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27-531: The bridge spans the Duluth Ship Canal , which was put through the miles-long sand spit named Minnesota Point  – commonly called Park Point by locals – in 1870–1871. The natural mouth of the Saint Louis River is about seven miles (11 km) farther southeast, and is split between Minnesota and Wisconsin . Creating this gap in the sand spit meant that residents who lived on

54-704: A canal through Minnesota Point, but due to the cost, no action was taken. Instead, a massive federal effort was undertaken to improve facilities in Superior. At the same time, the city of Duluth combined forces with the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad to dig a canal on their own. This began in 1870, and politicians in Wisconsin, seeing traffic through Superior threatened, went to the war department to have construction stopped, eventually obtaining an injunction on July 13, 1871. They were too late. The canal

81-540: A high-rise vertical lift bridge. The city of Duluth was eager to build the bridge, which would have been about 130 feet (40 m) wide. However, the War Department objected to the design, and the project was canceled before it could be built. Waddell's design went on to be built in Chicago, Illinois , as the slightly larger South Halsted Street Bridge, which was removed in 1932. New plans were later drawn up for

108-641: A main route in the community. Near the end of Minnesota Point is a small airport, Sky Harbor Airport . Beyond the airport, approximately 3/4 mile, is an old growth red and white pine forest. Within the forest is a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources designated area, the Minnesota Point Pine Forest Scientific and Natural Area , which encompasses 18 acres. Minnesota Point is about 7 miles long, and when included with adjacent Wisconsin Point , which extends 3 miles out from

135-462: A minute, and is raised about 5,000 times per year. The span is about 390 feet (120 meters). As ships pass, there is a customary horn-blowing sequence that is copied back. The bridge's "horn" is actually made up of two Westinghouse Airbrake locomotive horns. Long-short-short is known as the Captain's Salute and is the most common of the ship signal exchanges. However, on November 10, the anniversary of

162-404: A string stretched across the entry to the canal to claim the right to charge tolls. This came to nothing, but the following October, flyers were distributed to shipping offices stating that a rope would be stretched across the canal on the fifteenth of the month to deny passage to all vessels. It is unclear what Boeing's intentions were, or whether he carried out his threat; but in any case his death

189-512: A structure that would ferry people from one side to the other. This type of span, known variously as an aerial transfer, ferry, or transporter bridge, was first demonstrated in Bilbao 's Vizcaya Bridge in 1893 and one in France in 1898. Duluth's bridge was inspired by the one in France, though the actual construction is quite different. The architect was a city engineer, Thomas McGilvray. When it

216-493: Is known as the master salute consisting of the horn sequence of long-long-long-short-short. The bridge was designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2017. Duluth Ship Canal The Duluth Ship Canal is an artificial canal cut through Minnesota Point , providing direct access to Duluth harbor from Lake Superior . Begun privately in 1871, it

243-685: Is now an abandoned ruin listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Since the digging of the Duluth Ship Canal in 1870–1871, Minnesota Point is technically an island, connected to the rest of Duluth since 1905 by the Aerial Lift Bridge . Beginning in 2023, North Shore LS LLC (managed by Kathy Cargill, member of the Cargill family ) began purchasing and renovating properties located on Minnesota Point, owning twenty properties by March 2024. Cargill, in an interview with

270-461: The Saint Louis River , which fed the bay and which formed the border between the rival cities. The dike did not last long; it suffered ice damage from the start and was gradually removed in the course of dredging. Federal responsibility for the latter, a result of the 1873 River and Harbor Act, gradually expanded into jurisdiction over all facilities in the area, with the Corps of Engineers taking over

297-448: The bridge's capacity was being stretched to the limit. A remodeling was planned that would remove the gondola and incorporate a lifting platform into the structure. The firm finally commissioned with designing the new bridge was the descendant of Waddell's company. The new design, which closely resembles the 1892 concept, is attributed to C.A.P. Turner . Reconstruction began in 1929. In order to ensure that tall ships could still pass under

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324-410: The bridge, the top span had to be raised to accommodate the new deck when raised. The support columns on either side were also modified so that they could hold new counterweights to balance the weight of the lifting portion. The new bridge first lifted for a vessel, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tugboat Essayons , on March 29, 1930. The bridge can be raised to its full height of 135 feet in about

351-407: The canal in 1887. The canal remains under the control of the Corps of Engineers to the present. In 1889, however, an attempt was made by Wilhelm Boeing, a Detroit businessman, to charge tolls for use of the canal. Boeing, the father of aircraft manufacturer William Boeing , owned property on both sides of the canal as well as thousands of acres of timber near Chisholm , and in 1888 his attorney had

378-606: The city of Superior , Wisconsin , totals 10 miles. Due to the short and easy portage across Minnesota Point, the Ojibwe name for the city of Duluth is Onigamiinsing ("at the little portage"). In the 1850s, the Saint Louis River was established as the border between neighboring states Minnesota and Wisconsin and the two ports, Duluth (Minnesota) and Superior (Wisconsin), became fierce economic competitors for shipping traffic off of Lake Superior. As commercial traffic on

