Patterson, E. G., Building

When Patterson's Northwest Hotel burned in 1921, the Non-Partisan League, after four years at the Northwest, made the E.G. Patterson Building's ballroom its headquarters, and in the ensuing seven years, under the leadership of "Wild Bill" Langer, the party gained state-wide recognition and legislative seats. Langer was elected governor in 1932. The Non-Partisan League is recognized today as one of the nation's earliest and most successful grassroots movements. In 1930, when the State capitol building burned, many State offices took up residence in the McKenzie Hotel (by then renamed the Patterson Hotel - see 1976 National Register of Historic Places nomination), and the ballroom evolved into an important meeting place for legislators of every political persuasion. When many State politicians moved into the new Capitol building in 1932, Patterson continued to make use of the ballroom space for his own political endeavors while continuing its commercial usefulness as a "Convention Hall" for business, civic and fraternal organizations. The ballroom functioned in this capacity until approximately 1975. At his death in 1945, Ed Patterson's body was viewed by the public beneath the dome of the "silver ballroom".

Except for occasional vacancies in either the street-level storefronts or second-floor suites, the E.G. Patterson Building enjoyed continuous use for seventy-two years until its condemnation in 1980. The west side main floor bay, almost exclusively occupied since 1910 by the Gem, Orpheum, Capitol, and Cinema Theatres, is the oldest existing movie house in Bismarck.

Although the E.G. Patterson Building is one of several existing turn-of-the-century two-story brick commercial buildings in the City center, its design remains distinctive for the striking combination of classical detail, white enameled finish, and tall copper bay windows. The second-floor ballroom is unequaled in the area, and perhaps the State, for its expansive pressed metal ceiling. Milton Earl Beebe (1822-1940), who designed the building for Patterson in 1905, was one of the State's earliest and most prominent architects. Schooled in the tradition of Classical Revival, Beebe designed many large single-family residences and several public edifices throughout the State. Although a complete inventory of Beebe's work in North Dakota has not been made, of several public buildings accredited to Beebe, less than a handful survive.