Numerous laborers, including plumbers, bricklayers, and sheetmetal workers, strike and picket major construction projects. Work ceased on several major developments, including Kirkwood Plaza, Town House Motel, Wachter Junior High, and the Parkade. Among other demands, the Plumbers and Steam Fitters Local 795 union demanded a flat $9 per day subsistence payment for work outside city limits, and a $1.50 per hour pay increase to $1.35.
Town House Hotel opens. The hotel files for bankruptcy in March 1988 and is acquired by Kelly Inn Limited of Sioux Falls in May 1988, who also owned Bismarck’s Sheraton Galleria. Kelly Inn closed in February 2019, and demolition began in January 2020.
First stores open at Kirkwood Mall: Woolworth (March 18) and Montgomery Ward (September 23).
Big Boy/KFC establishes a downtown location at the southeast corner of 6th & Thayer. It remains there until 1982.
1971
Building permits just shy of 1968 record, by a mere $208,000. Commercial permits did set a new record and public projects were the highest since 1967.
Kirkwood Mall officially opens. A Grand Opening celebration is held in May with namesake Robert Kirkwood in attendance.
Kmart opens in October. It is one of the first businesses to open north of I-94 along the State Street Corridor and Bismarck’s second modern-day discount department store (after Northbrook’s much smaller Tempo in 1963). Originally referred to as “Kmart Shopping Center,” the building consisted of the 84,000-square-foot namesake department store and a 20,000-square-foot National Food Store store operated by National Tea (named Kmart Foods until 1974). Dan’s Supervalu later occupies the grocery store until building its own store across the street in 1980. Kmart eventually expands into the space, consuming the entire building.
Country Kitchen opens at 1201 E Main Avenue. It is the first of two – the second opening at 1307 Interchange Avenue about two years later. It closes in 1979. It later houses a succession of restaurants, including Ron’s Family Restaurant until 1984, Weisbeck’s Family Restaurant until 1989, Main Street Diner until 1990, and finally Dakota Farms. Today, the building houses Land O’ Lakes.
New Missouri Valley YMCA building opens at Divide and Washington (December 15). The building cost an estimated $655,000 to construct. It broke ground in 1970 and will see may expansions over the years, including 1975, 1987, 2001, and 2008.
Village Inn Pizza Parlor opens at 434 S 3rd Street. It was the company’s second location, after Minot. Not to be confused with Village Inn Pancake House, which opens in 1972 at 405 S 7th Street. Rax occupies the building in 1985, followed by Applebees in 1992.
Seven Seas Inn opens in northwest Mandan with 106 rooms, 340-person banquet area, 116-seat dining area, and 80-capacity cocktail area (April). A service station, located immediately to its east, was also part of the project. A Seven Seas dining establishment previously existed in the Greengard Commercial Building, which was destroyed by fire in 1970.
A second Bismarck Dairy Queen is established at 2021 E Main (now Oaktree Realtors).
Mort Bank establishes Bismarck’s first McDonalds at 2207 E Main Avenue. The $90,000 building replaced Blue Ribbon Hatchery and a house that were formerly on the site. At first, the restaurant offered only counter pickup service. It was expanded in 1973 to add indoor seating, and in 1980 to add a drive-through. That location is replaced by the McRock Cafe in 1992.
Missouri Valley Motors relocates to 1144 Missouri Avenue from the 500 block of Main Avenue. The dealership becomes Cedric Theel in 1985.
1972
Record construction year, $18 million in new building permits surpasses 1968 record by about $4 million. $8 million of those are commercial and public projects. Residential units did surpass 1971.
Village Inn Pancake House opens at 405 S 7th Street in December. Not to be confused with Village Inn Pizza, which opened at 434 S 3rd Street in 1971, it is the first Village Inn Pancake House to open in North Dakota. A second Village Inn Pancake House opens at 2240 N 12th in 1977. International Inn replaces both restaurants in 1986. Denny’s later replaces the south location in 1988.
Iten Pontiac-GMC opens. Today, it is Schwan GM Auto Center.
Mr. Steak opens at 431 S 3rd Street. The site is later home to The Wok, Jade Garden, and Los Amigos. Today, it is home to CVS/pharmacy.
A second location also operated at 1500 Interchange Avenue, the present-day site of Athena Square. After Mr. Steak, in about 1986, the building served as the Moose Lodge for some time, no later than 1994.Both Bismarck franchises closed in 1985.Mr. Steak was an international chain operating more than 280 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada during its 1970s peak. The company folded in 1987.
A third Bismarck Dairy Queen is established on State Street (spring).
Dorothy Moses Elementary opens, named for a longtime school board clerk.
Financing for a second high school (Century) is approved.
