Saint Louis River (Lake Superior tributary)

The John A. Blatnik Bridge is the bridge that carries Interstate 535 (I-535) and U.S. Highway 53 (US 53) over the Saint Louis River, a tributary of Lake Superior, between Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin. The bridge is 7,975 feet (2,431 m) long and rises up nearly 120 feet (37 m) above the water to accommodate the seaway shipping channel. It was dedicated on December 2, 1961, but was renamed for Congressman John Blatnik on September 24, 1971, to commemorate Blatnik's role in making the bridge a reality. The Blatnik Bridge replaced a swinging toll bridge around the same location that carried both automobile and rail traffic. The bridge was widened and the substructure was strengthened between 1992 and 1993 to accommodate hard shoulders. The Blatnik Bridge was reduced to two lanes temporarily in 2008, after it was discovered in a bridge inspection that the 1990s upgrades to the Blatnik Bridge had added weight beyond the load limit for gusset plates in eight different locations. This was similar to the gusset plates that caused the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis to collapse on August 1, 2007. The Blatnik Bridge was reduced to two lanes temporarily until the gusset plates could be strengthened. In November 2011, both the Minnesota and Wisconsin departments of transportation installed new signs to remind drivers that trucks over 40 short tons (36 t) gross vehicle weight cannot use the Blatnik Bridge; these vehicles will be rerouted to the nearby Bong Bridge. According to the press release, permitted, overweight vehicles have been restricted from using the Blatnik Bridge since early 2008 when inspections showed that corrosion and time were starting to affect the structure. Transportation officials say that the bridge is aging and restriction of overweight vehicles will help to extend the life of the bridge. Drivers who disregard the posted weight limits will be ticketed.Almost 34,000 vehicles cross the road daily in 2017. Further detioriation of the bridge resulted in yearly inspections, rather than every two years by 2021. Major repair work was required every 4 years to keep the bridge open. President Joe Biden visited the bridge in 2022 as part of a tour to boost the infrastructure bill signed the previous year. It was the first visit by a president to Duluth in almost 100 years. The cost to replace the bridge is roughly estimated to cost $1.8 billion with construction beginning as soon as 2026. Construction would last 5-6 years. The bridge currently empties to Hammond Ave in Superior but proposals for replacement would connect the bridge directly to US 53. The Blatnik bridge would remain opeartion during construction with the new bridge built to the north or south of the existing bridge.The Blatnik Bridge is one of two connecting Duluth and Superior, the other being the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge, a tied-arch bridge upriver from the Blatnik Bridge. The Bong Bridge carries U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) over the St. Louis Bay. President Joe Biden cited the bridge several times during his visit to Superior in March 2022 to tout his infrastructure plan, describing it as a "critical benefit" of the infrastructure law.

The Duluth MN-WI Metropolitan Area, commonly called the Twin Ports, is a small metropolitan area centered around the cities of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin. The Twin Ports are located at the western part of Lake Superior (the westernmost part of North America's Great Lakes) and together are considered one of the larger cargo ports in the United States. The Twin Ports are close to many natural attractions such as the North Shore, the Apostle Islands, and the Superior National Forest. The census bureau's Twin Ports metropolitan statistical area includes all of Wisconsin's Douglas County, and Minnesota's Carlton, Lake, and Saint Louis counties. With a 2020 census population of 291,638, the Duluth MSA ranked as the 170th largest metropolitan area in the United States. A tourist location that boasts many scenic natural amenities, approximately 6.7 million on average tourists visit The City of Duluth alone each year. The area is home to two long bridges: the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge (carrying U.S. Highway 2) and the John Blatnik Bridge (carrying I-535 and U.S. Highway 53). Each bridge reaches across more than 1.5 miles (2.5 km) across the mouth of the Saint Louis River. The Aerial Lift Bridge was constructed in 1905 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It must be raised each time a vessel enters or leaves Duluth's harbor; the inlet on the Wisconsin side is not similarly obstructed. Together, the cities rank as the 19th-busiest port in the country overall (44.2 million short tons [40.1 million tonnes] per year) as of 2002, though the area is the 7th-busiest port (13.8 million short tons [12.5 million tonnes] per year) when measured on foreign exports alone.

