Main Ave Fire House

The Main Avenue Firehouse was established in 1910 and was known as Fire Department No. 2. The building remained a firehouse throughout the 1960s [i]. Since then the building has been a home to a wide variety of groups and businesses. From being a Native American Cultural center, boxing center, to soup kitchen, and now a charming coffee house the building has served its community in a wide variety of ways and continues to be a beautiful representation of Fargo history[ii].

The fire station was built following the Edward block fire in 1903, when the mayor demanded better fire protection. Northern Pacific offered to bring equipment from Casselton for free following the fire and the first fire engine in Fargo was rented from W. S. Nott Co. in 1903. Fire escaped were installed in the hotels and the opera house. The land for Fire Station No. 2 was purchased for $2,850 and was constructed for $14,900 in 1909.[iii]

[i]NDSU Archives. “Fire Stations.” Fargo, North Dakota: Its History and Images.

[ii] Animating Democracy. "Red Raven Espresso Parlor.”

[iii] Johnson, Roy P. "Fargo City Council Meeting Minutes Index, 1875-1910." NDSU Archives.

Photo: “Fire Stations | Fargo History.” Accessed November 21, 2016. https://library.ndsu.edu/fargo-history/?q=content/fire-stations.