Plans are unveiled to remodel the Bank of North Dakota building. A western theme is chosen. The building’s exterior is covered with a new facade. The building was formerly home to an automobile dealer. It was demolished in 2008, shortly after the bank relocated to its new facility on the former site of Holiday Inn.
Fort Lincoln Estates is established. It reorganizes as the City of Lincoln in 1977.
1973
Record building permits issues = $37 million, more than double the previous year’s record. Total residential units dipped to 311 from 420 but the value was nearly equal, attributed to inflation. 44 commercial permits worth $20 million.
Bismarck Medical Office Building = $1.3 million
Kirkwood Office Building = $1.35 million
Bismarck Hospital = $4.14 million
Saint Alexius Hospital = $4.2 million
BJC Student Center = $778,000
Kirkwood Motor Hotel = $3.33 million
Melroe/Clark Equipment = $946,000
Plaza Tower Apartments (52 units) = $1.33 million
Bismarck’s first Taco John’s opens at 1922 E Broadway in January. It is the 46th Taco John’s to open nationally. The restaurant is later expanded, including the addition of a drive-through.
First American Bank & Trust building at Main Avenue and 3rd Street is destroyed by fire on January 4th. Built in 1882, it was the city’s second brick building erected. The fire originated in vacant offices on the 2nd floor. While the main floor was undamaged from the fire itself, the structural integrity of the building was significantly compromised. It was a total loss, with damages estimated at around $400,000. Efforts to douse the blaze amidst wind chills of 40 degrees below zero leaves behind a thick ice sheet covering the structure. The site now contains the 3rd Street Parking Ramp. It was the city’s largest fire in nearly 10 years, when the Fleck Motors building was destroyed in 1951.
A&B Pizza opens first Mandan restaurant, at 422 W Main Street. It relocates in 1978.
First annual Downtowner’s Street Fair is held
Second Country Kitchen opens at 1307 Interchange Avenue. The location later houses Cary’s Kitchen and Highway 83 Diner. It is destroyed by fire in November 2005.
The Kavaney family requests rezoning and re-platting of land originally intended for the ill-fated Century Mall that will eventually house Gateway Mall and other commercial projects.
Jeannette Myhre Elementary opens, named for a former principal.
1974
Value of new residences total $11.4 million, up more than $3 million despite 42 fewer permits. 36 commercial permits worth $5.6 million.
Bismarck School Board unanimously approves the naming of its upcoming second high school “Century.” The name is chosen both from its position on Century Avenue and due to the fact that the school’s construction was approved in 1972 – Bismarck’s centennial year.
(Howard’s) Sirloin Stockade opened at 424 S 3rd. It later served as Howard’s Family Steak House and Family’s Choice Buffet before closing in 1993. Sirloin Stockade is a national restaurant chain founded in 1966 with 80 locations as of 2017.
Floyd Boutrous announces Sunset Terrace Plaza on July 18, 1974. It was to be a fully enclosed regional shopping mall near Mandan’s Sunset Drive interchange; roughly 84,000 square feet consisting of two levels costing an estimated $1.6-$3 million. Efforts continued until at least 1982, later competing against plans to construct a neighboring mall called Terra Vallee, but neither never came to fruition.
Ben Franklin store opens at Arrowhead Plaza. It is originally a variety store, but later transitions into a craft store. The store closed in 2007.
Kmart Foods rebrands as National. The change last one a year before Dan’s Century Supervalu opens inside.
Thunderbird Home Improvement relocates into a new 18,000-square-foot building at 1405 E Interstate Avenue (September). It was previously housed at 619 E Broadway Avenue. The store closes in 1995 after a succession of different owners.
Little Cottage Cafe is established. The restaurant is housed in the former office building for Tyler Cabins, which was relocated onto the site in 1964 from the then-site of the Holiday Inn.
Wheel-A-While is established. The popular rolling skating rink closes in 1987.
Schaumberg Arena opens. The facility is renovated and expanded to include the Schaumberg Arena and Wachter Arenas in 2017.
Constitutional amendment approved that required the governor and lieutenant governor to be elected jointly on the same ballot.
Mandan Theater re-opens as Showboat Cinema after renovation.
Basin Electric completes new headquarters. Building commenced in July 1974 for the $3.1 million building. Basin had been headquartered in the Provident Life Building since its inception in 1962.
City Commission approves “State Street” name assignment to Highway 83 from Boulevard Avenue north
The Federal Highway Administration approves an overpass for 19th Street at Interstate 94. Burleigh County Commission later approves funding the extension of 19th Street from the overpass to Century Avenue. At the time, the land was not yet part of Bismarck.
