7/30/2011:
This week in 1965, a Fargo Forum headline read “Consultants Stress Fargo’s Need to Improve Downtown ‘Image.’” In the minds of most business owners and consultants, downtown Fargo just looked too old to be competitive. This seems strange today, since Fargoans brag about their historic downtown.
But the article shows that while Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society did a lot of good things, it also did away with a lot of history. The sentiment was out with the old and in with the practical, flat, straight, new. Fargoans covered many historic buildings with plastic and aluminum, and put up canopies that completely blocked the view of the buildings. But there was hope. Tune in tomorrow to see how they got where they are today.
Dakota Datebook written by Leewana Thomas
Sources:
The Fargo Forum, July 25, 1965, “Consultants Stress Fargo’s Need to Improve Downtown ‘Image’”
Conversation with Dave Anderson, former president and CEO of the Downtown Fargo Community Partnership