Editing Duluth, Minnesota (section)

====Economic decline====
[[File:ORE DOCKS OF BURLINGTON NORTHERN RAILROAD. WATER IS DISCOLORED BY ORE SPILLAGE AND CLAY WASHED INTO THE BAY FROM THE... - NARA - 551599.jpg|thumb|254x254px|Duluth's Ore Docks in 1973. All three pictured docks are now abandoned.]]
Economic decline began in the 1950s when high-grade iron ore ran out on the [[Iron Range]] north of Duluth; ore shipments from the Duluth harbor had been critical to the city's economy. Low-grade ore ([[taconite]]) shipments continued, boosted by new taconite pellet technology, but ore shipments were lower overall.

In the 1970s, the United States experienced a [[steel crisis]] and a recession in the global steel market. Like [[Rust Belt|many American cities]], Duluth entered a period of industrial restructuring. In 1981, U.S. Steel closed its [[Duluth Works]] plant—a blow to the city's economy with effects including the closure of the cement company, which had depended on the steel plant for raw materials (slag). More closures followed in other industries, including [[shipbuilding]] and [[heavy machinery]]. By the decade's end, unemployment rates hit 15%. The economic downturn was particularly hard on Duluth's West Side, where ethnic Eastern and Southern European workers had lived for decades.

During the 1980s, plans were underway to extend [[Interstate 35]] through Duluth and up the [[North Shore (Lake Superior)|North Shore]], bringing new access to the city. The original plan called for the interstate to run along the shore on an elevated concrete structure, blocking the city's access to Lake Superior. Kent Worley, a local landscape architect, wrote an impassioned letter to then mayor [[Ben Boo]] asking that the route be reconsidered. The [[Minnesota Department of Transportation]] then agreed to take another look, with Worley consulting. The new plan called for parts of the highway to run through tunnels, which allowed preservation of Fitger's Brewery, Sir Ben's Tavern, Leif Erikson Park, and Duluth's Rose Garden. Rock used from the interstate project was used to create an extensive new beach along Lake Superior, along which the city's Lakewalk was built.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Creger |first=Mike |title=Construction of Duluth's freeway drips with stories |url=https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/lifestyle/3320814-construction-duluths-freeway-drips-stories |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809171739/https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/lifestyle/3320814-construction-duluths-freeway-drips-stories |archive-date=August 9, 2019 |access-date=August 9, 2019 |website=Duluth News Tribune |language=en}}</ref>