What to See in Grand Forks - Top Sights and Attractions

Auditorium in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The Chester Fritz Auditorium is a performance facility on the campus of the University of North Dakota located in the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota.

"The Fritz," as it is commonly known, has a maximum capacity of 2,384 and is used for many events including concerts, dance recitals, and popular Broadway musicals. The auditorium also plays host to university events including some commencement ceremonies, lectures, and conferences. The building measures 85 feet in height and the facade is constructed mainly of brick and pre-cast concrete sections. It sits on the banks of the English Coulee, which meanders its way through the UND campus.

Chester Fritz (March 25, 1892 - July 28, 1983), a notable alumnus of UND, gave the university $1 million in 1965 for the construction of a "distinctive auditorium" on the campus. The finished auditorium cost $3 million, with additional funds received from the state of North Dakota and private donations. The Chester Fritz Library, the main library at UND, is also named after Chester Fritz.^[2]

Building in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Grand Forks County Courthouse is a Beaux Arts style building in Grand Forks, North Dakota that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It is a "richly decorated white limestone structure in a modified Classical Revival style, topped with a massive cast iron dome."

It was built during 1913–1914. It was designed by Minnesota architects Buechner & Orth. The courthouse is identified as the largest and most expensive of 13 county courthouses in North Dakota designed by Buechner and Orth during 1905–1919.

Considerable additional detail on the building is provided in its NRHP nomination document. The NRHP listing was for just the one contributing building, with no specific property area identified.^[4]

University library in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The Chester Fritz Library is the largest library at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It is the largest library in the state of North Dakota and houses over two million print and non-print items. It is a designated U.S. Patent and Trademark depository of federal and state documents. The library also houses a Special Collections Department preserving unique publications, manuscripts, historical records, and genealogical resources, including a large collection of Norwegian bygdebøker.

The library is named after Chester Fritz (March 25, 1892 - July 28, 1983), a notable alumnus of UND, as is the Chester Fritz Auditorium, which is also located at UND.^[6]

Bridge in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The Sorlie Memorial Bridge, also known as the Red River Bridge, was constructed in 1929 by the Minneapolis Bridge Company to connect the cities of Grand Forks, North Dakota and East Grand Forks, Minnesota. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

The Sorlie Memorial Bridge replaced a swing bridge on the same site that was built in 1889. It is a Parker through truss bridge with two truss spans and rides on rails to accommodate the ever-changing banks of the Red River of the North. The Sorlie Memorial Bridge was named for North Dakota's 14th governor, Arthur G. Sorlie. Plaques on either end identify Sorlie as "a true friend of better roads and bridges." At the time, the bridge was the only vehicular crossing in the area, and was important for carrying U.S. Route 2, a transcontinental route. It is the oldest documented Parker truss design in the state, and its two spans of 283 feet (86 m) are the longest riveted Parker through trusses in the state.^[7]

Building in Grand Forks. The building at 312 Kittson Ave, Grand Forks, North Dakota is a two-story brick commercial vernacular style building with classical details built by Swedish-American builder Sander Johnson in 1907. It is part of the Downtown Grand Forks Historic District.

The building is constructed of brick, Hebron on the front and common on the sides and back. Its quality of workmanship, brickwork, and carpentry are notable. The first floor consists of a common wood store front with a limestone molding. The second floor features a bay window flanked by recessed brick work with a stone sill and a limestone keystone arch. The roof line is decorated with an egg-and-dart limestone cap decorated with a wrought-iron crest incorporating the building date. This cresting is flanked by two corner merlons which are capped by limestone moldings and antefixes. The second floor originally held an apartment.

The builder, Sander Johnson, moved to North Dakota from Sweden in 1902, building 312 Kittson Ave just five years later. The building has a European ambiance. This building was the first built by Johnson in his 60-year career as a builder and contractor in North Dakota and the Red River Valley. Johnson and his building companies also built the Grand Forks Masonic Temple and the Chester Fritz Library.^[9]

Cemetery. B'nai Israel Synagogue and Montefiore Cemetery in Grand Forks, North Dakota consists of historic B'nai Israel Synagogue built in 1937 at 601 Cottonwood Street and its related historic Montefiore Cemetery at 1450 North Columbia Road which dates from 1888. B'Nai Israel Synagogue was designed by noted Grand Forks architect Joseph Bell DeRemer in the Art Deco style of architecture and built by local builders Skarsbro and Thorwaldson at a cost of $14,000. It replaced the earlier wooden Congregation of the Children of Israel synagogue built in 1891 at 2nd Avenue, South & 7th Street. Montefiore Cemetery in Grand Forks is one of many institutions named for Sir Moses Montefiore. On October 13, 2011, B'nai Israel Synagogue and Montefiore Cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places

The congregation was first chartered on August 26, 1891. It was founded by Eastern European Jews, including Jews fleeing pogroms in Russia and Lithuanian Jews. In the early 1990s, B'nai Israel joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now the Union for Reform Judaism).^[10]

The Building at 201 S. 3rd St. is a property in Grand Forks, North Dakota that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

It is a 1+1⁄2-story commercial building that was built in 1888, when it replaced a small frame building that had housed a harness shop.

