Jun 28, 201106:39 PMThe Bucket List
The Bucket List: The Depot
Bailey Leveille
The Duluth Depot is a part of the arts and culture scene. It also has special programs which involve history and education.
Also known as the St. Louis County Heritage and Arts Center, the Duluth Depot is the center for a body of programs, education, history, and the arts. The body is made up of several parts. The flamboyant hair of the angular roof is accessorized by rounded steeples. The mouth is very wide, sporting several doors that lead into a very clean and healthy atmosphere. The Depot is very tall—four levels of rooms for exhibits, displays, and a theatre. All in all, the Depot is a body fit to maintain the arts and history of the Duluth region.
The Depot has one arm in the Duluth Playhouse which can be found to the right of the main entrance. I cannot speak enough about the worthwhile programs, events, and performances that the Playhouse hosts for performers of all ages. Their musicals are exceptional, their plays wrought with intricate plots and emotional appeal, and their child actors awing in their talent, skill, and the courage it takes to act and sing on-stage. This is one limb you must be sure to shake hands with.
The other arm extends into the exhibitions and displays of the St. Louis County’s Historical Society. This includes student exhibits (of which I’ve seen and highly recommend when they appear), displays of artifacts from Minnesota and specifically St. Louis County, and lastly the Veteran’s Memorial Hall. The VMH seeks to collect, preserve, and tell the stories of veterans and their families. This arm is tattooed with history and education.
The Depot’s feet are strapped into roller skates: the Lake Superior Railroad Museum and the North Shore Scenic Railroad. As one foot, the museum has hands-on exhibits with a 1970s locomotive simulator. They also have a collection of maps, photos, and information on the history of the railroad in Minnesota. The working railroad, the other foot, is a great way to see the Northland in the summer. Several trains a day travel through Duluth, Canal Park, the Lake Superior Shore, and through the woods all the way to Two Harbors. They also do themed trips like the Murder Mystery Train or for special events like Grandma’s Marathon.
Now I shouldn’t forget the artful face of the Depot: the Duluth Art Institute. Educational art programs like studio classes and workshops are frequently applied. The DAI is a resource to artists for it provides an equipped studio for learning, creating, and renting.
As you can see, the Duluth Depot is a well-muscled body. Its heart and soul is in the history of the region and its people, the arts of performing and creating, and the education of it all. The Depot even has its fingers in the Minnesota Ballet, the Duluth Children’s Museum, the Matinee Musicale, and a vocal ensemble called the Arrowhead Chorale. Take a trip down Michigan Street to see this amazing body of Duluth culture! It’ll be worth the excursion, whatever your interest!
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