Bismarck Cathedral Area Historic District (Boundary Increase II)
104,106,112,115,116,120 E Ave B & 523 N 1st St (Remove 316,320 W Ave A & 510 N Washington St), Bismarck, NDThe contributing properties along the 100 block of East Avenue B meet Criteria A for Community Planning and Development and Criteria C for Architecture as defined in the original 1980 nomination and the 1997 Boundary Increase. Additional information regarding the Neil O. Churchill House (#69) and the Ervin H.L. Vesperman House (#49) is also included.
The recently surveyed properties at 104, 106, 112, 115, 116, 120 Avenue B East, and 523 North First Street are all part of the early Northern Pacific Addition in the heart of Bismarck and share the residential planning of the Cathedral area. Each of the architectural styles is also found within the listed properties of the district.
Consistent with the 1997 Boundary Increase, these properties were built from 1910 to 1934 with 4 of the 7 residences built during the 1920s, corresponding with a 56% population growth of the town of Bismarck. The blend of architectural styles and social eras is also seen along this street with the 2-story Foursquares and Gable front as immediate neighbors to one-story bungalows and a variation of a Spanish Revival.
Recent research by Erik Sakariassen has provided the following information about Neil O. Churchill, a Bismarck Mayor and automobile dealer who lived at both 618 North Mandan Street (#69) and 410 Avenue B West (#49). "In the 1930s, Churchill owned and managed a racially-integrated Bismarck semi-pro baseball team, more than a decade before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the Major Leagues. Churchill fielded start players from the Negro Leagues, including Quincy Trouppe, Ted 'Double Duty Radcliffe, and future Hall of Fame pitcher, Satchel Paige. In 1935, the team claimed the semi-pro national championship title.""
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 2010.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.