SS Edward L. Ryerson is a steel-hulled American Great Lakes freighter that entered service in 1960. Built between April 1959 and January 1960 for the Inland Steel Company, she was the third of the thirteen so-called 730-class of lake freighters, each of which shared the unofficial title of "Queen of the Lakes" because of their record-breaking length. She was not only the last steam-powered freighter built on the lakes but also the last one that was not a self-unloader. Since 2009, she has been in long-term layup in Superior, Wisconsin. She is one of only two American-owned straight deck lake freighters, the other being John Sherwin, built in 1958.Built to transport iron ore almost exclusively, Edward L. Ryerson completed her sea trials on August 3, 1960. She then travelled to Escanaba, Michigan, where she loaded a cargo of iron ore, embarking on her maiden voyage for Indiana Harbor, Indiana, on August 4. The ship set a Great Lakes iron ore cargo haulage record that stood for three years on August 28, 1962, after loading 24,623 long tons (27,578 short tons; 25,018 t) of iron ore in Superior, Wisconsin. Because of her top speed of 19 mph (31 km/h), she received the nickname of "Fast Eddie". Enthusiasts consider Edward L. Ryerson to be one of the most aesthetically pleasing lake freighters ever built; she quickly became one of the most popular boats on the lakes, to the point that there were rumors that at the Soo Locks, she would regularly be directed through the lock closest to the shore, the MacArthur Lock, for the benefit of boat watchers. Because of a downturn in the steel industry, Edward L. Ryerson was laid up in Indiana Harbor for the 1986 and 1987 shipping seasons, returning to service in 1988. She was laid up for a second time in January 1994 in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, where she remained inactive until April 1997. In 1998, Inland Steel was acquired by the Netherlands-based Ispat International N.V. The same year, Edward L. Ryerson was renamed Str. Edward L. Ryerson. She was sold to the Indiana Harbor Steamship Company later in 1998; she entered long-term layup at the Bay Shipbuilding Company in Sturgeon Bay in December the same year, returning to the lakes in 2006. In 2009, she entered long-term layup at the Fraser Shipyard in Superior, remaining stationary as of 2022.

The Superior Shipbuilding Company was originally called the American Steel Barge Company, and based in Duluth, Minnesota. It was founded by Scottish Captain Alexander McDougall who founded it so he could produce his new whaleback ship, this was Whaleback Barge 101. In 1900 McDougall sold his firm to the American Ship Building Company which transferred the company to Superior, Wisconsin and renamed it Superior Shipbuilding Company, also called AmShip Superior. After World War I the yard stopped manufacturing ships and instead turned to repair work. They continued repairing ships until 1945 when American Ship Building Company decided to sell it. It was initially known as the Knudsen Brothers Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company. In 1955 it was renamed Fraser-Nelson Shipyards then Fraser Shipyards and still exists today. Fraser Shipyards does dry dock work, also conversions: steam to diesel and coal-fired to oil-burning. Lake Assault boat builders operate out of Fraser Shipyards.

The Berkshire Block is located in Superior, Wisconsin.

The Superior Union Depot or Superior station of Superior, Wisconsin was built in 1905, replacing a previous depot, which had burned down in 1904. It was built of Lake Superior brown sandstone and designed by Duluth architects German and Lignell. The depot primarily served the Great Northern Railway, Northern Pacific Railway and Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway. Burlington Northern (the company absorbing the Great Northern and the Northern Pacific) ran the final passenger trains (Badger and Gopher, both to Minneapolis and St. Paul) through the station. The Northern Pacific Railway ran local unnamed service to St. Paul and Minneapolis and service to Staples, Minnesota, into the latter 1960s. Passenger service ceased upon the formation of Amtrak in 1971, but resumed between Minneapolis and Superior in 1975. Wisconsin Governor Patrick Lucey spoke at the station dedication. Superior was served by the Arrowhead and later the North Star between Chicago and Duluth. Service ceased in 1984. The depot continues to exist as a business.

