Waverly Hotel

January 19, 1943 – Waverly Hotel Fire – the Waverly Hotel was located on the Southeast corner of Main Street and 1^st Avenue. The hotel was four stories high and was a landmark in the city. The Waverly Hotel was built by Peter Ehr in 1905. He was a resident on the top floor of the hotel but was carried to safety by firemen.  The night of the fire the temperatures were around 30 degrees below zero. . Reports stated that the water was freezing as it was sprayed on the fire. 91 one people were staying at the Waverly the night of the fire. Four lives were lost and the bodies remained frozen in the debris until spring thaw

One business that survived was Bader's Women's Wear. With help the employees were able to save all the fur coats and layaway items however all fixtures were lost... also Service Shoe Shop survived but did lose some equipment

Frosaker Motors Update –

Frosaker Motors was located on Broadway (2^nd Street), south of Stearns Motors, about where the Wells Fargo Drive-up Bank is now. Frosaker Motors was a Chevrolet Dealer and the building 3 stories. The basement was used for auto parts storage and also a car wash. The main street level were offices, show room for 1-2 vehicles, and parts department. The 2nd floor was used for mechanics and new car get-ready. The 3rd floor was used as the paint and body shop. In the 50's a new one story service department was constructed on the west end of the building. The 2nd floor was then utilized for used cars. The used cars were brought to the upper floors by way of a large freight elevator… That elevator may have been the main access to upper floors.
There is a  picture of a train load of Chevrolet automobiles. Chevrolet had asked Ole "How many new cars he wished to order?" he said "Send me a trainload" The trainload was sold before it reached Minot.    Frosaker Motors eventually became Ryan Chevrolet

 1938 new car showing

1949 bew car showing

Baders Women’s Wear --

  Opening in 1935, Bader’s was originally located in The Waverly Block which also housed the Waverly Hotel. The Waverly Block was destroyed by a fire in the middle of winter. With help, the employees of Bader’s were able to rescue most of the fur coats and clothing before the building was completely destroyed. In 1943 Bader’s bought the Fauchald Dept. Store which was located next to Woolworth’s – That location was completely remodeled and re-opened. This location is the home of Fiancee Bridal Shop. 

Early Picture of Fauchald's employees

FW Woolworth –

 Frank Winfield Woolworth opened his first store in1879 in Watertown, NY. He began with $410 worth of items and nothing sold for more than 5 cents. Woolworth’s opened in Minot in 1912 after buying out the New York Store. The Second floor was added in 1953.  Included in the remodel was the motor stairs or escalator, the first in a retail store in North Dakota. Other improvements were fluorescent lighting on both floors, new dust proof candy counters, 40 stool lunch counter, pet department complete with goldfish, parakeets and canaries and air conditioning. The lunch counter was on the south side of the store next to the escalator. As a young lad when my grandfather would take us to Woolworths for a dish of ice cream, my brothers and I were more interested in riding the escalator up and down than we were in our ice cream. Woolworths closed in 1982.

New York Store –

In many pictures of Minot’s Main Street one sees The New York Store. It was on the Southwest Corner of Main and Central. This location was at the turn of the century the home of Jack Doyle’s Saloon. The best known saloon in Minot at the time. Peter P Lee replaced the saloon with a general store. The building was known as the Lee Block. In 1906, Julius Fauchald  bought the building and Lee’s Store became known as the New York Store. The building contained offices in the upper floors and was known as the New York Store Block.  In 1912 Julius Fauchald sold the New York Store to Woolworths, which operated until 1982. Fauchald moved next door and established Fauchald’s Department Store which continued until it was sold to Abraham Bader in 1943.

Originally the New York Store was on North Main St. in the area of 10 North Main.

Dental Center at Oak Park

Corey Medical Dental Center – in May of 1964 the citizens of Minot were shown an artist sketch of the Corey Medical Dental Center that was to be built in the Oak park Shopping Center. It was named after a Minot Pioneer, L.A. Corey. – It was to be a three story building with 22 suites covering 32,000 square feet.  Not sure why but the building was never built. 

Ann's Fashions - Diamonds

Diamonds Department Store – 1961 Diamonds was located on Second St NW across from the First Lutheran Church. They were announcing the grand opening of a new store soon to open in the Arrowhead Shopping Center – Ann’s Fashions – Ann’s Fashions opened its doors in 1957 and was first owned by Mrs. Ann Schmunk. In 1973 Ralph Staffon purchased the store and took over operations in January of 1974. He had the store remodeled and enlarged and opened “The Quarry” in the basement, dedicated to sportswear. In October of 1974 Staffon opened Ann’s Plus at 205 North main St. Ann’s Plus was a store for women requiring half-sizes and larger sizes.

