St. Peter's Church (closed)
818 West 3rd Street, Duluth, MN 55806
About St. Peter's Church (closed)
St. Peter's is included here as a landmark rather than as a place to attend, because it is closed. The Diocese of Duluth shuttered it in late 2010 when a dwindling congregation could no longer keep pace with basic maintenance costs (Duluth News Tribune, accessed 2026-08-13).
The building matters to the west side's history. It went up in 1926, built largely with volunteer labor from local stonemasons, to serve the community then living in what is now the Observation Hill area above Lincoln Park. It is one of the clearest surviving markers of the immigrant settlement that built this part of Duluth.
Its recent story is a preservation fight the neighborhood lost. A proposal to declare the shuttered church a local landmark, which would have protected it from demolition, was rejected by the Duluth City Council, and the property was subsequently listed for sale at $150,000. St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish has owned the property.
Architecture: Built in 1926 largely with volunteer labor from local stonemasons, for the community then living in what is now the Observation Hill area.
Neighborhoods it serves
The West End that became the Craft District, and still costs half the city median.
Central HillsideThe steepest, densest, cheapest walk to work in Duluth, with the best cheap view in the city.
Downtown DuluthDuluth's civic core: three miles of skywalk, and a housing market made almost entirely of converted upper floors.
Where these facts come from
- Duluth News Tribune coverage of the St. Peter's Church landmark designation debate and sale accessed 2026-08-13
Last reviewed 2026-08-13 by Guide editorial.