The Odd Fellows Block, located at 23-25 S 4th st and 324 Kittson Ave in the Downtown Grand Forks Historic District of

Grand Forks Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

is a historic building built in 1888 as a home for the Odd Fellows meeting hall, which was situated on the third floor. The hall was fitted with a large and well-appointed lodge room, a banquet hall, and numerous smaller rooms.

History

The Odd Fellows Block is architecturally significant in that it is one of two remaining

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesque ...

buildings extant in Grand Forks along with the St John's Block. These buildings were, along with the now demolished Security Building, the most impressive in Grand Forks in the late 19th century. The south (principal) and west elevations of the building feature cream brick towers framing recessed red brick bays along with stone details and decorative brick panels. Visible above the roof is a large wire frame skylight, now covered over with tar paper, which once lit the meeting hall below. The second floor apartments date to the original construction. The Odd Fellows Block played a significant role in the social and civic life of Grand Forks in the last decades of the 19th century serving as a meeting place for three Odd Fellows' lodges and the

Daughters of Rebekah The Daughters of Rebekah, also known as the Rebekahs and the International Association of Rebekah Assemblies, is an international service-oriented organization and a branch of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Just like the Independent Order ...

, as well as for lodges of the

Ancient Order of United Workmen The Ancient Order of United Workmen (AOUW) was a fraternal organization in the United States and Canada, providing mutual social and financial support after the American Civil War. It was the first of the "fraternal benefit societies", organizatio ...

, the

Knights of the Maccabees Knights of the Maccabees was a fraternal organization formed in 1878 in London, Ontario, Canada. Most active in the U.S. state of Michigan, the group's fraternal aspects took a backseat to providing low-cost insurance to members. In the societ ...

, the Order of Foresters, the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

, and the

Royal Arcanum The Supreme Council of the Royal Arcanum, commonly known simply as the Royal Arcanum, is a fraternal benefit society founded in 1877 in Boston, Massachusetts by John A. Cummings and Darius Wilson, who had previously been among the founders of the ...

. The Odd Fellows block serves as the southwestern anchor of the historic district in downtown Grand Forks.

References

{{NRHP in Grand Forks County, North Dakota Buildings and structures completed in 1888 Odd Fellows buildings in North Dakota Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in North Dakota Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in North Dakota National Register of Historic Places in Grand Forks, North Dakota 1888 establishments in Dakota Territory