Tim Meyer is a Duluth architect and community builder. Reach him at tim.meyer@meyergroupduluth.com
During my City Council run in the 2024 cycle, one glaring need in Lakeside and Lester Park appeared to be the need for a Lake Side / Lester Park Chamber of Commerce.
With over forty (40) businesses located in Lakeside and Lester Park, there is a great need for a more organized, energized business organization promoting business in Eastern Duluth. We even made movements toward organizing an “Eastern Duluth Chamber of Commerce.”
The idea had some momentum when some initial Meetings were held at Lake Superior Brewing and Lester Park Community Center. What I learned in campaigning about the neighborhood was the District had been even more organized in the past.
I also had my first experience that year at the Lester Park Rendezvous, a magnificent event that for some reason I had never attended. It had an enormous number of vendors selling food, beer, art, crafts, informational booths, political organizations and was just an overall great event for the neighborhood. It occurred to me; it could be even better and become a real catalyst for the business community and Lakeside / Lester Park Business District.
Around the same time, I had just been in the Spirit Valley Days Parade and learned that Lakeside and Lester Park had its own parade version and felt that “Hey! We can do the same thing in our neighborhood!” and tie it to the rendezvous and have a weekend all our own to celebrate our community of Lakeside / Lester Park and I would include Woodland, Hunter’s Park, and Morely Heights.
In fact, a magnificent event for greater Duluth. I was told there had been a Kids Parade at Lakeside sponsored by the great people at Marshall Hardware, and we all know there are nowhere near enough activities involving our children.
Lake Superior Brewing is our Community Center and “Living Room” in Lakeside and Seth & Sarah Maxim have made a wonderful addition to our neighborhood and were incredibly supportive of the Chamber concept and a more organized business organization in Lakeside and Lester Park. We are incredibly lucky to have them and especially Sarah’s baking. I confess to an addiction to her fresh French bread and Seth’s Hazy IPA. My son even asks to have Sarah’s French fries after school, allowing Dad a Hazy IPA while we eat fries and wait for pizza to take home. What a wonderful place and something to build in our neighborhood.
I cannot help but see that this became possible with the passing of allowing Liquor Licensing in Lakeside / Lester Park. Long a family oriented “dry” neighborhood in Duluth. It is still a great family neighborhood.
It also allowed Lakeside Liquor to come to fruition. I will never forget the fact of my first months in 1991 when friends came to visit me and the shocking moment that indicated there was no liquor store in Lakeside and I would need to drive several miles to find one. I still get teased about joining a “dry” neighborhood. I do applaud the efforts to keep Lakeside a “Family Neighborhood” and it still is and with alcohol retail as a permissible use, has made for an even better Lakeside, in fact I would challenge other business with it.
I still have a vision for an expanded Rendezvous weekend, one that adds our own Eastern Duluth parade, an Outdoor Music Festival to be held in the park or a generous business owner’s parking lot. Bring back the Kids Parade and a 5K or 10K race that could build on the traditions of the Marathon, and something focused on our neighborhood.
I think we can expand on the already great Lester River Rendezvous as our own contribution to Duluth’s unique neighborhoods and provide another special weekend for those visiting Duluth. Run the steam trains between the Depot and Lakeside and give families an exciting way to come out to Lakeside and Lester Park and enjoy and expand Rendezvous.
Maybe the Canal Park Trolley adds a loop into Lakeside and Lester Park, to make it an event shared with our Canal Park Visitors.
In the Winter, how about snowmobiles? I am told Duluth through the 1970’s once embraced snowmobile traffic from the state trails and could once more be brought into the community to visit the Superior Street businesses, down even into Canal Park. Maybe we will do our own mini-Bentleyville Lighting display at Lakeside and Lester Park.
The thing about my experience in trying to set up an even more active business organization in our neighborhood was that a lot of business owners are just plain busy. But a few hours here and there, could help us build a Festival that is already really great in our neighborhood and in the tradition of Spirit Valley Days, add a new, true Duluth tradition, that can be enjoyed by residents and visitors to Duluth alike. It can be even better!
The point being, Lakeside and Lester Park areas are a special neighborhood in Duluth, and I think it can be even greater, if we work together, find our community spirit and pride again and show it off to the region.
Duluth is a special place.
