Lester Park, Duluth, MN

The name Lester Park might be a bit confusing for someone who has not been to Duluth, Minnesota. Lester Park is not the name of a park; instead, it is the name of a neighborhood in the city. The neighborhood contains London Road, Superior Street and Glenwood Street for its main routes.

One reason someone might wish to visit Lester Park is for its festival. Each year since 1998 there has been a festival in the streets of Lester Park. It is called the Lester River Rendezvous, which takes place in September. Many people from Minnesota and outside of the state will come to the festival. It provides a neighborhood feeling and a community togetherness that some festivals lack.

The event is sponsored by Lakeside- Lester Park Business Association and Duluth Parks and Recreation Department. Each fall there are always foods, entertainment, and crafts for people to purchase and have fun. Inside the neighborhood is a park, also called Lester Park. It is a small children's park, with more fields and trees than any trails or hardcore outdoor activities.

One of the more special parts of the festival is the Voyageur Village. When people go into the village they are enacting a day in the life of voyageurs who arrived in the 18th century. Many local residents dress up in costumes from the fur trading era. They also demonstrate outdoor cooking techniques and tell stories of historic times. Games for the children and pony rides are offered by the Duluth Children's Museum. The park has a stage where most performers will be, but some will stand at the entrance or stroll around the park.

Within Lester Park neighborhood are historical places to visit. Along Lester River is Lester River Bridge. The bridge is numbered 5772. It has made the list of the National Register of Historic Places. Also in the neighborhood is the United States Fisheries Station. The station was built in 1882 at the mouth of the river. Currently the fishery is owned by the University of Minnesota Duluth. It also houses the Great Lakes Aquarium administration offices, though this is a temporary situation. The complex has a hatchery, bunk room, boat house, pump house, and supervisor cabin on the south side of Congdon Boulevard. The superintendent's place is on the north side of the same street.

Visitors to Lester Park during the festival will want to check out these two historical places as well as some of the neighborhoods around Lester Park. Morley Heights, Congdon Park, North Shore, and Lakewood Township are also historical neighborhoods with numerous houses that date back to the early history of the city.

There is a self walking tour visitors can take of Lester Park and Lakeside. For example the park in which the festival is held was known as Stearns Park. There is a footbridge that allows visitors to enter the park. The bridge was built in 1897 and makes quite a photo. There is also Seven Bridges Road which is a stone bridge built in 1912. It replaced a few of the wooden bridges.