Historic north endpoints of US highway 61

It used to be that US 61 continued north from Wyoming (along present-day state highways and county roads) through Duluth, and then along the scenic North Shore of Lake Superior, all the way to the Canada border. Originally US 61 followed what is now Road 17 to Mineral Center, then modern Road 89 to Pigeon River. Monte sent some old postcards showing this location. This first one was taken sometime around 1925:

Based on the signs shown there, I would've guessed that was looking south into the US, but Monte has discussed it with Steve Riner, and they're quite certain this was looking north into Canada. At any rate, it does a good job of showing how the border crossing looked back when the US route system was young.

This next one is also looking north. It's undated, but Carl Moore informs me the car appears to be a mid-1950's model:

Below is a card showing that old bridge in profile:

That's looking downstream, so the north beginning of US 61 was to the right. Sometime in the 1960's, US 61 was re-routed such that it went through Grand Portage to a new port of entry about 4 miles northeast of there (in other words, the same route as modern MN hwy. 61). The postcard below is probably from around 1970:

That's looking south into the US, at the former north beginning of US 61. Monte says the view hasn't changed much, except that the building on the right is gone now. The National Park Service map for Grand Portage National Monument does a good job of showing both former segments of US 61:

Notice the route of "Old US 61" (along the left side). It's not shown going all the way to the border because, I'm told, it's now a private road at that point. More photos can be viewed on this page. Of course, MN hwy. 61 could also be labeled "old US 61".

For more info about US 61 and photos of its current endpoints, please view my main US 61 page.