F. W. Woolworth

The F. W. Woolworth variety store was first located in the Edwards Block at 18-24 Broadway. It is first listed in the 1904 Fargo city directory, with C. H. Simons as manager. Sometime between 1913 and 1915, the store moved to 4-6 Broadway, a location it would remain at for the rest of its existence in Fargo. In the summer of 1954, the store expanded into the building just to the south. The renovation included a major renovation of both the inside and exterior of the building.

John Caron made the following reminiscence of Woolworths:

The store had two floors of merchandise. This was important because Woolworth's was the first (and for some time only) store in Fargo to have escalators. Located on the left wall of the store (one up and one down), kids (myself included) thought it great sport to ride the escalators up and down on Saturday's. Our enthusiasm was not shared by the store's management, who sometimes asked to us to play elsewhere.

The store had a large lunch counter on the right side of the first floor. My aunt would take me there occasionally and was where I learned the difference between grilled cheese sandwiches (which is what I wanted) and toasted cheese sandwiches (which is what I ordered and received).

In January 1981, the Woolworth store closed after nearly 77 years in Fargo.

Sources:
Fargo and Moorhead City Directory. Fargo, 1881-1927.
Polk’s Fargo and Moorhead City Directories. St. Paul, MN: R.L. Polk and Company
"Woolworth's opening set Next Thursday"Fargo Forum and Daily Republican (13 Nov. 1954): 3.
"The end of an era Fargo F.W. Woolworth closes" The Forum (17 Jan. 1981): 6.