The Empire Block is located in Superior, Wisconsin.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Duluth Vessel Yard is a federal port facility in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. It houses the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) resources used to maintain the harbors of the Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior, Wisconsin. It was established on Minnesota Point in 1903, though most of its present configuration dates to a flurry of construction in 1941.The Duluth Vessel Yard was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 for its local significance in the themes of community planning and development, conservation, engineering, maritime history, politics/government, and transportation. It was nominated for its significant role in developing and maintaining the harbor that underpins the Twin Ports economy and for encapsulating federal involvement in local transportation infrastructure.

USCGC Sundew (WLB-404) was a 180-foot (55 m) sea going buoy tender (WLB). An Iris, or C-class tender, it was built by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Corporation in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. Sundew's preliminary design was completed by the United States Lighthouse Service and the final design was produced by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Corporation in Duluth for the U.S. Coast Guard. On 29 November 1943 the keel was laid. It was launched on 8 February 1944 and commissioned on 24 August 1944. The original cost for the hull and machinery was $861,589. Sundew is one of 39 original 180-foot (55 m) seagoing buoy tenders built between 1942-1944. All but one of the original tenders, USCGC Ironwood, were built in Duluth. Like all of these tenders, Sundew was named after a plant, in this case the sundew, a carnivorous plant from the genus Drosera. In 1958, Sundew was assigned to Charlevoix, Michigan, and the following November helped in the rescue of two survivors from the Carl D. Bradley when it sank in a storm on Lake Michigan 47 miles (76 km) west-northwest of Charlevoix. Sundew remained at Charlevoix until 1981, when she was replaced by USCGC Mesquite. Sundew was then moved to Duluth, Minnesota, where it served until it was retired in 2004. Sundew served 60 years for the Coast Guard and was decommissioned and retired on May 27, 2004. As part of the decommissioning, the vessel was given to the city of Duluth, its last home port, to be used as a museum ship. The services provided by the Sundew were taken up by USCGC Alder. Due to a drop in tourism revenue, in 2009 the city of Duluth sold Sundew to local residents, Jeff & Toni Foster, David Johnson & Mary Phillipp. The Sundew moved from its museum location in Duluth in the spring of 2010, and currently (2021) occupies a private slip near Duluth's Great Lakes Aquarium.

Bent Paddle Brewing Company is a microbrewery located in Duluth, Minnesota. In May 2013, their brewery and taproom opened to the public with distribution of kegs and cans in the Duluth area beginning shortly thereafter. In November 2013, limited distribution of cans to liquor stores in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area began. An expansion was simultaneously announced with a stated goal of expanding production from 4,500 bbl to 8,000 bbl per year. As of 2015, Bent Paddle reported 13,850 bbl produced for the year.

The Douglas County Courthouse is an historic building located at 1313 Belknap Street in Superior, Wisconsin which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.Designed by Royer and Radcliff in the Classical Revival style, it was built in 1918-1919 of Bedford limestone and brick. The building has a colossal Ionic ten-column colonnade.At the center of the interior is a three-story light court, with balconies on massive concrete, marble-faced piers.The listing includes a jail and sheriff's residence, which is a brick building with cut stone trim. It is connected by a second-story walkway to the courthouse.

The Great Lakes Aquarium opened in 2000 and is located on the Duluth waterfront. A 501(c)(3) private nonprofit, Great Lakes Aquarium features animals and habitats found within the Great Lakes basin and other freshwater ecosystems such as the Amazon River. The Aquarium houses 205 different species of fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals. It is one of few aquariums in the United States that focuses predominantly on freshwater exhibits. Many of the main exhibits at 62,000-square-foot (5,800 m2) Great Lakes Aquarium (GLA) are based upon actual habitats in the Lake Superior basin. "Slices" of the Saint Louis River, Baptism River, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Kakagon Slough, Isle Royale and Otter Cove can all be viewed up close.