DULUTH — The crumbled remains of an old lighthouse are out on Park Point. A wooden crib of unknown origin appeared, beached in Canal Park, after a storm. A staircase and foundation from Park Terrace is still standing at 801 W. First St., though the house is not.

A new documentary tells the history of Duluth through what is no longer here. “Lost Duluth” covers the people, places, mysterious ruins, forgotten markers and outdated industries lost to history. The hourlong program, produced by Greg Grell, is based upon the soon-to-be-released book “Lost Duluth” by local historians Tony Dierckins and Maryanne C. Norton.

It is airing on public television in northern Minnesota and will eventually be posted at wdse.org.

The program starts with immigrants settling in the area in the 1850s and ends with the demise of the incline railway era in 1939. It includes vintage photographs and film, snippets of correspondence and newspaper clippings, interviews with longtime residents and anecdotes from Dierckins. There is an exclusive look in the storage area at the St. Louis County Historical Society with a glimpse at settlers’ relics and sketches of Cascade Park before it was largely consumed by Mesaba Avenue.

“The gist is that we’re going back to early Duluth history and moving forward and looking at things that used to be in town and now aren’t,” said Grell, who has produced a documentary about historic theaters in northern Minnesota and another on Split Rock Lighthouse.

“Lost Duluth” includes music by Charlie Parr and narration by Pamela Fish, who goes on location to note historic landmarks.

Grell, producer and writer for “Almanac North,” worked with Dierckins while making the documentary “Stage to Screen.” In the process, he heard Dierckins reference his upcoming book, “Lost Duluth,” and decided to create a similarly themed film to complement the book.

“It’s not meant to be a carbon copy,” Grell said. “We teamed up with him and used the book as a reference for what’s in our documentary.”

Dierckins is a source in the program, and images from his book are incorporated in the piece that spans from Fond du Lac and its trading post, to the lighthouse on Minnesota Point that became obsolete with the shifting sands on Park Point, to Lester Park and its three-level bridge, a destination for leisurely park activities.

It delves into some of the early players, including Jay Cooke, the financier behind the Northern Pacific Railroad whose bankruptcy resulted in an economic depression for the area. It also gives a brief portrait of the Civil War veteran Luther Mendenhall, a Duluth business leader whose romantic scandal was covered in depth by the newspaper.

It includes a portrait of a short-lived amusement area on Park Point, a social center that had a water slide, a roller coaster and fortune tellers. There are interviews with longtime Duluthians, including one who tells the story of the naming of Goat Hill. (One family in the neighborhood had goats.)

“If the video gets people interested in the book and the book gets people interested in the video and both get people interested in Duluth history, that’s all we can ask for,” Dierckins said.

While the film tells of Duluth in a mostly chronological way, the book is divided into specific subjects. The chapters include: “Lost Homes & Neighborhoods,” “Lost Public Buildings,” “Lost Commercial Buildings,” “Lost Industries” and “Lost Parks, Landmarks and Waterfront.”

“Lost Duluth” has 400 photographs and sketches and the stories of immigrants and innovators who built the city. It is scheduled for release in May, but has gotten an early read from local history heavies. Retired News Tribune columnist Jim Heffernan calls it an “important contribution to Duluth’s history.”

Larry Millett, author of “Lost Twin Cities” said: “This book will make you pine for the city of old while opening your eyes to unimagined wonders, and even lifelong residents will be surprised to find how much has been lost on the destructive road to progress.”

Dierckins said the book is similar to the booster books printed long ago to attract visitors and industries to the area. Pages are neatly laid out to include an image and information about the topic.

“The things they were promoting 100 years ago, most are gone now,” he said. “We still have a lot of those buildings, but the industries from the 1890s and 1910s and teens are either outdated industries or industries that consolidated and moved to other cities. It’s really fascinating to see all this change that has occurred.”

Dierckins moved to Duluth from St. Paul in the mid-1980s, and his interest in local history has bred more interest in more local history. “True North,” which Dierckins co-wrote with Kerry Elliott, was a guide to stops off the beaten path. This led Dierckins to the history of the Aerial Lift Bridge, then architecture and more.

“It’s a labor of love for the most part,” he said. “There’s no making the New York Times best-seller list with a regional history book. We make the books that we want for ourselves.”

With all the talk of things lost, Dierckins said he is hoping people don’t take the subject matter as a lament.

“These things arrived for a reason and they’re gone for a reason,” he said. “You can lament them all the time, but you’ll depress yourself. Cities are like languages, always adapting to our needs as we ourselves evolve.