Bismarck Civic Auditorium

The Bismarck Auditorium has since its completion in 1914 served as the city's principal theater of the performing arts. Its seating capacity (1500), superior acoustical qualities, and location within the urban focus of the south-central portion of North Dakota have contributed to its status as one of the foremost facilities in the region for the presentation of artistic and public events. Thus it was viewed at the time of its construction not only as a local achievement but also as a tangible symbol of the capital city as cultural center. It continues to make that physical statement because its external appearance remains virtually unchanged. Both the exterior and interior exhibit a consistency of structural and decorative features (particularly classical motifs, in the latter case) which impart a unity to the whole. The significance of the design is further augmented by the fact that it was a major commission of Arthur Wesley Van Horn (1860-1931), a Bismarck architect whose practice was one of the most prolific in the state during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A preliminary association with the project by the architectural firm of Reed and Stem, St. Paul, Minnesota, also appears to have influenced the design concept.

Reed and Stem were employed by the Bismarck city commissioners in February, 1912, to produce a design for and supervise the erection of a fireproof 80 foot X 130 foot auditorium. A local election had determined that the building was to be partially financed by the sale of $45,000 in negotiable city bonds and by taxation. It is not clear from the minutes of meetings of the city commissioners whether or not complete plans and specifications were ever sent by Reed and Stem, although reference is made to the receipt of plans for the basement. However, a rendering by Reed and Stem in the E.A. Williams Papers, Manuscript Collections, State Historical Society of North Dakota, suggests that the building as eventually completed was perhaps derived from a design originated by the St. Paul firm. In any event, the association was terminated in the fall of 1912 after voters rejected the issuing of an additional $40,000 in city bonds necessary to finance the auditorium as projected by Reed and Stem. In a settlement negotiated by their respective attorneys, the city commissioners paid $1125 to the firm, with the latter assuming the cost of a plaster model of the auditorium.

Turning to the task of erecting an auditorium with the funds available, the commissioners in December, 1912, employed Arthur W. Van Horn of Bismarck to furnish plans, specifications, and supervision for a building not to exceed a cost of $45,000.