Black Building
Fargo’s tallest structure when it opened in 1931, this eight-story Art Moderne tower in Indiana limestone was commissioned by a newspaper publisher who made sure his radio station signed off every show with its address.
At a glance
The Black Building at 114–118 Broadway was a “pivotal” resource in the Downtown Fargo Historic District and earned individual listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. At eight stories, it was the tallest building on Broadway when completed — and the only one faced in Indiana limestone rather than brick, which marked it as a deliberate departure from Fargo’s commercial vernacular. The Minneapolis firm Lang, Raugland, and Lewis designed it in the Art Moderne style, with local Fargo architects Ole A. Braseth and S. Marius Houkom as consultants. It was built for and named after Norman B. Black, the North Dakota newspaper publisher who also housed his WDAY radio station on the upper floors.
Key facts
- Address: 114–118 Broadway, Fargo, ND 58102
- Style: Art Moderne
- Completed: 1931
- Architects: Lang, Raugland, and Lewis (Minneapolis); Ole A. Braseth & S. Marius Houkom (Fargo, consulting)
- Height: 8 stories
- Facade: Indiana limestone
- NRHP: Downtown Fargo Historic District; individually listed 2016
- Commissioner: Norman B. Black, publisher of the Fargo Forum
- Coordinates: 46.8776° N, 96.7881° W
History
Norman B. Black arrived in North Dakota in 1905 and built one of the state’s most influential media networks over the following two decades. He managed the Grand Forks Herald and the Evening Times before purchasing the Fargo Forum in 1917; by 1920 he was president of the Minot Daily News as well, and served two terms as president of the North Dakota Press Association. When he commissioned a headquarters building in the early 1930s, he chose Minneapolis architects Lang, Raugland, and Lewis — the same firm that would later design the Art Moderne Greyhound bus depot in Minneapolis (1936–37) — and local Fargo consultants Braseth and Houkom to realize the design.
Black installed WDAY radio on the upper floors of the completed tower and ensured that every evening broadcast ended with the station signing off as “WDAY from the Black Building, Fargo” — a media-age branding move that linked his personal name to both the print and broadcast spheres of North Dakota public life. The building’s 2016 individual NRHP listing recognized both its architectural singularity — the only Indiana limestone commercial tower on Broadway — and its cultural association with Black’s communications empire.
What you see
The Indiana limestone facade is the first thing that sets the Black Building apart from its neighbors. Broadway’s commercial streetscape is built of warm-toned brick; the Black Building answers in pale cream, its surface reading as smooth and modern against the textured masonry around it. Art Moderne horizontals dominate the design: ribbon windows and streamlined spandrel panels replace the vertical emphasis of earlier skyscraper conventions, and the low-relief geometric ornament at the cornice and entry reads as restrained but deliberate — a building that wanted to look current, not monumental.
The NRHP nomination notes that the Black Building may have inspired the Art Moderne refacing of two adjacent Broadway buildings by Braseth and Houkom in 1940 — the Gate City Block at 71–73 and a building at 202–204 — both executed in warm cream-colored ashlar, suggesting the limestone tower set a new standard of modernity for the whole block.
Practical information
- Access: Mixed-use building; exterior viewing from Broadway. Not a public attraction.
- Photography: Best light in afternoon on the west-facing facade. Broadway is a pedestrian-friendly street.
- Time needed: 15–20 minutes to walk the downtown Fargo historic district along Broadway.
- Nearest visitor center: Visit Fargo-Moorhead, 2001 44th St SW, Fargo (10-minute drive).
Getting there
The Black Building stands on Broadway (US-81) in downtown Fargo, two blocks north of Main Avenue. MATBUS city bus routes serve downtown Fargo. Free surface parking is available on NP Avenue, one block west of Broadway. Hector International Airport is approximately 15 minutes west by car.
Nearby
- Fargo Theatre (314 Broadway N): a 1926 movie palace that still operates as a cinema — 1 block south on Broadway.
- Plains Art Museum (704 First Ave N): regional art museum in a renovated 19th-century warehouse — 2 blocks east.
- Red River of the North: the state border between North Dakota and Minnesota — 8-minute walk east through downtown.
Sources
- Black Building (Fargo, North Dakota) — Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org
- National Register of Historic Places — Downtown Fargo Historic District & Individual Listing (2016)
- Fargo Forum Historical Archive — Norman B. Black papers
Find it on the map
See this place and what’s around it →📷 Diventa un fotografo di Cultural Heritage Online
Condividi le tue foto dei luoghi: restano pubblicate con la tua firma come autore. Più vengono viste, più ti fai conoscere — e presto un concorso premierà le foto più apprezzate.
Accedi o registrati gratis per aggiungere una foto