A look back at downtown Duluth MN | 1972 | WDIO Revisited

Travel back in time to June 20th, 1972. WDIO News was with you gathering b-roll in busy downtown Duluth, Minnesota. We see Superior Street filled with classic cars, which at the time were just known as cars. And the bustling sidewalks were filled with '70s fashion. Super fly.
No need adjusting that volume knob, there is no audio track.
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WDIO-TV out of Duluth, Minnesota has an extensive archive of material dating back to when our station began in 1966. Stacks upon stacks of 16mm film and shelves upon shelves of videotape that hold everything from the biggest Northland news stories to small slice-of-life moments. Our goal is to not let these moments be lost to time. We invite you to join us as we explore Northland history.

[@randy783]

All those beautiful cars!!!

[@jayoman4453]

Busy downtown Duluth, no pan handlers on the streets. I sure missed the good old days

[@jones4150]

A side by side would be amazing. Go there often but can't really tell where these places are at. 🎉

[@ericpurdy6880]

fun to see how busy everything was...compared to now...

[@gregdelaney119]

I was 14 in 1972 and this was a pleasant look back at a simpler and much more civil time. Thank you.

[@daltong75]

Wow, thank you for posting this! I grew up in northern Wisconsin in the 70s/80s. Duluth was "the city" to us! Great stuff here!

[@frankkmett5372]

This is so awesome

[@donrobertson4611]

Duluth had a nice, gritty edge back then....

[@shawnrieschl1567]

Wow!! The cars in this video bring back some memories !!

[@judasplow25]

My childhood in moving pictures.

[@cynthiaamitrano8915]

There was still ice on Lake Superior on June 20, 1972. How do I know? I got married on June 24, 1972 and the ice blew out the night before. It was 71 degrees outside and gorgeous. In retrospect, how cool it would have been to still have ice on the lake in my wedding pictures.

[@billdinkel9234]

I was 10 years old then and loved to walk up and down the streets with parents or grandma, and occasionally take a ride on the DTA buses! Great places to eat down town then too

[@rynoceras]

These look like outtakes for a Weather Feature I shot around that time.

[@Sunny25611]

:) Yes and when cars look like boats! Great film - thanks !

[@chrispaul7595]

wow the roads looked to be in much better condition 52 years ago

[@hellmuth26]

1:10 I remember when I was a kid in the mid '90s we were parked in the parking garage of the Holiday Inn, and across the street you could actually see the imprint of where that umbrella logo for Travelers Insurance used to be! I instantly recognized it when I saw this.

[@robertronning7016]

It's all coming here today

[@Llamabotomy]

I was -18 in 1972. So I don't remember a thing! But that was still some pretty neat film footage

[@robertronning7016]

If we build it they will come

[@WAL_DC-6B]

Interesting to see how people walking about on the sidewalks were still wearing coats, sweaters, and jackets despite it being early summer.

[@northstarstatepolitics1652]

Duluth/Superior has changed a lot in even the past 10 years The 2000's were a dark time for the twin ports. Crime was high and jobs were bleeding like no tomorrow. The late 2000's and early 2010's (2009-2015) was a horrible time for Duluth/Superior. 2017 was the first year I remember Duluth starting to recover, and now the city has had lots of small buisness move in and it appears to be on the up again. Duluth has changed so much, its almost unrecognizable now in 2023 compared to the 1970's. Crazy how time flies.

[@saucejohnson9862]

Wow, no potholes. What happened to that?

[@dancostello6465]

Looks nice. How's it look these days?

[@Bryan-od7nv]

2 lanes in each direction. How I miss those days and curse the idiots that ruined it.

[@robertronning7016]

I know what you did last summer

[@deefilly22]

Muy

[@stefankaiser3354]

There was not one ugly car in the video. Today there is not one car I would want to buy, they're all terrible in my opinion. I dunno, maybe I just don't belong in these modern times... 🤷🏼