The Making of Neighborhood Identities in Duluth, MN

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Co-sponsored by Rethos: Places Reimaged and the Duluth Preservation Alliance

In this 2 hour class, we will explore the "making" of neighborhood identities in Duluth after the 1854 treaty. Join our discussion  as Professor Jennifer Webb guides us through the history and the layers of some of Duluth's oldest neighborhoods. In this section we will explore how the neighborhoods of western Duluth - from Lincoln Park to Fond du Lac - became the places we recognize today. Dr. Webb will show us how the river and the landscape helped to define urban “space” in Duluth, but also how people made those spaces into “places” with particular identities.

Together we will look at Art Fleming's twenty-one architectural portraits of local industries which still hang in the Kom-on-Inn bar in West Duluth.  At the time that they were painted in the early 1950s, these portraits of place were already tinged with a nostalgia for a lost past that lingers today. These paintings invite us to look beyond the surface to really tell the stories of our "places." As we look to these places with history, community, and identity in mind, we can talk together about neighborhood disadvantage, exclusionary practices, and inequality.

Rethos: Places Reimagined is a nonprofit organization that leads and inspires people to connect to valued places in their communities. Whether it’s an old home or storefront on the corner, a rural community’s old high school, or an urban neighborhood’s long-retired factory, Rethos works to preserve and protect the bond felt by community members toward these  places and the distinct characteristics they display. Our community partner, the Duluth Preservation Alliance, is a nonprofit, volunteer organization which advocates for the preservation of Duluth's historic  architecture.

The Rethos education program is funded in part by the State of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society.

Refund and cancellation policy: No refunds or credits will be granted for non-attendance. Refunds are provided up to seven days prior to the class. Please email natalie@rethos.org if you wish to cancel your registration and would like a refund. Rethos will refund the cost of the class within 7 days of your cancellation.