The Greater Grand Forks Driving Tour
This tour has been viewed 756 times.
Get a QR Code for this tour
Description
Beginning in East Grand Forks, MN, this driving tour will take you through historic sites across the greater Grand Forks area.
1. East Grand Forks Brewery
The East Grand Forks Brewery was built in 1890. It was rebuilt two times after, once in 1891 and the building that stands today was built in 1907. It was one of 6 cold storage warehouses in east grand forks at this time. Small breweries would ship their beer to the larger warehouses allowing the sales to reach a bigger market.
2. Columbia Mall
The Columbia Mall was developed by the Dayton Hudson Corporation and opened in 1978. While it was originally very successful, the Columbia Mall has recently seen difficulties and its future is uncertain. Currently two of three 'anchor' positions are vacant, with no plans to fill them. The mall opened with all three positions filled, and at its height, even featured a fourth anchor position. It contributed towards a shift from downtown Grand Forks being the shopping center towards the outskirts of town. Since passing into the 21st century, the mall has seen a steady decrease in the number of stores that are open.
3. Sertoma Park
Sporting a Japanese Garden and accessible "boundless" playground amongst several walking and biking trails, Sertoma Park has something for everyone. As part of Grand Forks' sister city relationship with Awano, Japan, the Japanese Garden found in the park was gifted to the city in 2003. Later, in 2006, aiming for more accessibility in Parks, Ali Karpenko entered an essay contest in order to create an accessible playground in Seroma Park. Although she did not win, three years later she was still able to celebrate the opening of Ali's Boundless Playground after the community raised enough funds to make her dream become a reality.
4. Grand Forks' Airport: 1928-1963
Opening on July 10, 1928, the Municipal became the first official airport in Grand Forks. Here many kinds of different operations run by the local community club happened through its first three-year span. Aircraft Pleasure trips frequently occurred on Sundays with club pilots taking up townspeople over the city. Even air meets occurred with pilots from local towns competing in flying derbies for competition. Flight Training started with five club instructors and six students, which grew into two schools and up to fifty students. Regular Passenger services began here where the airport was added as a stop on the Twin Cities to Winnipeg route. Due to damages by a fire in late 1930, some services were lost in early December and parts of the field needed reconstruction. Rebuilding and reopening of services started right away the next year. Many of the same operations continued until the Grand Forks expansion plan which included relocation of the field in 1963.
5. Grand Forks International Airport Old Terminal (1963-2011)
During the late 1950's the city of Grand Forks was looking to upgrade their old airport in-town for something a little bigger and more modern. After much deliberation, the city finally put together funding for a $2.5 million relocation project. The new airport and terminal would be located 5 miles west of the city of Grand Forks and about 10 miles east of the Grand Forks Air force base. The new location would allow for future expansion and the new terminal would help accommodate a greater volume of passengers into the city. The terminal officially opened February 1, 1964 with two scheduled passenger flights that day. While the terminal has since be replaced with a newer one in 2011, the original terminal saw 47 years of traffic and connected the greater Grand Forks community to the skies.
6. Grand Forks Air Force Base
Constructed in 1957 in response to the Cold War, the Grand Forks Air Force Base has acted as an Air Defense Operation and an Anti-Ballistic Missile Site. Originally the home to the 4133d Strategic Wing until the unit was renamed the 319th Air Base Wing. This unit operated a massive squadron of B-52 Bombers as support aircraft. The base named after the city of Grand Forks has also had a massive economic impact on the local economy such as providing jobs and supplying labor. This impact was a major reason why the base was not closed down by the US Defense Department in the early 1990's.
7. Turtle River State Park
Established in 1934, Turtle River State Park has a rich history with several setbacks and successes. Controversy arose when the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) wanted to create the park which required the removal of the Indigenous artifacts. Eventually, the artifacts were removed, and the park was opened and originally named Grand Forks State Park. Given the known weather conditions of Northeast North Dakota, such as heavy snow followed by heavy flooding, it is not surprising that several delays and mishaps occurred as the CCC began building roads and walking paths throughout the park. Although these conditions could have been counteracted with proper measures, the CCC was forced to delay and attempt to abandon construction. Despite these disruptions, construction was successfully completed in 1941.
8. Avalon Theater (Larimore, North Dakota)
The Avalon was originally the Grand Theater when it was constructed in 1925. In 1938 the Grand closed down and was remodeled and renamed the Avalon. Ever since then this theater has offered the Larimore community films and theater productions. Kids today receiving training in all things theater.
9. Old Larimore City Hall and Museum
Built in 1890, the old Larimore City Hall is the first brick building and the oldest extant civic structure in the city. In addition to serving as the Larimore's first city hall, it also served for many years as the town opera house. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990, and it has served as the community museum since the 1960s. It has several exhibits and artifacts that are important to explaining the area's history.
