The Gibb Plaza
The Gibb Memorial Plaza was dedicated to the entrepreneurial spirit of Fargo’s founding families. Robert and Jean Gibb donated $50,000 to construct the plaza at the intersection of Sixth Street and first Avenue South. Robert Gibb was a Scottish immigrant who started Robert Gibb & Sons business, which focuses on full-service mechanical contracting and is known for its quality work and remaining family-run.Sources:"Gibb Plaza Dedication Today at Island Park," INFORUM, 2014, http://www.inforum.com/content/gibb-plaza-dedication-today-island-park. "Our Story." Robert Gibb Sons, http://www.robertgibb.com/about/.
Island Park Pool and former Fargo Arena
The wall of the current Island park pool was built in 1937. It was originally built as a part of the winter sports arena that was built in the location of the current day pool. The arena was built as a part of the Works Progress administration to help create jobs during the Great Depression. It was sometimes referred to as the white elephant by locals. The original arena was too expensive to keep up so it was dismantled leaving only the wall. Another smaller arena was built using the same wall only to also be torn down in the 1970’s. Now the wall surrounds the current day swimming pool.Sources:Kerzman, Kris. “Throwback Thursday: A Brief History of Pools at Island Park.” InForum, May 28, 2015. http://www.inforum.com/news/3754712-throwback-thursday-brief-history-pools-island-park. Look Around Downtown: Fargo Heritage Discovery Walk. 2007. https://www.cityoffargo.com/attachments/ddc76ad5-4743-4dea-b996-b9c21a07a46d/Walking%20Tour-final%20from%20Pierce.pdf. Exterior: NDSU Archives 2113-19-1.
The Veteran Statue
Surrounded now by mature trees, Island Park’s Civil War soldier used to prominently guard the north side of the park. But why a Union soldier in Fargo? North Dakota wasn’t even a state during the Civil War, but as the railroad came to Dakota Territory, it brought with it many veterans looking for a new start, including the man that would chair the Soldiers Monument Committee, Fargo attorney Smith Stimmel.Smith Stimmel was born in Ohio in 1842. When he was drafted into the military at age 20 during the Civil War he was appointed to the Union Light Guard and assigned to The White House. From December of 1863 until April 14, 1865, the day of the shooting, Stimmel was a bodyguard to President Lincoln.1 Following Lincoln’s assassination, Stimmel returned home to attend Ohio Wesleyan University, graduating in 1869. He practiced law, married, and was mayor of Carthage, Ohio before moving to Fargo in the 1880’s.2Active in politics, Stimmel became territorial council president in 1889, and helped lead North Dakota to statehood that same year. He remained active in civics throughout his life in Fargo. His membership in the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) led to his work in 1915 and 16 on the statue.The base, hewn from the “famous Barre, Vermont granite,” met transportation problems and arrived in June. However, the bronze soldier portion of the monument was available for unveiling on Memorial Day 1916. The gleaming-bronze soldier gripping his Springfield rifle, carrying a full backpack with bedroll, a U.S. cartridge case and canteen on his belt, was the pride of Fargo.3Though the bronze has developed a green patina with time, 5-pointed G.A.R. star on the main column and the inscriptions in the granite are still as they were in 1916. “In memory of our comrades; To the Dead a Tribute, To the Living a Memory, To Posterity An Inspiration.”Sources:Valentine, Scott. “Highly Honorable and Strictly Confidential Service.” Military Images, June 2, 2016. https://militaryimages.atavist.com/highly-honorable-and-strictly-confidential-service-summer-2016. University, Ohio Wesleyan. Quinquennial Catalogue of the Ohio Wesleyan University, 1842-1886. The Ohio Wesleyan University, 1886. Hoffbeck, Steve. “Dakota Datebook.” Civil War Soldiers Monument Day, April 27, 2015. http://www.prairiepublic.org.
The Hope Statue
The Angel of Hope, located in Island Park, Fargo, is part of a 150 Christmas Box Angel Statue system scattered across the United States of America. The Angels are gathering places for grieving individuals and families who lost children for any reason. There is a candlelight memorial held every year in remembrance to the children lost every year. There is also an annual walk that also occurs and provides awareness to the deaths of children.The Angels of Hope are inspired by a movie called The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans. In the story an elderly woman mourns the loss of a young child by frequently returning to the child’s grave, which is marked by an angel statue. The angel promotes the connection between a mother and a child and the true meaning of life. In 1996, grieving parents of Salt Lake City, Utah were searching for the statue in the book and while Evans had a statue commissioned for the book, the story brought grieving parents from all over the United States. Many parents sought to bring the statue back home and over 100 statues were commissioned around the United States, including Fargo. It also serves as a graveyard for children that do not have graves and in Fargo the names of Children are engraved in bricks and placed in front of the statue.Sources:http://angelofhopefargond.com/ "Angel of Hope, Island Park Fargo, ND," Etsy, https://www.etsy.com/listing/238166661/angel-of-hope-island-park-fargo-nd. "The Compassionate Friends of Fargo-Moorhead," The Compassionate Friends of Fargo-Moorhead, http://www.tcffargomoorhead.org/announcementwalktoremember.html. "What Is the Angel of Hope?" Angelas House, https://www.angelashouse.org/angel-of-hope/what-is-the-angel-of-hope/.
