Blog: Page Updates and Communication

New Article: Westgate Boulevard, Duluth

I have just added another article to the U.S. 61 Project on Westgate Boulevard in Duluth. This was one of my favorite old alignments of U.S. 61 to visit, due to an unexpected marker dedicating its construction in 1924, plus the great views of Duluth Harbor and the pleasant walk through the woods it provided after a long drive. Click the photo below to check it out!

westgate-02

Some new articles and photos for Christmas (a little late)

In the past week I have added several articles on old alignments of U.S. 61 between the Twin Cities and Duluth, all visited and photographed on two road trips I took in October and November. I have also done some updating of the U.S. 61 section, adding Google Maps API functionality to enable the display of a map showing every historic alignment of U.S. 61 in Minnesota. I have also added a downloadable KMZ file of the alignment map for Google Earth!

The new articles (from north to south):
Service Drive at Maki Road, Thompson Township
Old 61 Between Scanlon and Carlton
Market Street, Mahtowa
Rail Crossing Between Barnum and Mahtowa
Old Hwy 61 North of Barnum
Moose Lake Service Drive
Old Alignment South of Hinckley
Old Alignment at Rock Creek
North Service Drive at Rush City
Alger Avenue, Rush City
South Service Drive at Rush City
Frontage Avenue, Stacy

New Images Galore!

Several new images have been added to the U.S. 61 Project, including:

New historic postcards!

Click the image to see the Historic U.S. 61 postcards page!
Click the image to see the Historic U.S. 61 postcards page!

Four new galleries of photos along modern U.S. 61!

At I-494 in Newport - Click to See Gallery!
At I-494 in Newport - Click to See Gallery!
U.S. 61 in Lake City. Click image to see the gallery!
U.S. 61 in Lake City. Click image to see the gallery!
New junction with Highway 16 in La Crescent - Click image to see the gallery!
New junction with Highway 16 in La Crescent - Click image to see the gallery!
U.S. 61 in the North Metro - click the image to see the gallery!
U.S. 61 in the North Metro - click the image to see the gallery!

New Historic U.S. 61 Article: 1st Street, Forest Lake

Another new article at the U.S. 61 project! All visible historic alignments of U.S. 61 along its modern extent in Minnesota are now documented and photographed. Next project? Articles on the historic junctions and roadside structures along the same stretch! Photos have thankfully already been taken for this section, so it shouldn’t take to long to start posting them – stay tuned!

Click on the photo below to see the new article!

1st Street, Forest Lake
1st Street, Forest Lake

New Historic U.S. 61 Article: Old Alignment at Phalen-Keller Regional Park, Maplewood

Brand new article with photos, etc! I also just completed a revamp of the historic U.S. 61 articles, correcting a few design issues etc.

Click the photo to see the article!
Click the photo to see the article!

Just can’t stop….updating, updating

Work continues on the U.S. 61 project! I managed to photograph all of the historic alignments along the route between St. Paul and Wyoming last weekend. Those photos should be showing up at the U.S. 61 Project soon, along with yet more updates to the look and usability of the pages. The website has not only become an exercise in unearthing history, but also in learning the ins and outs of web design for me.

In more material news, I recently picked up a postcard via ebay showing what U.S. 61 used to look like before it was paved south of Winona near King and Queen’s Bluff.
The post card shows the road as gravel, so it for sure dates from before 1927.

kingsbluffpostcard

And here’s what nearly the same location looks like today.

us61photowinonas_oct07-27

Also, the 2009-10 official highway maps are now available at the various rest areas across the state…or you could pick one up at the state fair.