April 23, 1951: Duluth Boat Club and 16 pleasure craft are destroyed by fire

On this day in Duluth in 1951, the Duluth Boat Club was destroyed by fire. Walter Larson, the Duluth Fire Department’s fire investigator, said that the blaze, which caused $130,000 in damages, was caused by spontaneous combustion. The first alarms came in at 5:36 a.m., and within ninety minutes the entire building, along with sixteen boats described as “pleasure craft,” were consumed. At the time the building was owned by Great Lakes Industries; the firm’s president, Erick Johnson, told the Duluth News Tribune the building was valued at $16,000. Those who lost their boats include Fred Buck, Simon Slafsky, Edward Berquist, Leo Shapiro, E. M. Proctor, Arthur S. Sivertson, Howard Buch, Merle Flood, N. J. Jensen, Russell Barber, and Earl King. Johnson himself lost three craft; another two of the lost vessels belonged to Irving Thorsell of the Arrowhead Water Taxi Co. During its heyday, the Duluth Boat Club operated not only the main facility but also boat houses at Oatka beach further south on Minnesota Point and at Spirit Lake, a widening of the St. Louis River near Morgan Park. Read a much more complete history of the Duluth Boat Club here.

The 1903 Duluth Boat Club. (Image: University of Minnesota Duluth Kathryn A. Martin Library Archives and Special Collections)