The eight-story Black Building was Fargo's tallest building for many years. It was also the tallest building in North Dakota for about five years. The Art Moderne building, constructed of Indiana limestone, was designed by Lang, Raugland, and Lewis of Minneapolis with the Fargo firm of Braseth and Houkom as associates. T.F. Powers Construction built the building. The cornerstone was laid on November 17, 1930, and the Black Building and the Sears and Roebuck store opened for business in 1931.

"The Blue Print," an eight-page 1934 Black Building advertisement meant to look like a newspaper, tells of the time
capsule on its front page. Headlined "Contents of copper box will be 'treasure' in year two thousand," it reads:

"In the distant future, when the Black Building must give way to a new-age 'sky scraper,' wreckers will uncover a
copper box now securely sealed in the northeast cornerstone.

"Among its hermetically sealed contents are samples of North Dakota grain products, newspapers, Book of Golden
Friendship, biographies, photographs and other objects.

"The event of the cornerstone laying was unusual in building annals, and was participated in by high officials of
city and state and by thousands over a vast territory who had been advised of the event and were 'present' by
radio."

After the construction of the Black Building, George Black established a new store on First Avenue named, tongue in cheek, the Store Without a Name.

William A. Schlossman and William Bunce joined Black in his various business ventures in 1945. Black's daughter Anna Jane married married Schlossman who later creatde West Acres which helped toll the death knell for downtown Fargo, almost including the Black building.

In 1968, Sears Roebuck announced it would be moving as the first tenant in the West Acres Mall. Sears relocated there in 1972, the same year that George M. Black died, at the age of 90. In the 1970's and 1980's, I believe, the Black Building was managed by William Schlossman and John Gunkelman (Schlossman & Gunkelman Realty).

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The Black Building looking northwest from Broadway and First Avenue North. Going south from Blacks is the J.J. Newberry 5, 10, and 25 Cent Store and Grant's 25¢, 50¢, and $1.00 Department Store.
The Black Building looking southwest from Broadway and Second Avenue North. On the corner is Merchants National Bank (designed in a Jacobethean style by the Hancock Brothers and built in 1921). The F.W. Peterson Company is between Merchants and Blacks.

Fargo, North Dakota

Black Building (cont'd)

In 1975, the Elm Tree Square shopping development began at the Black Building. See image lower right.

In 1986, the Black Co.sold the Black Building to a local investment group for $1.8 million plus $50,000 for a parking lot. Developer Rick Jordahl obtained MIDA bonds of $2.75 million for improvements. Some of the improvements made the building lose some of its appeal as a historic building. The 'elevator ladies' were gone replaced by automatic elevatirs.

The bond backing that deal was declared in default in 1990 (the largest municipal industrial revenue bond failure in North Dakota history). The bonds were issued by the city of Fargo, which lent its name -- but no financial backing -- to the bonds and therefore made the bonds tax-exempt for investors, with a return of 9 percent. Dougherty Dawkins, the underwriter, bought the bonds and resold them to investors around the country in increments of $5,000.

In 1993, just days before bondholders would have had to forfeit the Black building for back taxes, a judge approved its sale to LTD Inc. of Grand Forks, ND, for $700,000. From the sale of the building, after back taxes were paid, bondholders were compensated at from 1 to 3 cents on the dollar.

On April 17,2002, the garish "Elm Tree Square" was removed as part of Fargo's Broadway Streetscape project. The sign, placed on the buildings in the 1970's, blocked a level windows which will be restored. Lloyd Sampson, managing owner of the building at 118 Broadway, wanted to restore the building to its original 1932 appearance.

The picture on the lower right shows the restored and far more elegant facade. Thanks to Everett Brust for the photograph!

The Black building is a sentinel building on Broadway. It's prominent position (or lack thereof) easily dates images of Broadway as before or after 1930.