1976
Mandan Hardee’s opens in January (Grand Opening on March 7). Construction first commenced the previous summer. Bismarck’s first Hardee’s – at 1303 Capitol Avenue – breaks ground that February and opened in June while a “Hardee’s” blimp hovers above for an entire week in promotion. The South Third location opens by the following year. A drive-through lane was added to Capitol Avenue in 1981, but the city nixed it for Third Street that same year the city, citing inadequate spacing for vehicles, but one does eventually get installed there.
The venture was owned by Glen Grishkowsky (a Bismarck accountant), Jim Glatt (of Kroll’s Kitchen), and Jack Conant (who invested in sixteen previous Hardee’s franchises to that point). A Minneapolis firm acquired the local franchises in 1979.
In February, Bob Kavaney requests rezoning and re-platting of land that will eventually house Gateway Mall, setting aside 27 additional acres bounded by Century and Gateway Avenues for a proposed major shopping complex. 12 acres to the southwest would be dedicated for multi-housing to act as a buffer zone between commercial and single family units.
Tempo – Northbrook Mall’s largest tenant – closes unexpectedly in May, despite having six years remaining on its lease. Its former 45,000-square-foot space was converted into a “mini mall” to house multiple tenants. The “Northbrook Mini Mall,” as it would be referred, was divvied into 35 spaces averaging 1,200-1,500 square feet each, with the largest space being that of Hardware Hank at 6,500 square feet. The heart of the mini mall was an octagonal layout.
Downtown Wells Fargo Building is completed on former site of Grand Pacific Hotel
All-American Subs franchise opens on former Auto-Dine site (closed by 1980)
The Pepper Mill opens at 3rd and Bowen. The restaurant later obtained the license to manage the Airport lounge and cafe, that same year. It operated until 1979, when it was replaced by David’s Fine Foods. The building later houses Hollywood Nights Video/Planet Video and was destroyed by an electrical fire caused by the store’s sign in or around 2001. Hollywood Nights Video re-opened in a new building before America’s Mattress replaced it.
Northwest Fabrics holds its grand opening on January 22, 1976 at 2504 N 14th Street. The store later becomes Hancock Fabrics & Crafts.
City planners begin considering a stricter system of naming and platting streets, including “themed” neighborhoods. The concept of designating north-south roads exclusively as streets and east-west roads as avenues was adopted soon-after.
Fun Factory opens at 3014 N 11th Street. The entertainment facility featured fast food, several pinball machines, two air hockey tables, and eight pool tables. It closed by 1980.
Chancellor Square project debuts in downtown Bismarck, which includes a new set of one-ways on 6th and 4th Streets and Broadway and Thayer Avenues.
1977
$15 million expansion project begins at Kirkwood Mall. When completed in 1980, Kirkwood will double in size and add two additional anchors.
Major winter fire destroys several buildings in downtown Bismarck
Bismarck’s first Burger King opens, on South 3rd at Bowen Avenue. The location is remodeled in 2014.
Fort Lincoln Estates is reorganized into the City of Lincoln, after a July election yields a 312-185 favorable vote.
Bismarck Theater is demolished to make room for First National Bank and Trust.
Golden Dragon opens at 410 E Main Avenue. The restaurant expands into the adjacent building in 1983 and closes in 2005. Its original building formerly housed the long-time clothier Dahl, along with Weeda’s. Blarney Stone occupied it in 2009.
The first local Happy Joe’s Pizza and Ice Cream Parlor opens, just south of Kmart. A second location later opens in south Bismarck. Both are replaced by Pizza Factory in 1984.
Prairie Rose Elementary opens as Lincoln Elementary. At the time, it is outside of city limits. The name changed in 1993 to avoid confusion that the school was located in the City of Lincoln, which doesn’t get a school until 2014.
Arthur Treacher’s Fish and Chips opens at 320 S 3rd, which was once a national chain consisting of roughly 800 locations. It was the state’s second Arthur Treacher’s restaurant. It then became the Copper Penny, a local restaurant, from 1981 until 1983, when Taco John’s occupied the building.
7th/9th Street one-way conversion project completes in September, which includes the addition of a railroad underpass on 7th Street. The project was recommended as part of an Urban Area Transportation Study in 1972.
Green Tree Square, a shopping center designed to house up to 8 tenants, opens inside the former Dakota National Bank building at 212 N 4th Street. The venture ceases in about 1985 or 1986.
A&B Pizza relocates Mandan restaurant, from 422 W Main Street to its present location at 609 1st Street NE.
First standalone KFC opens on Gateway Mall outlot, ending formal affiliation with Big Boy despite shared ownership.
