The Columbia of Duluth / Our heritage
Rooted here.
Still becoming.
A corner of Duluth. Generations of people.
A welcome carried forward.
Visit the store
303 W Superior StreetDuluth, MN 55802
Monday to Saturday: 10am to 5pm
Sunday: By Appointment
The thread through time
One corner.
Four families.
Retail clothing has been sold at this corner continuously since 1891.
- 1891
Great Eastern Clothing
Matthew S. Burrow opens Great Eastern Clothing as the first major tenant of the new five-story Romanesque building at Third Avenue West and Superior Street, where the street car turns up the hill. Iron, pressed brick, and brown sandstone.
- 1905
The Columbia name arrives
Burrow retires. William Billstein, Frank Nathan, and Felix Sigman, who ran the Columbia Clothing Company across the harbor in West Superior, buy the store and bring the Columbia name to Duluth. This is the year we count from.
- 1936
The Bradley years
After William Billstein's death, the store passes to Leonard G. Bradley, his son Davis, and Walter Soneson. They hold the corner through the Depression and the war.
- 1953
Edward Barbo Sr.
A career shoe man buys the store from the Bradley estate. Glass Block shoe department in 1919, Lester Shoe Store in 1925, Nunn-Bush fitting at McGregor and Soderstrom in 1948. The renewed footwear wall today is a return to roots, not a pivot.
- 1974
Ed Barbo Jr.
Ed Jr. started on the floor in 1969 and took over in 1974, a handoff so seamless there was no need to change the signage. The Underground, the expansion, and the Ed Barbo's name all belong to his era.
- 2025
The Dickinson brothers
Kyle and Jeff Dickinson become the fourth family to keep the corner. The Diebold safe still opens.
The Columbia name dates to 1905. The clothing-store history of this corner begins in 1891. The Columbia of Duluth is not affiliated with Columbia Sportswear.
History, with people in it.
In good hands.
Still yours.
“What is going to stay is the welcoming atmosphere. That is a big part of what we do for the gentlemen in our region.”
The Diebold safe
The safe came with the building. Black steel doors, gold lettering, in the store longer than any of the four families that have kept it.
Some things at this corner do not change hands. It still opens.
In print
A living story.
Not a closed book.
The Duluthian visited the store as its next chapter was taking shape. The corner, the people, and the work of carrying a tradition forward.
Duluthian / May & June 2026
Notes from the counter
Still being written.
- Style Guides
What to Wear to a Fall or Winter Wedding in Minnesota
Dress code, cloth and color for a Minnesota wedding between October and February, whether you are a guest, in the wedding party or a father of the bride or groom.
- Store History
What the Corner Has Seen
Since 1891, someone has stood at this corner and told Duluth men the truth about what fits. The first issue of the Heritage Journal is the plain history behind that corner.
- Style Guides
The Gift for the Man Who Buys His Own Things
Most gifts for men end up in a drawer. Here's why that happens, and what to do instead, from a store that has been helping families answer this question for a long time.
The story continues with you
Some places
become part of you.
Come stand where the century happened.
303 W Superior St, Duluth.