Almost an Interstate ???

Four Lane Highway 83 --  The news story on August 25, 1964 announced that the four lane highway to the Minot Air Force Base was now open. The story said that he opening of the four lane to the base should all but eliminate the traffic congestion between the base and Minot. With section to the base open, residents then had 16.5 mile of  four lane highway from the base to just south of Minot. Work was in progress on the 15 mile stretch of highway from south of Minot to the junction on Highway 23. …. It is difficult to imagine Highway 83 as anything other than a four lane highway

Byorum’s S&Q Hardware –

Opening in 1956 =, Byorum’s Hardware was located at 212 South Main St. – in the area of City Bakery and Valker’s Florals – This area is across Main Street from Bray's Saddlery, the store with the horse on the overhang. Now part of the parking lot for Wells Fargo BAnk

A&D Upholstery – Located at 2035 Third St NW A&D boasted 3 generations of quality craftsmen – Operated by Andy, Dick and Kevin Rosenberg. A&D specialized in the repair and restoration of furniture and also did commercial fabrications ….. 

Jacobson & Fugelso Hardware

Established in 1890 by Martin Jacobson, the store was 71 years old during the 1961 Diamond Jubilee—1n 1907 the store became Jacobson & Fugelso Hardware – The original hardware store was in a single 25X60 foot room. In 1902 it expanded to a 3 story building, occupying one floor—the building also housed the Jacobson Opera House and Union National Bank, now the home of the Taube Museum of Art. That building was destroyed in a fire in 1923 and later rebuilt by the bank.—The hardware store built in a new location at 13 – 15 Central Avenue East (now the home of Central Avenue Variety and at one time the Town Crier) --in its day Jacobson & Fugleso carried a full line of hardware, paint, Toro Mowers and Schwinn Bicycles

American State Bank –

American State Bank of Minot received State Charter No.1347 on December 1, 1936 and began operation by the end of the year. The new American State Bank was organized to take over the deposit liabilities and business of the First International Bank of Minot. The new bank also occupied the offices of the former bank at 24 South Main Street . The first president of American State Bank was C.H. Parker. For 10 years American State Bank was located on Main Street then 1946 American State Bank moved in to the First Avenue Building. The assets of the bank had doubled by this time to 12 million dollars. In 1957, American State Bank moved to its present and final location on the northwest corner of 1^st Street and 1^st Avenue Southwest. The most outstanding feature of the new bank was its drive-in teller. This was the first in Minot at the time. In 1959, American State Bank installed the first electronic banking system in Minot. American State Bank is still operating today… It is now Bremer Bank

Escape Tunnels

Tunnels in Minot – Escape Tunnels – There were also many rumors about tunnels under “High Third”, Minot’s Red Light District. One hears rumors about bars and clubs that had escape tunnels in the basement for quick evacuation in case of a raid by the police. Again, in interviewing people back in the mid 80’s for the Ward County Centennial, I was told that “High Third” in its hey-day had many such tunnels. I was also informed that at one time a person could start at 4^th Avenue (Burdick Expressway) and go to 1^st Avenue or Stearns Motors (now I. Keating’s) without ever going outside. The route would consist of basement tunnels between houses and businesses as well as above ground passages between buildings. I have been investigating the history of Minot’s High Third. I very seriously doubt if this was true. In the days of prohibition, most of the addresses on Third Street were houses inhabited by regular law abiding citizens. True or not about the tunnels, I don’t know BUT some of the people I interviewed 25 years ago are no longer with us to ask. One thing that did come out is the fact that most of the time the places to be raided were warned ahead of time about a pending raid, hence tunnels were probably not really needed. It appears that many establishments of Third Street had “escape” passages out the back or through the basement if the need arose.

Parrott Inn

Dee Dee's Bar & Grill

Steam Tunnels Downtown Minot

Tunnels in Minot – Steam Tunnels – There is no truth to the rumor that a number of vintage cars were stashed in the tunnels under Downtown Minot that have never been found.

