January 11, 1913; Opening of the new Duluth Curling Club

On this day in Duluth in 1913, the Duluth Curling Club’s new facility—the largest of its kind on the planet—at 1338 London Road celebrated its informal opening after workman spent the previous 24 hours working non-stop to complete the building and lay down the ice. Over 2,000 people attended—all were either members of the Club or had purchased a ticket for the event. There were curling and hockey exhibitions and the second floor was opened for ice skating. The Third regiment band provided music. The first official curling match was scheduled for January 17 and its formal dedication February 22. The Duluth Curling & Skating Club first organized in 1891. Members cleared some snow on St. Louis Bay at the foot of Eighth Avenue West and threw their first stone on Christmas Day 1891. The Club’s first rink was built from the burned-put ruins of Grain Elevator A at the base of Third Avenue East and hosted its first game on New Year’s Day, 1892; it was destroyed in a blizzard just months later. For the next twenty years curling in Duluth took place in several other buildings, including a facility at Wallace Avenue and Arrowhead Road from 1892 to 1896. It then played in a warehouse for two seasons until 1897, when the club built a rink at Third Avenue East and Michigan Street—near the location of the short-lived 1891 facility—and played there until the construction of its grand 1913 facility. Read a more complete history of the Duluth Curling Club here.

The Duluth Curling Club photographed by L. Perry Gallagher, date unknown. (Image: Zenith City Press)