405-640: The lake increased with the completion of the Sault Ste Marie canal connecting Lake Superior to Lake Michigan, Congress appropriated the funds to build a lighthouse on the narrow opening in Minnesota Point, known as Superior Entry. The Minnesota Point Light , built between 1855 and 1858, was the first to use RH Barret's Fifth Order Fresnel lamp and Barret became the station's first lighthouse keeper, succeeded in 1861 by Samuel Stewart Palmer. Affectionately known as "The Old Standby", this lighthouse

432-412: The lakes, and Superior Bay presented itself as an attractive harbor. From the point of view of Duluth residents, however, arrangements were less than satisfactory, as ships from that city had to pass Superior, Wisconsin on the way to the lake, as the only natural outlet was between Minnesota Point and Wisconsin Point at the far end of the bay. Also, while sheltered, the bay was not naturally as deep as

459-604: The local Corps of Engineers administration, as well as the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center . There are no locks; most ships transit the canal under their own power, though tug service is available in case of adverse weather. Around a thousand vessels a year ship from the Duluth–Superior port. The construction of the first locks on the St. Marys River in 1855 allowed for navigation between

486-414: The new island needed to have a way to get across. Several transportation methods were tried, though they were complicated by the weather. Ferries could work in the summer, but ice caused problems in colder months. A swinging footbridge was used, but was considered rather rickety and unsafe. In 1892, a contest was held to find a solution. The winning design came from John Low Waddell, who drew up plans for

513-400: The new south pier completed in 1901, and the north pier completed the following year. In 1906 the present administration building was completed; this was enlarged in the 1940s, and a visitor's center and museum was added to that in 1973. A maintenance yard was constructed on the south side of the canal. The Aerial Lift Bridge was constructed in 1905 to provide access to Minnesota Point, which

540-421: The next month ended the matter. The canal was, from the beginning, defined by piers along either side. These were initially timber cribs put in place by the city, albeit with some federal funding. They did not stand up to the harsh winter weather and required substantial maintenance every few years, up until an 1896 project to rebuild the canal. It was this project that gave the two piers their present form, with

567-672: The sides of the canal: the Duluth North Pier Light and the Duluth South Breakwater Outer Light mark the lake ends of the canal, while the Duluth South Breakwater Inner Light functions with the south breakwater light as a range light . At the harbor end, the canal is straddled by the Aerial Lift Bridge which connects Minnesota Point to the rest of the city. On the north side, there is a building housing

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594-652: The sinking of the SS ; Edmund Fitzgerald with all hands in Lake Superior , the Lift Bridge exchanges a special salute with the SS  Arthur M. Anderson when it comes into Duluth Harbor in honor of the Fitzgerald and its crew as the Anderson was the last lake freighter to have contact with the Fitzgerald before it went down and was the first vessel on scene to search in vain for survivors. The exchange

621-472: Was completed in 1905, the Aerial Bridge's gondola had a capacity of 60 short tons (54 tonnes ) and could carry 350 people plus wagons, streetcars, or automobiles. A trip across the canal took about one minute, and the ferry car moved across once every five minutes during busy times of the day. A growing population on Minnesota Point, a greater demand for cars, and an increase in tourism soon meant that

648-412: Was completed two months earlier, with local lore holding that on April 30, 1871, a group of city residents, summoned by brewer (soon to be mayor) Sidney Luce, came to the site with shovels and picks and dug the first connection between the bay and the lake. The injunction was soon lifted, at the cost of building a dike from Rice's Point to Minnesota Point, thus isolating the canal from the main flow of

675-647: Was cut off from the mainland by construction of the canal. Minnesota Point Minnesota Point, also known as the Park Point neighborhood of Duluth , Minnesota , United States; is a long, narrow sand spit that extends out from the Canal Park tourist recreation-oriented district of the city of Duluth. The Point separates Lake Superior from Superior Bay and the Duluth Harbor Basin. South Lake Avenue / Minnesota Avenue serves as

702-477: Was desirable, and the canal was convoluted. In 1865 a harbor was constructed outside the bay using a breakwater, and this was gradually improved over the next several years. A storm in 1871 destroyed the structure, and though it was rebuilt the next year, it was abandoned in 1878 due to ongoing ice and storm damage. An 1866 report by Lt. Col. W. F. Raynolds of the Bureau of Topographical Engineers recommended cutting

729-490: Was put under federal supervision and maintenance several years later. It is still an important component of the harbor facilities. In its current configuration, the canal is defined by a pair of breakwaters 1,720 feet (520 m) long and 300 feet (91 m) apart, constructed of concrete set on timber and stone cribbing . The canal is maintained at 245 feet (75 m) wide and 28 feet (8.5 m) LWD, allowing passage of ocean-going ships. Three lighthouses are placed on

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