For many years a number of downtown buildings were heated by steam which was piped into them by steam pipes for the NSP Steam Power plant. The steam pipes had to be maintained so they ran through tunnels below the streets and buildings. These tunnels were large enough to accommodate men who may need to repair or do other maintenance. Many people confuse these tunnels with tunnels rumored to be running into Minot for the purpose of running contraband in and out of town. Most of this was in the form of alcohol smuggled in from Canada and other points. The Steam tunnels under Minot, while large enough to walk through were separate form any booze smuggling tunnels. However there was a rumor that a tunnel ran from Stearns Motors to the Rex Motel and another tunnel that ran from Stearn’s Motors to the old Flatiron Building. Possibly, only the people working on the Broadway Project in 1960 would know if this were true.

Van de Streek Furs

Van de Streek Furs – I received an email about Van de Streek Furs. I thought I had a picture but apparently I do not . 

On Thursday, August 20, 1953, Van de Streek Furs announced their opening. This company specialized in genuine fur coats. They were located at 108 4^th Avenue SE…. across from what is now M&H Gas. Times were different and women and some men wore genuine fur coats. Van de Streek Furs claimed to have a vault where they could store up to 2,600 fur coats at a constant temperature. They also had a showroom equipped with special lighting so the customer could examine the fur under various lighting situations. Free gifts to be drawn for at the opening included a mink cape, mink scarf and a Kolinski scarf…. 

Minot Public Library –

  The original Minot Public Library  began in 1908 in two rooms rented in the Optic Block. In 1908 the city approved its first mill levy for library purposes. In 1910 with $2000 in its treasury, the library obtained a grant from Andrew Carnegie for a new building. The Library was built at the corner of what is now Second Avenue and First Street Southeast. The library moved into its new home in 1911 and remained there for 55 years, when it moved into its current location. When the Library was dedicated in February of 1912, it had 1490 books and claimed to have 1350 borrowers. The original library building is now the Carnegie Center. 

Library - 1911

Interior - 1911 - Prior to opening

Interior - 1911 

JB Reed & HArrington Brothers

Harrington Brothers  -- 1961 They advertised themselves as Minot’s Pioneer Livestock Auction Sales Ring – The business was started by twin brothers H. Garfield and H. Gladstone Harrington in 1930 in Valley City – The Minot Yard opened in June, 1933 at the Great Northern Stockyards – J.B. Reed Transfer & Storage – They were the Mayflower Agent for Minot. The business opened in 1903 – Their motto was "You can say your furniture came over on the Mayflower".

White's Dairy

Bridgeman Creamery --  in June 1963, Bridgeman Creameries ran a full page ad proclaiming their value to the community. Milk purchased from area dairy farmers – over $900,000.00 and their payroll was over $400,000.00.  Bridgeman claimed their secret ingredient was “Quality”. The creamery produced not only milk but also butter, cottage cheese, whipping cream, ice cream and sour cream. In the 1960’s, Bridgeman still offered home milk delivery. White’s Dairy Products --  during the Diamond Jubilee celebration in 1961, Whites Dairy had been in business over 57 years, since 1904. White’s Dairy products included milk, cream and ice cream….

Cargill, Inc

The elevator was started in 1956 …..  in 1961, during the 75^th Anniversary of Minot, Cargill was located just east on Minot on Highway 52 – today this is known as East Valley St. The Elevator had two massive grain storage areas that looked like two giant teepees or tall pointed tents. Capacity of the elevator was one million bushels …. Picture is from 1961.

El Tio’s Mexican Supper Club

It opened  in 1979, El Tio’s feature seating for 175 people. The décor and food was Mexican along with some American dishes. El Tio’s featured authentic Mexican recipes which are not by nature overly spicey but the spices could be added to the customer’s preference. The Mexican Décor featured hand crafted items from Mexico such as adobe brick, Mexican blown glass light fixtures, hand painted tiles, leather chairs and piñatas.  The build is now the home of GEM Credit Union.

Louie Armstrong in Minot

Thanks to one of my blog followers from Scotland I received a post from 1936. Louie Armstrong (Satchmo) was in Minot in concert at the Parker Auditorium on December 9^th, 1936 for two events. From 7:30 to 9:00 pm was a concert with admission being only 55 cents. From 9:30 pm to 1:00 am was a dance. Admission to the dance was $1.15.  He was billed as a star of stage, screen and radio and a recording artist for Decca Records. He was accompanied by his orchestra. Again the Parker Auditorium was above the Parker Motors Company, across the street from the Scandinavian Hotel (which was torn down to make room for the YMCA.)