Masonic Block (Fargo, North Dakota)

The Masonic Block in Fargo, North Dakota, also known as Dakota Business College or Watkins Block, is an Early Commercial style building built in 1884. It was designed by Fargo architects Daniels & Proctor.

Masonic Block
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	11 S. 8th St., Fargo, North Dakota
Coordinates	46°51′55″N 96°47′29″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1884
Built by	Andrew McHench
Architect	Daniels & Proctor
Architectural style	Early Commercial
NRHP reference No.	79001771[1]
Added to NRHP	August 3, 1979

The building gets its name from the fact that one of the original tenants of the building was a local Masonic lodge. The lodge rented the third floor of the building, which it used as a meeting hall (the lodge met in the building for only four years, from 1885 to 1889).

Despite the name, the building is better known for its subsequent educational function. It housed Fargo College from 1887 to 1890, and the Dakota Business College from 1891 to 1978.[2]

Today it is used as a purely commercial building. It is one of few commercial structures in Fargo that survived a fire in 1893.[2]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[1] The listing included one contributing building, on an area of less than 1 acre (0.40 ha).[1]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. Kurt Schweigert (May 22, 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Masonic Block / Dakota Business College, Watkins Block". National Park Service. and Accompanying 14 photos, exterior and interior, from c. 1921, 1978, and 1979