Tennis courts added to Tom O’Leary
The Donut Hole opens Mandan location at 600 E Main. The venture is a partnership that includes the owners of Dickinson’s Baker Boy. A Bismarck location follows in 1981. Today, it is known as Bearscat Bakehouse.
Wachter Wave Pool opens.
Shiloh Christian School begins operations in September. It is described as an “interdenominational evangelical school.” It initially consists of 7 full-time and 2 part-time teachers serving 43 students in grades K through 10th. It is strictly private with no federal or state funding.
Fiesta Villa opens in Mandan (relocated to Bismarck in 1983)
Labelle’s opens a showroom in south Bismarck in August. The store is acquired by BEST Products in 1982, re-brands in 1987, and closes in 1997 following the company’s bankruptcy reorganization efforts.
Joint Law Enforcement Center completed at 700 S 9th Street. The $2 million facility is is chiefly funded through a $1.9 million grant from the Economic Development Administration.
Planning and funding were completed in 1977, with ground breaking on December 12th. The Wachter Family donated land for its construction in exchange for vacating part of Arbor Avenue to allow for Kirkwood’s expansion.
It consisted of three stories, plus a basement, with an attached garage.
The facility was erected on top of the city’s former garbage dump yard, a fact that caused the cost to increase by $26,000 when it was decided some buried debris must be scooped out.
Originally, the joint facility was to house all offices for local, county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, with a possible jailhouse and courthouse also constructed. Those plans never fully materialized. Instead, Burleigh County continued some operations at the Burleigh County Courthouse, which itself was greatly expanded in 1992 to house all county law enforcement operations.
Consideration of a joint law enforcement center went back as far as 1969.
Choice Cut Family Steakhouse is sold and converted into Bonanza. The new owner was the original owner of the Bismarck restaurant. The Mandan location closes in 2017.
Country Kitchen closes at 1201 E Main Avenue. It is one of two – the second opening at 1307 Interchange Avenue about two years later. It closes in 1979. It later houses a succession of restaurants, including Ron’s Family Restaurant until 1984, Weisbeck’s Family Restaurant until 1989, Main Street Diner until 1990, and finally Dakota Farms. Today, the building houses Land O’ Lakes.
Popeye’s Chicken opens at 1400 E Main Street in Mandan. Gramma’s Burgers of Mandan replaced Popeye’s by 1982, followed by Checker’s Buffet and Catering in 1988. The site is now home to Burger King. The fast food restaurant was opened by Glen and Delmar Grishkowsky, who are also partners in the first local Hardee’s, along with Kroll’s Kitchen owner Jim Glatt.
Robert Miller Elementary opens, named for the former superintendent.
GP Warehouse is temporarily replaced by Sports Page Tavern, then by Front Page Tavern
Project to widen State Street to six lanes between Divide and Century Avenues commences. The project also includes widening Highway 83 to four lanes between Bismarck and Washburn by 1983, and was expected to extend to Minot by 1985.
New traffic signals are installed on State Street/Highway 83 at Capitol and Century, on Main Avenue at 3rd, Ward and Avenue C, Rosser and 5th, Main and 26th Street, 3rd and Avenue C, and on Divide at Washington and 4th.
26th Street is realigned to lessen its curve and intersection with Divide Avenue further east.
A new interchange is added west of the Liberty Memorial Bridge connecting to I-94
Herbergers completes a major renovation and expansion in November. Kirkwood Mall’s expansion necessitated reconstructing much of the Herberger’s anchor, which lied in the path of the mall’s expansion. The project was completed in three phases, adding 15,000 square feet to a total of 65,000. It was the largest Herberger’s at the time – a distinction it previously held upon first opening at Kirkwood.
Target opens at Kirkwood Mall as part of the mall’s expansion project (November). The store was originally planned to be a Dayton’s, but was changed in February 1979. The walkway directly into the mall isn’t completed until at least 1980.
David’s Fine Foods replaces The Pepper Mill at 3rd and Bowen. The building later houses Hollywood Nights Video/Planet Video and was destroyed by an electrical fire caused by the store’s sign in or around 2001. Hollywood Nights Video re-opened in a new building before America’s Mattress replaced it.
The city’s first Wendy’s opens at 2112 N 12th, replacing a service station on the site (September 25). Wendy’s relocates from the site in the about 2003, replacing a scraped A&W/Long John Silvers location. A second location on Expressway opens in 1985.
August: Skipper’s Seafood’n Chowder House opens at 505 Bismarck Expressway (today’s La Carreta). It expanded and remodeled in 1983 – the same year that a second location opens in the Kmart outlot (now Arby’s). Both locations closed by 1995. The original south location became New York Bagel Shop & Delicatessen, and the north location temporarily became Joey’s Only – a similar seafood concept.
