Dakota Block

Dakota Block

The Dakota Block, also known as the Flannery Block, is a historic Gothic Revival style building located on the northeast corner of 2nd Street and Main Avenue. One of the few buildings to survive the 1898 fire, it is Bismarck’s third-oldest surviving building, after the Camp Hancock log house and neighboring Bread of Life Church.

The building was first announced in November 1882 and completed in 1883 for about $34,000. It was a joint venture by Doctor Porter, and Misters Goff and Thompson. The three-story structure originally comprised of three twenty-five-foot frontage bays, but the eastern-most section has since been demolished and a new building – formerly housing Jacobsen Music and Wylie Music – was erected in its place. It represented the most modern building techniques of the era and was also the city’s second-largest private building at the time, after First National Bank.

It’s unclear the cause or timeline of the eastern section’s demise. Bismarck’s online property search indicates the replacement building was erected in 1890, but the section was present as late as the 1950s.

Original tenants included, on the main floor: Whitley & Bushman (wholesale grocer), H.R. Mead & Co. (dry goods), and Veeder (drugstore); and, on the second floor: H.H. Day (jeweler). Various offices occupied the upper floors.

The Dakota Block was one of several major brick structures erected in 1883. It represented the most modern building techniques of the era. It was also the city’s second-largest private building, after First National Bank – also completed in 1883.

In 1999, the city commission authorized $46,000 in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for the building’s renovation. Concluded in 2002, the $500,000 project included new windows, a new HVAC system, modern elevator, and other improvements.

Notable tenants have included Bismarck Grocery Company and Feist Electronics.