Broadway in the 1880s

The image on the right is one-half of a stereoview photograph. The photograph looks northeast from just south of the Northern Pacific Railroad tracks where they cross Broadway.

The wide dirt street running diagonally from the lower right corner of the photograph is Broadway. In the lower left is Northern Pacific Park. The N.P. tracks run through the center of the image.

The street running across the upper third of the photograph is N.P. Avenue.

On the northwest corner of the Broadway and N.P. Avenue is the first home of the Luger Furniture Company. This 25 x 123 foot building was constructed in 1878 by Jasper B. Chapin. The upper floor was used as a theater and was known as Chapin Hall. It became known as the Opera House in 1883 and largely supplanted McHench Hall as Fargo's major theater. Alex Stern purchased the the hall in 1888. Seating 800, the theater gave almost 400 presentations from Shakespeare to minstrel shows. It was destroyed in the fire of 1893. A livery stable is just east (right) of that.

On the northeast corner is the store of A. E. Henderson, selling hardware and stoves.

Both the southeast and southwest corners of the intersection contain empty fields. The southwest corner was where the Yerxa store was later located.

This photograph by F. J. Haynes was taken about 1881. It depicts the east side of Broadway looking south between 1st Avenue North and N.P. Avenue.

The wooden sidewalk is shown with a number of cast iron stoves displayed on it in front of the leftmost building.

Note a large representation of a water pitcher, on a pole in front of Freeman & Drew, dealers in crockery and glassware. Further down the block is a sign for "Broadway Shoe Store".

All of these building were destroyed in the fire of 1893.

This photograph by F.J. Haynes was taken sometime between 1879 and 1889. It depicts the east side of Broadway looking north from N.P. Avenue. The buildings in the previous image are visible in the distance. Unfortunately, none of the store names are legible even at high magnification except for the Luger Brothers Furniture.

Luger Brothers is located in Chapin Hall, ths same as in the top photograph on this page. It became known as the Opera House in 1883.

All of these stores were destroyed in the fire of 1893.

This photograph looks north on Broadway in the early 1880s from the N.P. railroad tracks. It appears that a train loaded with timber is passing through. The small building in the center of Broadway by the tracks is likely for an early traffic control officer who could stop traffic in the event of an approaching train.

The building under construction in the middle of the block on the east side of Broadway between N.P. Avenue and the N.P. tracks is The Red River Valley National Bank. On the northeast corner of Broadway and N.P. Avenue is the the Luger Furniture Company and Chapin Hall.