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Rating: 
Summary: A Story Well Told...
Review: Sheldon T. Aubut and Maryanne C. Norton bring the history of Duluth, Minnesota's buildings to life in this book. "Duluth" starts with an early history of the Indian settlements of the Sioux and Ojibwe people, to Minnesota Point and the street car line serving both residents and businesses in the late 1800s.Then we tour the West Downtown business district with its two-story structures where families lived on the second floor, to the West End now known as Lincoln Park. Continuing on our journey to East Downtown discovering mainly retail with fraternal organizations and theaters built in the 1870s and 1880s to the early government buildings constructed from the 1860s to 1900s and later. Our hosts guide us through the hills, which rise from Lake Superior for a look at one of the nicest residential areas of the time. Personally, I did not know the city once had more millionaires per capita than any other city in the United States and this wealth produced many beautiful commercial buildings, homes, and bridges. We then steer towards the East End, an area filled with the period revival homes that were much in vogue. Lastly, the "Streetcar Suburbs" where it was possible to live away from the crowded downtown area and commute, and Skyline Parkway, a roadway near the top of Duluth's hills. "Duluth" is the perfect gift book for architectural aficionados and those that want to learn more about this area. The book offers a wonderful sampling of the city's significant structures and makes for enjoyable reading about its wonderful historic treasures.
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Summary: Excellent look at historical Duluth
Review: Sheldon T. Aubut and Maryanne C. Norton's 'Duluth, Minnesota' gives an inexpensive look into the history and architecture of this picturesque city. I wish it had been available before my last trip up there last year. I will definitely re-read it before my next visit. The book's easy-to-read conversational style keeps you moving through, and the photographs tell a fascinating story. Very highly recommended for anyone with an interest in this part of the country.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent look at historical Duluth
Review: Sheldon T. Aubut and Maryanne C. Norton's 'Duluth, Minnesota' gives an inexpensive look into the history and architecture of this picturesque city. I wish it had been available before my last trip up there last year. I will definitely re-read it before my next visit. The book's easy-to-read conversational style keeps you moving through, and the photographs tell a fascinating story. Very highly recommended for anyone with an interest in this part of the country.
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Summary: Handy guide book tells Duluth's story well
Review: Sheldon T. Aubut and Maryanne C. Norton�s �Duluth, Minnesota� allows readers to glimpse Duluth�s impressive past without spending $50 to $100 on a large format coffee table book
The medium format paperback, which sells for $19.95 (part of Arcadia Publishing�s Images of America series), is big enough for large, clear photos that give readers an idea of the wealth and power the late 19th century Duluth leaders enjoyed. The city is broken into several sections or neighborhoods, outlining the history of each � mainly in photo captions. The authors are able to give a solid background on city history without bogging the casual reader down and without allowing large gray blocks of text to mar the book.
The stories and photos of several people who helped build Duluth and some of the celebrities who had connections with it are interspersed with historic and a few contemporary photos. President Rutherford B. Hayes owned property there and singer Bob Dylan was born in Duluth, to name two.
The captions under the historic photos tell readers what they most want to know: what the buildings were used for, what year they were built, and what became of them. The authors give enough architectural detail to help casual readers see what a Richardsonian Romanesque or Shingle house looked like, without sending one scurrying for a dictionary of architectural terms. This is an entertaining and handy little book to have, whether someone has visited Duluth or not. For someone who IS contemplating a visit, it would be an ideal guide book. I would definitely recommend it.
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Summary: Historic photographic view of a beautiful city
Review: The quantity and quality of photos in this book amazed me. Sheldon T. Aubut and Maryanne C. Norton do an outstanding job captioning the photographs, giving plenty of interesting information, but not enough to lose one's attention. Being born and raised in Duluth, I was surprised at how little I actually knew about the city and some of the buildings I knew so well. I couldn't put the book down.... I truly was mesmerized.
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Summary: Photographic images of the Zenith City
Review: This volume in the Images of America series looks at Duluth, Minnesota the "Zenith City of the Unsalted Seas." Local historians Sheldon Aubut and Maryanne Norton have put together a collection of mostly vintage photographs (and a few etchings) showing the office buildings and grand homes that have defined Duluth for the past century and a half. For me the most fascinating photographs are not of the buildings, which stand, but for the most distinctive landmarks which have been lost. So more than the photograph of the town's first Post Office it is the shots of the Lester Park Bridge (116) and the Pavilion at the top of the Incline Railroad (82) that especially stand out. I do not think of this book as being a guide for visitors but rather as a keepsake for those already living here in the Zenith City. However, if you are interested in historical photographs then you might want to check out "Hibbing, Minnesota" and other volumes in this series.
Rating:
Summary: Photographic images of the Zenith City
Review: This volume in the Images of America series looks at Duluth, Minnesota the "Zenith City of the Unsalted Seas." Local historians Sheldon Aubut and Maryanne Norton have put together a collection of mostly vintage photographs (and a few etchings) showing the office buildings and grand homes that have defined Duluth for the past century and a half. For me the most fascinating photographs are not of the buildings, which stand, but for the most distinctive landmarks which have been lost. So more than the photograph of the town's first Post Office it is the shots of the Lester Park Bridge (116) and the Pavilion at the top of the Incline Railroad (82) that especially stand out. I do not think of this book as being a guide for visitors but rather as a keepsake for those already living here in the Zenith City. However, if you are interested in historical photographs then you might want to check out "Hibbing, Minnesota" and other volumes in this series.
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