Duluth Armory to Depot

May flowers may be a little late this year with snow showers of April but Spring looks like it’s taking root now (finally!). Time to get out and view two of Duluth’s most classic architectural gems; that militarily relate to one another, yet they are fifteen city blocks from one another.

Whether it was to report for duty or return from assignments the soldiers marched between these two buildings down Superior St., the common artery between the two points.

From The Armory:

The Duluth Armory was built in 1915 to replace the aging and inadequate sized Armory building of the day. It housed the National Guard and Naval Militia. In the bowels of the building there was a drill area, rifle range, and dirt pits in order to train for land-based combat.

Even when completed, it was undersized and thus expanded in 1941. From the beginning the National Guard also rented out the drill hall as an events venue which included Albert Woolson’s funeral in 1956. Albert Woolson was the last surviving Veteran of the Civil War.

National Guard troops drilling at their headquarters at the Duluth Armory. Courtesy of the Armory Arts & Music Center, Duluth, MN

The Duluth Armory was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. Units such as the 3rd Minnesota Infantry, Company B 205th Infantry Regiment, Minnesota 151st Field Artillery, the Company B Marines and the Naval Reservists all mustered, drilled and trained at the Armory.

When called up by either the governor of the state or president of the United States, the soldiers and sailors would eventually have to transport to other locations and that starting point was the Depot. But to get there, 15 blocks away, they had to march.

Marching down Superior Street

After the drill training, and prior to deployment, the military units housed in the Armory would muster and then march down Superior St. This was a sign of strength and solidarity with the public. The Veterans today still honor their predecessors with traditions like Memorial Day’s parades and Veterans Day marches.

“B” Company Marines being assigned to combat in the Korean War. From the collections of the St. Louis County Historical Society, Duluth, MN

Superior Street has always been the focal point for Duluth’s civic activities such as parades, social congregations, and military troo movements. It’s been a long tradition for Military marches that were treated as public send-offs with businessmen, residents, family and friends gathering along the route cheering.

Whether it was the 14 Minnesota Infantry, the 125th Field Artillery, the “B” Company Marines (pictured) or the 148th Fighter Wing and its derivatives amongst others, they all marched from the Duluth Armory to the Union Depot. to board the primary mode of transport of the day which was by train.

To The Union Depot:

The Union Depot was built in 1892 and is on the National Register of Historic Places just as the Armory. Passing through its doors were Veterans being deployed to the nation’s conflicts as early as the Spanish-American War. Down the marble steps to board trains that would take them on the next adventure of their young lives.

The Union Depot in Duluth; now known as St. Louis County Depot. Sketch by P. C. Sanford

So, it didn’t matter what war, branch of service or era, our fighting men and women in uniform marched from the Armory to the Depot in almost every conflict of the 20th Century and in the late 19th Century. In a bit of irony, on the Depot grounds stands the statue of Albert Woolson and the Armory is where his funeral took place in 1956.

The Veterans Memorial Hall mission continues to be to Collect, Preserve and Disseminate that history of those Veterans of northeastern Minnesota. That history is currently housed at the same Duluth Union Depot, now known as the St. Louis County Depot. The Veterans Memorial Hall and administrative office is just outside of the Great Hall where all the marching troops once passed.

For more information about any of our Veterans of northeastern Minnesota, go to www.vets-hall.org to read some of their stories. If there is any interest in volunteering to write any of the 21k+ Veterans stories yet to be recorded, take some time during the cold Spring months, or anytime, and reach out to the Veterans Memorial Hall.

-Jay Hagen, Veterans Memorial Hall Program Manager