Entertainment Events

Fred Waring Show – 1965 – February 7, 1965 the Fred Waring Show with The Pennsylvanians performed in Minot at the Municipal Auditorium …. The was a Sunday evening performance and all seats were reserved $2 - $2.59 and $3.00 …

Blue Oyster Cult and Rush – in July, 1976 Blue Oyster Cult was going to appear in Minot at the  All Seasons Arena. Their special guest band was Rush. They concert featured a special laser and flsh light show…. Tickets $5.00 in advance and $6.00 at the door.

National Grocery

The National Grocery  Store was on the southwest corner of Second  Street and 4^th Avenue SW… the intersection now known as Burdick Expressway and Broadway. The Building was built to be a grocery store.  After National Food closed, the building went through a number of owners and various businesses. For a short time the building was home to a case lot, wholesale type store. The when the Ace Hardware Store on First Street SW in downtown Minot lost their building to the construction of a parking lot, it became Ace Hardware. Then Scheel’s Hardware & Sporting Goods. In the early days of Scheel’s, they were more hardware than sporting goods. In fact The early Scheel’s Store was also a good place to find specialty baking products. After Scheel’s moved out, Schlotsky’s Deli occupied the north part of the building and the south side of the building was home to Tom’s Home Furnishings, a smaller furniture store.  Later, the building was purchased by and became the home of Zimmerman’s furniture, which is still there.

Kresge Cafeteria

 There was at one time a snack bar or cafeteria in the Jupiter Store.  It was located on the south side of the store as you entered. In the basement was a huge oak ice box or refrigerator used for storage.  I was told if I could get the old oak icebox out of the store when Jupiter closed, I could have it… the icebox actually was bolted together and was easy to disassemble. The refrigeration unit was shot and some of the base had to be rebuilt. However the ice box was lost in the flood of 2011 .. I did save the front panel, which weighs about 200 pounds. Some day, I will use that in some fashion in my basement. 

SS Kresge Store

The Kresge Store in Downtown Minot was originally just north of the Ellison Department Store for many years .  Sometime I believe in the late 60’s ot 70’s the Kresge Store moved about one block north just south of the Woolworth . If I remember correctly from my Kresge history, which  I learned during my 20 years working for Kmart, there were two Kresge Stores, The Dollar Store and Five & Dime Store. The Five & Dime was the early days version of the discount store.  Eventually both were combined into the Jupiter Store.. Many remember the wooden floors that were somewhat warped and creaked when you walked on them… When Kresge established the Kmart store chain, one of the names considered before the Kmart name was picked was Jupiter. Some speculate that had Kresge used the Jupiter name, the chain of stores would not have achieved the success enjoyed by Kmart. The Kresge location became Western Paint & Glass and that business was there for many years . Now Western Paint & Glass is gone and Main Street Books has moved into the building.

P P Lee Block

Woolworth’s was on the South west corner of Main Street and Central Avenue. Originally this was Jack Doyle’s saloon in the late 1800’s. It was purchased and became the P P Lee block and was the home to the New York Store owned by Fauchald. The New York Store was one of the early general department stores .  Somewhere around 1920 FW Woolworth bought the store to put in their Woolworth Department Store. Eventually the top floor was added.  The cafeteria was on the south side of the store close to the escalator. When I was a young kid, Grandpa would take us into Woolworth’s while Mom and Grandma were shopping to buy us ice cream. We were usually more interested in riding the escalator. This escalator only went up and you had to take the stairs down.…. If I remember correctly, the house wares department was at the top of the escalator. The building has gone through a couple changes in ownership but is now back to retail stores on the main floor and apartments above. Rumor has it the escalator may be restored to working condition

 
 

PP Lee Block

Woolworth

A Zoo in Mnot

Minot Z00  -in 1914 the decision was made to open a zoo in Minot. The Park Board decided to purchase two buffalo from South Dakota, a bull and a cow, at a cost of about $600.00. Five acres was to be fenced for the buffalo. A Menagerie will be started in the area. Some of the animals will be coyotes, foxes, bears and raccoons. A monkey cage will be added and the park already has a number of squirrels in the park, however, boys are shooting the squirrels. Fines and jail terms were to levied on anyone carrying guns in the parks. $1.00 to $19.00 and 1 to 15 days in jail. The Zoo building was built in 1921 and has survived a number of floods. Flooded in 1923, 1927, 1953, 1969 and 2011. The building has gone through many changes and is now in the process of becoming an Aviary.

 Zoo Building 1920's

 Original Bear Castle

Feeding bears

 

 

 

Sign at entrance

Future Devices

NSP – Look into the Future – In 1961 NSP placed an advertisement in the newspaper predicting some of the things that would come to be in the future….. some of these were Instant checkout in stores – Electronic devices will scan purchases and add the bills to give you your total due ….. Automatic Cleaner – A machine that will vacuum, wash, rinse, dry and wax floors by itself then scoot back to the its niche in the baseboard , empty any waste and wait for the next job…… Automatic Wall Painter – Walls will be built with panels that incorporate a chemical that will change color when electricity is applied….. change your wall colors to match your mood……. Cooling Blanket – A blanket that will heat and/or cool at your discretion ….. Make Disposable Tableware - with a touch of the dial and throw them away afterwards – or If using your finest china, you will be able to clean and sterilize in 3 minutes with ultrasonic waves.