We Meet at Noon on Thursday

August 19, 2021

Plated Meal Served

(Zoom Meeting Opens at 11:45)

Gordon Ringberg

Executive Director, Lake Superior Tall Ships, Inc.

 

In 2014 a mad rush was made to establish a non-profit corporation to accept the gift of a sixty-foot schooner.  The vision for a tall ship on Lake Superior had been percolating for years, and with the help of a small group, Lake Superior Tall Ships was launched.  This is the story of how Lake Superior got its Tall Ship

 

By Rob Hofmann

 

What a mix of vision, tenacity, diligence and hard work can accomplish was celebrated on a beautiful August evening on the Duluth Waterfront. Rotary Club of Duluth held its weekly meeting a bit later in the day. We joined Past President Sandy Hoff at his waterfront hotel and restaurant development Pier B Resort Hotel and the restaurant Silos for a celebration of five years of successful operations. Many Club #25 Rotarians will well remember the site just a few years ago… a throwback to another age, an abandoned industrial site seen as a blemish on Duluth’s otherwise magnificent waterfront. 

 

Mike Orman with host Sandy Hoff

 

However, a bit more than 10 years ago, Past President Sandy Hoff along with development partner and former Club #25 member Alex Giuliani saw great potential.  As Past President Sandy Hoff recalled for the Duluthian Magazine in 2010:

 

 

During the late 1800’s the Duluth Harbor shoreline started approximately where Superior Street is today. The now developed waterfront was comprised of floating bogs and wetlands.  Transformation of the harbor shoreline commenced as a result of the rapid expansion of the mining and timber industries on the Iron Range. Around 1883 construction of a train trestle occurred which connected Rice’s Point on the west to Canal Park on the east. The trestle formed what is now the approximate location of the developed waterfront. Construction of Pier B occurred in 1890 by Kelley Island Lime and Transport Company to facilitate the storage of limestone shipped by steamer from their mine on Kelley’s Island on Lake Erie, 585 miles to the southeast. Pier B comprised 7.4 acres with 2,100 feet of pier facing.  By 1892, no less than 10 piers had been constructed along the harbor front to facilitate the rapidly growing mining and timber industries.  These piers are now the location for the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center, Great Lakes Aquarium, Bayfront Festival Park and Pier B Resort.

 

By 1920 Huron Portland Cement Company had constructed four adjoining silos to facilitate the storage of powdered cement, a key ingredient for making concrete. The silos acted as a giant vacuum cleaner as they sucked the powdered cement from the ships into the four, 45’ diameter silos.  The black ‘vacuum hoses” can still be seen on the west side of the silo. Attached to the east side of the silos was the “Bag House” a facility that distributed the powdered cement into bags for transportation. Bagging facilities were moved to a new 10,000 square foot warehouse in the 1970’s and the former baghouse was utilized to load trains and trucks for bulk distribution.

 

Lafarge Cement Company operated the facility until approximately 2008, when they consolidated operations to a facility in Superior Wisconsin. Recognizing the tremendous development potential, local developers Past President Sanford Hoff and Alessandro Giuliani assembled a group of local investors and acquired the site. From the start, Giuliani and Hoff were dedicated to saving the historic 100 year old silos to preserve the rich heritage of the site. While the silos will not be used during the initial development, they hold significant opportunity for future expansion.  Pier B Resort contains 140 rooms, a 250 seat banquet center, Silos Restaurant, a transient marina, a boat ramp, and numerous outside gathering areas.

 

      

The Events “Squad”

President Elect Barb Perrella, President Chana Stocke and Mary Niemeyer

 

 Past District Governor Earl Rogers is greeted by Jeff Fifield

 

 

 

 

Rotarians enjoying fellowship and food