The listing is just for the one building, on an area of less than 1 acre (0.40 ha). At the time of listing, the building was vacant.

The listing is described in its North Dakota Cultural Resources Survey document.

The property was covered in a 1981 study of Downtown Grand Forks historical resources.

After the Red River Flood of 1997, the building was moved in its entirety across the street to 216 S. 3rd, between a parking ramp and a pre-existing brick building, keeping the structure's integrity intact.^[13]

Museum in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The Thomas D. Campbell House is a historic Gothic Revival style log and wood frame home located in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It is significant for its association with Thomas D. Campbell, who became the largest wheat farmer in the United States. It is part of the Myra Museum and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Built in 1879 for Thomas D. Campbell, the house consists of the original 1879 log cabin enclosed within a later Gothic Revival wood-frame addition, which is dated to ca. 1881–1900, with an overall L-shaped floor plan. The home has gabled roofs and clapboard siding. The main facade and south gables are distinguished by lace bargeboards, and the west gable contains a pointed window. A porch extends across the west facade and is supported by turned posts and bentwood arches. It is the only building remaining from the Campbell family's pioneer farmstead.

The interior of the house serves as a museum, and is fitted out with turn of the 20th century furnishings befitting a family residence. The chinked log walls and hand-hewn loft joists of the original 1879 log cabin are exposed from within.

At the time of its construction the Campbell house was south of the tiny settlement of Grand Forks; it was one of a string of pioneer homes along the Red River, with no other buildings in its immediate area. Associated with the First Dakota Boom and the pre-railroad (pre-1880) era, it is a significant example of the architecture of this period. Log structures were popular at this time due to the expense of hauling cut lumber down the river from the railhead in Fargo. The practice of constructing a fairly simple log home, to be supplanted or engulfed later on by a more substantial structure, appears to have been fairly common to the area at this time. The house is notable for being the only Gothic Revival farmhouse in Grand Forks and one of only a few houses of this style in North Dakota's Red River Valley region, and at the time of its enlargement was one of the finer homes in the area.^[14]

St. Michael's Hospital and Nurses' Residence is a property in Grand Forks, North Dakota that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. It was also known as St. Anne's Guest Home and denoted 32GF14, it was builtin 1907. It was designed by architect George Hancock. Grand Forks architect William J. Edwards designed the Nurses' Residence in 1913.

It includes Classical Revival architecture. When listed the property included two contributing buildings. The listing is for an area of 3.3 acres (1.3 ha). The listing is described in its NRHP nomination document. The property is now known as "Riverside Manor". St. Anne's Guest Home relocated to North 17th Street in the 1981 because they were unable to comply with fire codes in the old building.

The building survived the 1997 Red River flood, but was nearly torn down to make way for new dikes. However, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was able to design a flood wall that would preserve the building.

In 2015 a $1.4 million renovation began, focusing on the bricks, roof, and windows. All 191 windows in the building were replaced.^[15]

Historical landmark in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Grand Forks County Fairgrounds WPA Structures is a collection of five structures within the Grand Forks County Fairgrounds in Grand Forks, North Dakota, that were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

The structures are the fairgrounds entrance gate, ticket kiosk, administration building, and cairns, all built from stone, as well as the fairgrounds grandstand. They are located on the grounds of the Grand Forks State Fair Grounds and are associated with the River Cities Speedway. "The five remaining structures have been recognized as historically significant, examples of the importance of county and state fairs to local culture and social history."

The structures were built between 1936 and 1939 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt attended the 1937 dedication ceremony for the Grand Forks County Fairgrounds grandstand, which was designed by Grand Forks architect Theodore B. Wells and was considered to be innovative in its design.

Steve C. Martens, an architect and North Dakota State University professor, wrote the NRHP nomination. He commented extensively at a public hearing describing the importance of the structures. According to Martens, the project was the largest WPA project in the state.

In 2009 the listed structures included three contributing buildings, one contributing structure, and one contributing object. The nominated listing covers an area of 51 acres (21 ha). The listing is described as including Art Deco and WPA Rustic Fieldstone architecture.^[19]