Editing Duluth, Minnesota (section)

===20th century===
[[File:Superior Street, Duluth, Minn (NYPL b12647398-67839).tiff|thumb|Superior Street, circa 1900]]
[[File:Chester Terrace-Duluth.jpg|thumb|[[Chester Terrace (Duluth, Minnesota)|Chester Terrace]], built in 1890]]

During the 20th century, the Port of Duluth was, for a time, the busiest port in the United States, surpassing even New York City in gross tonnage.<ref name="Port of Duluth">{{Cite web |title=Port of Duluth |url=http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/review/USA_MN_Port_of_Duluth_101.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708170744/http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/review/USA_MN_Port_of_Duluth_101.php |archive-date=July 8, 2017 |access-date=July 22, 2017 |website=World Port Source}}</ref> [[Lake freighter]]s carried iron ore through the Great Lakes to processing plants in Illinois and Ohio. Ten newspapers, six banks, and an 11-story skyscraper, the Torrey Building, were founded and built.<ref>{{Cite web |last=GmbH |first=Emporis |title=Torrey Building, Duluth - 124061 - EMPORIS |url=http://www.emporis.com/building/torreybuilding-duluth-mn-usa |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627072407/http://www.emporis.com/building/torreybuilding-duluth-mn-usa |archive-date=June 27, 2014 |access-date=June 26, 2012}}</ref> As of 1905, Duluth was said to be home to the most millionaires per capita in the United States.<ref name="Zenith City Archives">{{Cite web |title=An Extremely Brief History of Duluth |url=http://zenithcity.com/zenith-city-history-archives/duluths-development/3126-2/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728231151/http://zenithcity.com/zenith-city-history-archives/duluths-development/3126-2/ |archive-date=July 28, 2014 |access-date=July 21, 2014 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

In 1907, [[U.S. Steel]] announced that it would build a $5 million plant in the area. Although steel production did not begin until 1915, predictions held that Duluth's population would rise to 200,000–300,000. Along with the [[Duluth Works]] steel plant, U.S. Steel developed [[Morgan Park, Duluth, Minnesota|Morgan Park]] as a company town for steel workers. It is now a city neighborhood within Duluth.

The [[Diamond Calk Horseshoe Company]] was founded in 1908 and later became a major manufacturer and exporter of wrenches and automotive tools. Duluth's huge wholesale Marshall Wells Hardware Company expanded in 1901 by opening branches in [[Portland, Oregon]], and [[Winnipeg]], [[Manitoba]]; the company catalog totaled 2,390 pages by 1913. The Duluth Showcase Company, which later became the Duluth Refrigerator Company and then the Coolerator Company, was established in 1908. The Universal Atlas Cement Company, which made cement from the slag byproduct of the steel plant, began operations in 1917.

