Fargo Chamber of Commerce, 1975-1978

File — Box: 2, Folder: 17

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection: The Fargo-Moorhead Heritage and Cultural Bridge Task Force Records consists of the office records maintained by the task force executive director and the office manager. This collection emphasizes the work of the group rather than the architectural plans. Whenever possible, the original filing of the task force has been maintained. However, much of the collection was loose rather than in files, so file titles were established when processed. There are five series: Business Records, Planning, Grants and Donors, Public Relations, and City and State Government Correspondence. The arrangement of the first series is chronological. The remaining series are alphabetical. The Business Records Series includes legal documents needed to establish the task force as a legal entity, the task force meeting minutes and related correspondence, financial statements, and correspondence and lists of the task force’s advisory committee. Also included in this series are the many letters of endorsement written by area leaders. These letters were used when pursuing support for the bridge. The task force minutes are complete, but the related correspondence is not. Correspondence has been filed with the meeting minutes because it often relates to the meetings. There is a complete check register of financial transactions of the task force. The Foss Englestad Foss architectural bills paid file offers the researcher a picture of how the project progressed. The correspondence and lists of the advisory committee indicate the individuals who were asked by the task force to serve as advisors to the group. This committee broadened the scope of the group and offered a variety of perspectives to the task force. There are no minutes or correspondence of that committee as a group, so it does not appear that the group met separately from the task force. One item of note is the correspondence to and from Joan Mondale. The task force tried unsuccessfully to convince her to take an official stand in support of the bridge. The Planning Series has four sub-series: Preliminary Planning, Local Architects, National Architects, and Planning and Design. The Arts Development Associates (ADA) of Minneapolis files especially illustrate the preliminary planning process. The ADA files appear to be complete. There is a report file for ADA that seems to be the preliminary final report. Statistics differ between this and the final report. The other files in the Preliminary Planning Sub-series are not as complete. This perhaps is because all firms involved except ADA were retained by the Heritage Interpretive Task Force after the cooperative FargoMoorhead group disbanded. Both the Local Architects and National Architects Sub-series contain correspondence and information regarding the architect selection process. Both also contain general correspondence of Foss Englestad Foss and Michael Graves, which occasionally overlap. The files do not include actual designs or drawings but do contain programming information. Several bills are also located in the Graves’ file. The planning and design sub-series indicate the various groups that were involved in this process. The files do not seem complete, but still suggest the progress of the project. The working papers toward a building program, while unsigned, are likely the work of Michael Graves. The Grants and Donors Series features files of contributors such as Dayton Hudson Foundation, Minnesota Historical Society, Minnesota Bicentennial Commission, and North Dakota Council on the Mss 163 Fargo-Moorhead Heritage and Cultural Bridge Task Force Records Page 4 of 7 Arts and Humanities. The files from the Dayton Hudson Foundation and the Minnesota Historical Society appear complete. While processing, indexes were prepared for these files: Grants and Donations to Bridge Funds and Various and Unsuccessful Grant Applications to Various Foundations). The Public Relations Series contains the incomplete Publicity Committee minutes. Related correspondence is also included. The clippings file, also incomplete, provides background information on the progress of the “Bridge” project. The City and State Government Correspondence Series reflects the regional base of support that the task force sought and received. Correspondence to the Fargo and Moorhead City Commissions has been filed with the corresponding mayor’s file.