Fargo Theatre

When the Fargo Theatre opened on March 15, 1926, audiences came for both screen and stage. The new Broadway movie house paired films with live vaudeville and music; its Wurlitzer organ could accompany silent pictures before films carried their own sound. The organ’s original installation is still part of the building’s story, though the instrument heard there today has been rebuilt and expanded over time.

The theatre’s first design did not last unchanged. In 1937, architects Liebenberg and Kaplan reworked the interior in a streamlined Art Deco style. The transformation followed the arrival of “talkies” and the pressures facing movie houses during the Depression. The new look replaced the ornate 1920s finishes with curved surfaces and horizontal bands of neon lighting. The theatre adapted to a different kind of cinema while remaining a downtown place for entertainment.