July 16, 1927: Opening of the Arrowhead Bridge

On this Day in Duluth—and Superior—in 1927, the Arrowhead Bridge opened with a gala celebration. Technically a rolling lift bridge, the Arrowhead was built entirely of wood except for its steel 300-foot center lift span. It stretched eight hundred feet from Lesure Street on Grassy Point in West Duluth to Superior’s Belknap Street, extending U.S. Highway 2 across the state line. The center span was actually two spans that met in the middle; each lifted on a pivot to allow marine traffic to pass; it took ninety seconds for the spans to open or close. Opening day events took place on both sides of the St. Louis River, in West Duluth at Memorial Park and along Superior’s Tower Avenue. Each celebration led a parade onto the bridge, stopping at either side of the new bridge’s lift span. While the crowd waited, the spans lifted and the replica Viking ship Leif Erikson, which had just arrived in Duluth, was escorted between the spans by the fire tug McGonagle, which sprayed huge spouts of water along the way. After the watercraft cleared and as the spans lowered, Duluth mayor Sam Snively and his Superior counterpart, Fred Baxter, met in the middle and clasped hands just as the spans closed. Fireworks were launched, the United States Naval Reserve Band and the Superior American Legion’s drum-and-bugle corps played, and ships and boats and industrial plants all sounded their whistles. The Duluth marchers then paraded in Superior as the Superior paraders passed through West Duluth. A time capsule containing souvenirs of the event was encased in one of the bridge’s piers. Read more about the Arrowhead Bridge here.

The Arrowhead Bridge.