About the Historic Fargo Theatre

History (1920, 1930, 1940, 1950-60, 1970, 1980, 1990)

1920's

On September 15, 1925, the T.F. Powers and Company construction firm began work on the Fargo Theatre at 314 Broadway, formerly the site of a fruit store known as the Idlekope Building. At a total cost of $350,000 for land, building improvements, and equipment, it took six months for completion.

Henry Orth, of the architectural firm Buechner and Orth, designed the Theatre in the Baroque or Renaissance Revival style. The front facade of the building was clad in red brick and sat on a base of limestone. Entrance doors and a box office occupied the center at street level, and were flanked by a small storefront shop and a pair of exit door on each side. Above the exits, stone consoles visually supported cornices, each of which were terminated at the top with a decorative cartouch. The second level featured large windows, topped by arched stone hood moldings. Protruding from the wall between the arches were stone faces with grotesque expressions, their mouths open to accept the hanger rods of the marquee. Directly above, stone dentil work formed a decorative building cornice.

Inside, a central lobby opened to a mezzanine level richly adorned with colored mirrors, a large crystal chandelier, and numerous art panels. The auditorium was furnished with seats of Spanish leather and seated 1300 patrons on the main level and in a balcony.

Finkelstein and Ruben, owners of the new Theatre, called it the finest and most modern playhouse in North Dakota. A state of the art silent movie palace, it was complete with an elaborate Wurlitzer pipe organ and fully operating stage and flyloft for vaudeville shows. The $25,000 Wurlitzer organ was built especially for the Fargo Theatre by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company in North Tonawanda, New York in January 1926.

On Monday, March 15, 1926, the Fargo Theatre opened to the public. The opening was big news, and The Forum ran a 12-page supplement detailing the elegant structure. The entertainment bill that first day featured a varied program of pictures and vaudeville with accompaniment by Chicago organist Ramon Berry at the Wurlitzer, and the Theatre's own orchestra under the direction of Norman Ostby. "The King Cole Revue," a musical extravaganza with 15 entertainers, was the feature number. Sydney Chaplin, brother of Charlie Chaplin, played the title role in the feature film, "The Man on the Box." A news reel, animated cartoon, and burlesque number completed the entertainment.

The Fargo Theatre's early days were filled with appearances by vaudeville stars. To the delight of every school-aged boy in town, Babe Ruth was the headliner in November 1926. He appeared on stage in his uniform, hitting a baseball that hung down from a wire on a string. Silent screen cowboy Tom Mix also appeared in person at the Fargo Theatre with his horse Tony.

In July 1926, the American Amusement Company took over operation of the Fargo Theatre and made it its leading theatre in Fargo-Moorhead, or the "A" house. As the "A" house, the Fargo Theatre screen showcased the finest silent films of Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Rudolph Valentino, and Colleen Moore. Sound effects for the films were provided by the Wurlitzer organ and the Theatre's orchestra.

The entrance of the American Amusement Company signaled the arrival of Ed Kraus, the theatre manager who would guide the Fargo Theatre for the next 30 years. Ed came to Fargo in 1925 to handle advertising for the American Amusement Company's other theatres, including the Garrick, Orpheum, Grand, and the State. When the American Amusement Company bought the Fargo Theatre, Ed moved his headquarters there, where he stayed until his retirement in 1960.

Ed's wife Hildegarde Usselman Kraus, would also become a significant part of the history of the Fargo Theatre, as well as the history of entertainment in Fargo-Moorhead. The couple met in 1925 when Hildegarde was staff organist at the State Theatre, and they married after a whirlwind courtship. Ed continued to serve as the local representative of the American Amusement Company, while Hildegarde played the organ for silent films at all of the area theatres. In 1926, she went to Minneapolis for advanced organ courses at the McPhail School of Music. Upon her return, she began a series of live, remote broadcast programs over WDAY Radio with the organs from both the State and the Fargo Theatres.

When vitaphone, or "talking," picture equipment was introduced in 1927, the Fargo Theatre was the first in the area to install the equipment. On December 4, 1927, the Theatre presented a series of talking short subjects along with an opera solo by Giovani Martinelli, a welcoming address by Will Hays of Motion Picture Producers, Inc., a comedy monologue by Georgie Jessell, and a piece by the New York Philharmonic orchestra. The feature film that night, however, was a silent, "The College Widow" starring Dolores Costello.

Al Jolson's "The Jazz Singer" was the first full-length, part-talking picture at the Fargo Theatre, shown on February 20, 1928. Vitaphone short subjects were featured on Thursday through Saturday for a few months, with Monday through Wednesday devoted to a program of five acts of vaudeville with a silent picture feature. Talking pictures became a regular feature with "Tenderloin" on July 2, 1928.

Continue with History (1920, 1930, 1940, 1950-60, 1970, 1980, 1990)