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Duluth Amphitheater
In the 1920's the USAHA was the strongest league in all of
hockey with the exception of the major leagues. To
accommodate the larger crowds attending games at the
nearby Curling Club Arena, the large Amphitheater was
erected in 1924 at 12th Avenue East and Superior Street in
Duluth with artificial ice. The Amphitheater was one two
such buildings in the state to be built with artificial ice with
the second being the Minneapolis Arena. The
Minneapolis Arena, with a seating capacity of 5,500,
and the Duluth Amphitheater, accommodating 4,000 fans,
created reliable ice conditions and additional comfort for
the fans. Crowds of 4,000+ were once commonplace at
the once mighty Duluth Hornets hockey games where the
Amphitheater served as the Hornets home ice. Some of the Hornets games still continued to be played within the smaller confines of the Duluth Curling Club when ticket sales were lower. The Amphitheater was also the location where the Duluth State Teachers College (Now UMD Bulldogs) started their history laden program. In the Pedagogues first game things got off to a rough start when their opponent, Duluth
Central High School, beat DSTC by a 3-0 score at the old Duluth Amphitheater, enroute to a winless 0-3 inaugural season campaign under Coach Frank Kovach in 1930. The Ped's used the Amphitheater as their home rink from 1930-1932 when the college dropped the sport until
reestablishing it for the 1946-1947 season. On February 12, 1939
during a Fire-Policeman benefit game, in front of 4,000 fans the
roof of the Amphitheater collapsed from the weight of snow.
Fortunately all of the fans escaped serious injury after first being
warned of "crackling noises" coming from the roof. The fall of the
Amphitheater roof later led to the buildings demise and was later
"partially demolished". Professional hockey left Duluth during the
winter if 1933 when the Duluth Hornets franchise moved to Wichita
to become the Wichita Blue Jays. With the exception of the
1933-1934 season when Duluth placed a team in the Central
Hockey League, professional hockey in Duluth had ended
forever. The demise of the Amphitheater placed temporary
skids on Duluth Hockey until 1953 when artificial ice was
installed in the Curling Club Arena.
Upon my visit to Duluth for research I conducted an informal
sit-down interview with "older/current" Duluth Curling members.
I was told, "following the buildings roof that collapsed the
Amphitheaters steel structure was recycled and scrapped for the
war efforts". "Reports of the time indicated the roof came
crashing down- which was not true- but that the roof merely
caved-in or buckled-in following the crackling sounds that were
heard by spectators within the arena." "The only remnants
remaining of the old building are the far eastern/south side
walls of the Plaza shopping center" (located at 13th Ave. E & Superior Street), "which in the "lower part" under the grocery store houses a tele-services company, and in the "upper-part" a Super
One grocery store, of which is one of the existing exterior walls of the Amphitheater structure". Across the street from the current Plaza Mall is the aging 1915 built Duluth Armory whose aging bricks and cracked windows still stand as a testament to the old neighborhood which once was that included this 1924 built Amphitheater.
**Special thanks to current Duluth Curling Club members for information on the old Duluth Amphitheater
Duluth Amphitheater in foreground with existing Duluth Armory in background**
Plaza Shopping Center-location of Amphitheater with existing Amphitheater wall in-tact today
Duluth Hornets 1924-1925 game program