YMCA
YMCA of Fargo dates all the way back to 1886. The first location was in the county courthouse and later moved to the corner of Roberts st and First ave N. Built in 1905 and costing $50,000 the facility included a pool, basketball courts, running track, and weight rooms. The Fargo YMCA location purchased acres of land and created Camp Cormorant, an all-boys camp in 1903. In 1961 YMCA members raised enough money to build a new facility located at 400 1st ave south, the current downtown location. Since 1989 the Y has added 3 locations and another location focused solely on child care in south Fargo.Sources:“YMCA | Fargo History.” Fargo, North Dakota: It’s History and Images. Accessed October 17, 2016. https://library.ndsu.edu/fargo-history/?q=content/ymca.
The Stage
The Stage at Island Park is the Fargo Moorhead Community Theater (FMCT) that was founded in 1946 and focuses on providing theatrical and educational opportunities to the Fargo community. The Stage is the longest running community theater organization in the Red River Valley. The FMCT was housed for many years in the open-air gazebo located in the park. However, the old pavilion is no longer standing. The Stage now utilizes the new Katherine Kilbourne Burgum pavilion built in 2011.The building currently housing the Stage was built in the 1960s and is similar to the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, with a thrust stage and three-fourths theater-in-round effect. The theater was supported by local Unions and the Fargo Park District. The stage was entirely built by community members and no capital funding was utilized in the Stage’s construction.Sources:"The Stage at Island Park," History, http://www.fmct.org/history.html.
The Fargo Fine Arts Club
The Fargo Fine-Arts House is 100 years old and is home to the 105-year-old Fine-Arts Club. The house is located on the corner of Fourth Street and Sixth Avenue South, right next to island park. The house was once Watson Hall, which was part of the Fargo College Conservatory of Music and while the college closed in 1922 and again in 1930, the house was donated to the club by owner Lizzie Watson. The house also has its own manager as Mona Arnold is the only club member to reside there. She is responsible for cleaning the house, prepping luncheons and speaking engagements, calling for repairs and baking responsibilities.The Fine Arts Club consists mostly of elderly women, finding ways of passing time yet the club is open to all people interested in the arts. The club, ran by the president Jan Ulferts Stewart stated that the club is “for people of any age who want to form friendships, volunteer and learn something new.”Sources:Larson, Anna G, "99-year-old Fargo Fine-arts House 'home' for 250 Club Member..." 99-year-old Fargo Fine-arts House 'home' for 250 Club Members, 2015. http://www.inforum.com/variety/3813349-99-year-old-fargo-fine-arts-house-home-250-club-members.
The Henrik Wergeland Statue
The tall statue, located in Island Park, is contributed to the life of Henrik Wergeland, Norway's national poet and a symbol of Norway's independence. He focused on political and religious reforms that changed agriculture and prisons and was coined as the “Abraham Lincoln of Norway.” He created May 17th as Norway’s Independence day from Sweden, which is still celebrated to date. The statue was unveiled at Island Park in Fargo, North Dakota on Wednesday, June 17th, 1908 in front of a crowd of over 3,500 people. Fargo’s businesses closed early and the celebration was held on what would have been Wergeland’s 100th birthday. To commend Fargo for its celebration of a Norwegian national celebrity, an identical bronze statue was constructed in Oslo, Norway and was unveiled on the same day. The statue was created by Gustav Vigeland, a well-known European sculptor. He is known to have started working on the project back in 1897, nine years before the start of the project. The project was commissioned in 1906 by Dr. Herman Fjelde, who was known to have strong ties with the Norweigian aristocracy. Fjelde fought for the statue to remain in Fargo, but committees from Minneapolis, St. Paul, Chicago and Grand Forks also bid but Fargo remained the statue’s resting place.Sources:http://www.fargoparks.com/facilities-recreation/island-park.html https://library.ndsu.edu/fargo-history/?q=content/island-park
Original Island Park Pool location
A public work project the original Island Park pool was built in the late 1930's. Designed by S. Marius Houkom the original complex included locker rooms on the main level, seating on the pool level, and diving boards, both high and low. The pool was moved to its current location which include the lone wall of the Fargo Sports Arena. The present day tennis courts are located where the original pool once was. The bleachers still present surrounding the west side of the tennis courts.S. Marius Houkom was born Sveinung Marius Houkom on April 24, 1891 in Mekinock, North Dakota. Originally a farmer, he eventually earned a college education at North Dakota Agricultural College, now NDSU, and later the University of Michigan for architecture. He became a partner in Braseth and Houkom, an architecture firm, in the early 1920’s until he established his own during World War II. He opened one more partnership firm for five years in the 1950’s and then practiced independently until 1978. Some of his architectural projects in Fargo include the original Island Park Pool, NDSU field house, and many churches. He also designed several houses and other commercial buildings in the area. Houkom served as the president and vice president of the North Dakota State Board of Architecture. After he retired in 1978 he moved to Wisconsin and lived with his daughter until he died on November 3, 1980.Sources:“Island Park | Fargo History.” Fargo, North Dakota: It’s History and Images, August 17, 1940. https://library.ndsu.edu/fargo-history/?q=content/island-park. Photo: Bogenrief, Henry. Island Park Pool :: Photo Gallery - Images from the NDSU Institute for Regional Studies (NDSU). Photo, August 17, 1940. Henry Bogenrief Collection 2052. NDSU. http://www.digitalhorizonsonline.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/uw/id/4659/rec/5.
