history of…
Read MoreSneak Peek: Lester River Fish Hatchery
This week’s sneak peek from Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture 1879–1940 still stands alongside the Lester River and the shore of Lake Superior. Read the history of the 1889 Lester River Fish Hatchery once produced 150 million fish eggs per year, helping to stock fish along the Minnesota North Shore and Wisconsin South Shore of Lake…
Read More“Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture” Update
First the good news: All 2,000 copies of the book’s interior have been printed right here in Duluth at J. S. Print Group. Now the bad: The bindery can’t source enough structural cardboard needed to make the covers. And finally, the consequences: We honestly don’t know when we’ll have enough books to start fulfilling orders.…
Read More“Lost Duluth” Documentaries airing on WDSE-TV this month
The documentaries based on the Zenith City Press book Lost Duluth by Tony Dierckins and Maryanne C. Norton will be airing several times in the next few weeks (dates and times below). Our newest book, Duluth’s Historic Architecture 1870–1940, (also by Dierckins and Norton) will be previewed during pledge breaks and you can get a…
Read MoreLast Chance to Get Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture for $55
The first copies of Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture are rolling off the press right here in Duluth at J. S. Print Group. We are expecting to have books by Monday, August 15. It’s been a struggle, and paper costs have raised even higher than we expected—since 2020 paper costs have increased nine times; most stock…
Read MoreSneak Peek: Duluth Masonic Temple
After more then tens years after we began researching and writing Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture, the book is finally going to press this week right here in Duluth at J. S. Print Group. We are expecting to have books by Monday, August 15. It’s been a struggle, and paper costs have raised even higher than…
Read MoreSneak Peek: The Myers House
This week’s sneak peek at our newest book—Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture 1870–1940 by Tony Dierckins and Maryanne C. Norton—is one of the most unique homes to ever grace the Zenith City—and it was faced with natives stone excavated to while creating nearby streets. Discover much more about the Myers House HERE. (Preview Duluth’s Grand Old…
Read MoreSneak Peek: 1895 Board of Trade Building
This week’s sneak peek at our newest book—Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture 1870–1940 by Tony Dierckins and Maryanne C. Norton—features the 1895 Duluth Board of Trade Building. Did you know that part of this building is now a portion of the Como Park Zoo Conservatory in St. Paul? Neither did we when we started researching this…
Read MoreSneak Peek: Glen Avon Presbyterian
This week’s sneak peek at our newest book—Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture 1870–1940 by Tony Dierckins and Maryanne C. Norton—was built of native stone quarried at nearby Hunter’s Hill. Read our history of the Glen Avon Presbyterian from Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture here. Pre-order now and take advantage of our early bird specials! Just click here.
Read MoreSneak Peek: Endion Elementary School
This week’s sneak peek at our newest book—Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture 1870–1940 by Tony Dierckins and Maryanne C. Norton—is one of the Zenith City’s most delightfully designed school buildings—and in Duluth, a city once filled with ornate educational edifices, that’s saying a lot. Read our history of the Endion Elementary School from Duluth’s Grand Old…
Read MoreSneak Peek: 1892 Duluth Federal Building
This week’s sneak peek at our newest book—Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture 1870–1940 by Tony Dierckins and Maryanne C. Norton—takes us back to the 1890s, when booming Duluth got its first federal building, which served as the city’s post office, federal courts, customs office, and even weather station. The building, which stood in the heart of…
Read MoreMeet Maryanne C. Norton, coauthor of Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture
As we wait for Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture to arrive from the printer (expected in early August), I thought now would be a good time to introduce you to my co-author and mentor in researching local history, the late Maryanne C. Norton (1934–2018). Born Maryanne Chadwick in Minneapolis on September 13, 1934, she graduated Southwest…
Read MoreSneak Peek: Soo Line Passenger Station
This week’s sneak peek at our newest book—Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture 1870–1940 by Tony Dierckins and Maryanne C. Norton—was the last train station built in Duluth when it was constructed in 1910. By then Duluth had so many rail lines between Rice’s Point and what is now Canal Park that the railroad had to blast…
Read MoreSneak Peek: Odd Fellows Hall
This week’s sneak peek at our newest book—Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture 1870–1940 by Tony Dierckins and Maryanne C. Norton—was built for Duluth’s Odd Fellows Lodge #28 as Odd Fellows Hall and designed by Oliver Traphagen, at the time both the most popular architect in Duluth and a member of the lodge. Read our history of…
Read MoreJoin Our Pre-Publication Sales Drive!
It’s been a few weeks since we started our Pre-Publication Sales Drive for our forthcoming book, Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture. Loyal readers from across the nation have already helped us close the gap to cover increased printing costs due to paper supply shortages and skyrocketing paper prices. To date we’ve received orders from not only…
Read MoreSneak Peek: The “Bible House” Building
This week’s sneak peek at our newest book—Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture 1870–1940 by Tony Dierckins and Maryanne C. Norton—once held one of the largest collections of bibles found anywhere on the planet, curated by Reverend Henry E. Ramsmeyer and later his daughters Pauline and Esther. The Northern Bible Society Building still stands on the outskirts…
Read MoreSneak Peek: The Leithhead House
This week’s sneak peek at our newest book—Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture 1870–1940 by Tony Dierckins and Maryanne C. Norton—is one of the most unique houses to grace the Zenith City, the 1902 home at 16 South 18th Avenue East built for drug-company executive Leslie Leithhead and his wife Ophelia Leithhead—and paid for by Ophelia’s father,…
Read More