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 housed a wide variety of groups and businesses. From a Native American cultural center and boxing center to a soup kitchen and now a charming coffee house, the building has served its community in many ways and remains 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 escapes were installed in the hotels and the opera house. The city purchased the land for Fire Station No. 2 for $2,850 and constructed it 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.
