The West End of Cloquet was the first part of town rebuilt after the Fires of 1918 and has the most historic buildings, but it's also the area with the most vacant storefronts. It's a relatively small area: spanning avenues B, C and D from Broadway Avenue to the other side of Arch Street.

For the first 50 years or so of Cloquet's existence, the West End was the beating heart of the city, particularly in terms of government. City Hall and the jail were here, the Pine Knot newspaper and lots of different stores were all located in the West End, including banking and commerce, lodges, the Maso...