====Immigration====
Because of its numerous jobs in mining and industry, the city was a destination for large waves of immigrants from Europe during the early 20th century. It became the center of one of the largest [[Finnish people|Finnish]] communities in the world outside Finland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Port of Duluth |url=http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/USA_MN_Port_of_Duluth_101.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707214024/http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/USA_MN_Port_of_Duluth_101.php |archive-date=July 7, 2012 |access-date=June 26, 2012}}</ref> For decades, a Finnish-language daily newspaper, ''Päivälehti,'' was published in the city, named after the former [[Grand Duchy of Finland]]'s pro-independence liberal [[Päivälehti|paper]]. The [[Finnish people|Finnish]] community of [[Industrial Workers of the World]] (IWW) members published the widely read labor newspaper ''[[Industrialisti]].'' From 1907 to 1941, the [[Finnish Socialist Federation]] and then the IWW operated [[Work People's College]], an educational institution that taught classes from a working-class, socialist perspective. Immigrants from [[Swedish Americans|Sweden]], [[Norwegian Americans|Norway]], [[Danish Americans|Denmark]], [[German Americans|Germany]], [[Austrian Americans|Austria]], [[Czech Americans|Czechoslovakia]], [[Irish Americans|Ireland]], [[English Americans|England]], [[Italian Americans|Italy]], [[Polish Americans|Poland]], [[Hungarian Americans|Hungary]], [[Bulgarian Americans|Bulgaria]], [[Croatian Americans|Croatia]], [[Serbian Americans|Serbia]], [[Ukrainian Americans|Ukraine]], [[Romanian Americans|Romania]], and [[Russian Americans|Russia]] also settled in Duluth.<ref name="Port of Duluth" /> At one time, Duluth was home to several historic immigrant neighborhoods, including Little Italy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Duluth History: Little Italy, AKA the Glenn |url=http://secure-web.cisco.com/1NvOWs_kmchLbl2g5EdNKYHwNr93GXXqYcjRTagPUf4O2FzCmwrrBnQ13D-wwayEBoTXJ-KI161IVoZm5UZWehmbrHWAcV92V5VizvCFlE9X8BAcdUl_W0irwU5qpthKVUeT47wcAaGZU1O0CUKo82Qn7HhcUPp3fRGlFriSbStFjTXVtbejlzYqhtZGTbKWcr0Xd2Zp-AFvS1oO2MbcIiQdNHaBmjj842sA3aOxkkiSGuwEqJgTfy0r_yYi_O0apd-T1-HULLPul2wya8Ztcn1TO3v4UVrrYDtAgI48GAKHaH-s9v3bCepXJP7kUl7zFVa21vgzNMBLghaA5f_-3EQ/http%3A%2F%2Fzenithcity.com%2Farchive%2Fduluth-history%2Flittle-italy-aka-the-glenn%2F |website=Zenithcity.com}}</ref> Today, people of Scandinavian descent constitute a strong plurality of Duluth's population, accounting for more than a third of the residents identifying European ancestry.

====Duluth lynchings====
In September 1918, a group calling itself the [[Knights of Liberty (vigilante group)|Knights of Liberty]] dragged Finnish immigrant [[Olli Kinkkonen]] from his boarding house, tarred and feathered him, and [[Lynching in the United States|lynched]] him. Kinkkonen had not wanted to fight in [[World War I]] and instead planned to return to Finland. His body was found two weeks later hanging in a tree in Duluth's Lester Park.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MPR: Postcard From A Lynching |url=http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/projects/2001/06/lynching/olli.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812220443/http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/projects/2001/06/lynching/olli.shtml |archive-date=August 12, 2012 |access-date=June 25, 2012}}</ref>

Another lynching in Duluth occurred on June 15, 1920, when three innocent black male circus workers—Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie—were attacked by a white mob and hanged after purportedly raping a teenage white girl. The [[Duluth lynchings]] took place on First Street and Second Avenue East. In 1970, journalist Michael Fedo wrote ''The Lynchings in Duluth'', which began to raise awareness of the event. Members of many different communities then began to come together for reflection and education.

The men's unmarked graves were soon found. In 1991, gravestones were erected with funding from a local church. Vigils were held at the intersection where the men were lynched. In 2000, a grassroots committee was formed and began to offer speakers to groups and schools. It decided to commemorate the event with a memorial; the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial, which includes a corner wall and plaza, was dedicated in 2003. It includes three {{convert|7|ft|m|adj=on}}-tall bronze statues of the three men. The CJMM Committee continues to work for racial justice through educational outreach, community forums, and scholarships for youth.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kraker |first=Dan |title=Duluth marks anniversary of memorial to 3 lynching victims |date=June 15, 2013 |url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2013/06/15/duluth-marks-anniversary-of-memorial-to-3-lynching-victims |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111190320/https://www.mprnews.org/story/2013/06/15/duluth-marks-anniversary-of-memorial-to-3-lynching-victims |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |access-date=August 2, 2020}}</ref><ref>[http://www.claytonjacksonmcghie.org/?page_id=92 "The Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial, Inc."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814070738/http://www.claytonjacksonmcghie.org/?page_id=92 |date=August 14, 2016 }}, official website; accessed August 22, 2016</ref>

