St. Margaret Mary Church (demolished)

Formerly 1467 88th Avenue West, Duluth, MN 55808

Worship

About St. Margaret Mary Church (demolished)

This record exists for the historical record only. St. Margaret Mary is gone: the parish closed in October 2015 and the building was subsequently demolished.

It was the Catholic parish of the Morgan Park company town, built in 1917 in a Spanish style at 1467 88th Avenue West, four years after the steel plant began production. Along with United Protestant Church, it was one of the two religious institutions US Steel's plan provided for the community.

The Diocese of Duluth closed it amid a shortage of priests combined with a diminishing congregation and resources, a pattern that has closed neighborhood parishes across the diocese over recent decades. St. Peter's on Observation Hill, closed in 2010, is the other prominent Duluth example, though that building still stands while this one does not.

For anyone reading a Morgan Park listing that mentions the church, or looking at older photographs of the town, this is what happened to it. Its loss is part of why United Protestant is now the only surviving church from the original company-town plan.

Closed. This is a landmark rather than somewhere you can visit or attend. It is listed because it still shapes the neighborhood around it.
Nearby

Neighborhoods it serves

Morgan Park
Duluth · Far West

The concrete company town US Steel built, and the neighborhood that outlived the mill.

 Gary-New Duluth
Duluth · Far West

Two company-era river towns that people now treat as one, and the service center for the far west end.
Sources

Where these facts come from

Last reviewed 2026-08-13 by Guide editorial.