108 Business View Magazine - October 2016
Then there was steel and cement. The Duluth Works,
established in 1915, was an industrial steel and ce-
ment manufacturing complex operated by the United
States Steel Corporation. When first founded, it was
one of the most modern steelworks in the world. For
half a century its workers turned out nails, wires,
wrenches, and automotive tools that were exported
around the globe. With all the jobs available, Duluth’s
population peaked at 106,000 in 1960 - another ze-
nith. And then the decline began.
US Steel closed its Duluth Works plant in 1981 – about
the same time the iron ore was running out and the
economics of steel production were proving untenable
due to lackluster demand and foreign competition. The
steel plant’s closing forced the shuttering of the ce-
ment company, which depended on the steel plant for
its slag - the stony waste matter separated from met-
als during the smelting or refining of ore that, when
added to mortar, improves its strength and durability.
More closures followed in other industries, including
shipbuilding, and heavy machinery. By the decade’s
end, the unemployment rate hit 15 percent.
With the decline of the city’s industrial core, the local
economic focus shifted to tourism. The downtown area
was renovated with new, red-brick streets, skywalks,
and new retail shops. Old warehouses along the wa-
terfront were converted into cafés, shops, restaurants,
and hotels. The city’s population, which had been ex-
periencing a steady decline since 1960, stabilized at
around 85,000.
By the beginning of the 21st century, Duluth had, once
again, put itself on a path to yet another zenith. That
certainly is the view of Heather Rand, the city’s Direc-
tor of Business and Economic Development. “We are
a regional hub for medical, retail, higher education,
