Prior to 1870, the twin ports harbor was mainly limited to Superior. At that time, only shallow draft boats could enter at Superior and travel to the landings in Duluth. Duluth investors funded cutting a canal across Minnesota Point in 1871 to allow ships to have direct access to the Duluth Harbor. Superior opposed losing their harbor monopoly and went to court to stop Duluth from creating a harbor entrance. Superior was granted an injunction to stop the project, but before the injunction could be served, the investors rounded up a large group of men and finished digging the canal over a weekend. This canal is known as the Duluth Ship Canal.

The new canal left Minnesota Point residents without land access to the mainland. A crude suspension bridge was placed across the canal in winters in the 1870s, but that did not solve the problem year around. To address the problem, a bridge was built in 1904 and 1905. The bridge was a very unusual type called an Aerial Transfer Bridge. It features a shuttle car that crosses the canal. The shuttle car could hold cars, buggies, horses, street cars, and up to 350 people. It took a minute to make the crossing, and the shuttle crossed every five minutes. The shuttle itself hung down from the huge upper truss structure via cables. That explains why this lift bridge has that huge upper truss, something that is not found on many other lift bridges.

While the transfer bridge was successful, it did not handle automobile traffic very well. The delays grew to the point where something had to be done. In the years 1929 and 1930, the shuttle was removed, the bridge was raised higher (to accommodate newer taller ships), and a lift span was installed. When in the down position, the lift span could carry vastly more automobiles per hour.

The Aerial Lift Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Over the winter of 1999 and 2000, the Aerial Lift Bridge was given a major overhaul. This included replacing much of the deck, replacing the cables, and repainting the structure.

As an aside, the land that was used for the Duluth Ship Canal was owned by Wilhelm Boeing. He moved from Duluth to Seattle, where his son William founded the famous aircraft company.

The photo above is a view of the Aerial Lift Bridge as seen from the southwest corner of the Duluth Ship Canal. The photo below is a close view of the movable truss span. The structure in the middle of the truss span houses the bridge operator. The white structure on top of the truss houses a radar and weather station.

These two photos are the first of a four photo set showing a typical bridge crossing heading south on Lake Street towards Minnesota Point. In the photo above, we are a block from the bridge. In the photo below, we are approaching the north tower of the bridge. The line of automobiles was backed up waiting for the bridge to reopen after a lift cycle.

These two photos are the final two photos of a four photo set showing a typical crossing of the Aerial Lift Bridge. In the photo above, we have just entered the north end of the bridge deck. In the photo below, we are nearing the south end of the bridge deck. The small incline that raises the deck above the street level allows us a good view of the line of cars in front of my vehicle, all of which were backed up waiting for the bridge to cycle prior to being able to cross the structure.

The photo above is looking north across the ship canal from directly under the lift span. The open steel deck and metal truss structure results in an interesting pattern of light. The photo below is looking east down the ship canal towards Lake Superior.

The photo above is a view of the southwest bridge abutment. A mechanical room is located under the bridge deck. The stairway on the left side of the entrance doors leads to the walkway to the bridge operator house on the lift span. The photo below is a view of the eastern section of the Duluth Harbor and the Aerial Lift Bridge as seen from high over the city on the bluffs above West Duluth.