The collection contains administrative records, financial records, and historical records.

The collection consists of the Commission's files incuding: application to the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission to become a bicentennial city, articles of incorporation and by-laws, financial records, correspondence, manuscripts on local history that were published in the book Duluth: Sketches of the Past, project files by month, Voyageurs Canoe Trip reenactment files, news clippings, brochures and programs, photographs, and proposals.

The Duluth Board of Trade records include information about the functioning of the Board of Trade from its inception in 1881 to the dissolution of the company in 1972.

The collection contains articles of incorporation, by-laws, minutes, annual reports, budgets, policies, newsletters, newspaper clippings scrapbooks, photographs, Chisholm family genealogy and photographs, museum programming materials and photographs, American Alliance of Museums museum assessment, strategic plan.

The collection contains corporate and financial records and minutes; job site and construction records; publicity records; and oversized photos and blueprints.