====1918 Cloquet Fire====
In 1918, the [[1918 Cloquet Fire|Cloquet Fire]] (named for the nearby city of [[Cloquet, Minnesota|Cloquet]]) burned across Carlton and St. Louis Counties, destroying dozens of communities in the Duluth area. The fire was the worst natural disaster in Minnesota history in terms of the number of lives lost in a single day. Many people died on the rural roads surrounding the Duluth area, and historical accounts tell of victims dying while trying to outrun the fire. The ''News Tribune'' reported: "It is estimated that 100 families were rendered homeless by Saturday's fire in the territory known as the Woodland District... In most cases, families which lost their homes also lost most or all of their furniture and personal belongings, the limited time and transportation facilities affording little opportunity for saving anything but human life."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Duluth: the Homecroft City – Zenith City Online |url=http://zenithcity.com/duluth-the-homecroft-city/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221215309/http://zenithcity.com/duluth-the-homecroft-city/ |archive-date=February 21, 2014 |access-date=June 9, 2013}}</ref> The [[Minnesota National Guard|National Guard]] unit based in Duluth was mobilized in a heroic effort to battle the fire and assist victims, but its troops were overwhelmed by the enormity of the fire.

Retired ''Duluth News Tribune'' columnist and journalist Jim Heffernan<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jim Heffernan – Zenith City Online |url=http://zenithcity.com/author/hef/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130904233603/http://zenithcity.com/author/hef/ |archive-date=September 4, 2013 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> wrote that his mother "recalled an overnight vigil watching out the window of their small home on lower Piedmont Avenue with her father, her younger sisters having gone to sleep, ready to be evacuated to the waterfront should the need arise. The fire never made it that far down the hill, but devastated what is now Piedmont Heights, and, of course, a widespread area of Northeastern Minnesota."<ref>{{Cite web |title=West End confidential: Goat Hill to Slabtown – Zenith City Online |url=http://zenithcity.com/west-end-confidential-goat-hill-to-slabtown/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906111841/http://zenithcity.com/west-end-confidential-goat-hill-to-slabtown/ |archive-date=September 6, 2013 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> In the fire's aftermath, tens of thousands of people were left injured or homeless; many of the refugees fled into the city for aid and shelter.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yesterday's News » Blog Archive » "Monday, Oct. 14, 1918: Hundreds die in Cloquet fire" |url=http://blogs2.startribune.com/blogs/oldnews/archives/45 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702024929/http://blogs2.startribune.com/blogs/oldnews/archives/45 |archive-date=July 2, 2012}}</ref>

====Continued growth====
[[File:Duluth Ore Docks.jpg|thumb|Duluth Ore Docks and freighters circa 1900–1915|left]]

For the first half of the 20th century, Duluth was an industrial port boom town dominated by its several [[grain elevator]]s, a cement plant, a nail mill, wire mills, and the [[Duluth Works]] plant. Handling and export of iron ore, brought in from the Mesabi Range, was integral to the city's economy, as well as to the steel industry in the Midwest, including in manufacturing cities in Ohio.

[[File:Aerial transfer bridge (ferry), Duluth, Minnesota, ca.1920 (CHS-5034).jpg|thumb|[[Aerial Lift Bridge|Aerial Bridge]] ca. 1920, as a [[ferry bridge]] before conversion to a [[vertical-lift bridge]]]]
The [[Aerial Lift Bridge]] (earlier known as the "Aerial Bridge" or "Aerial Ferry Bridge") was built in 1905 and was known at that time as the United States' first [[transporter bridge]]. Only one other like it was ever constructed in the country.<ref>{{Cite web |title=shorpy.com, Photo of original bridge showing gondola |url=http://www.shorpy.com/node/4348 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170719112205/http://www.shorpy.com/node/4348 |archive-date=July 19, 2017 |access-date=July 20, 2017}}</ref> In 1929–30, the span was converted to a vertical-lift bridge, which was also rather uncommon. The bridge was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1973.

In 1916, after Europe entered [[World War I]], a shipyard was constructed on the St. Louis River. A new workers' neighborhood, today known as Riverside, developed around the large operation. Similar industrial expansions took place during [[World War II]] as Duluth's large harbor and the area's vast natural resources were put to work for the war effort. Tankers and [[submarine chasers]] (usually called "sub-chasers") were built at the Riverside shipyard. Duluth's population continued to grow in the postwar decade and a half, peaking at 107,884 in 1960.

====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>