The gorgeous Northern Pacific Railroad depot in downtown Bismark was built in 1900 in the Spanish Mission-Revival style. Blasterz were somewhat surprised to see this gem HERE, in the northern plains, where Swedish is more common than Spanish, but there it is, and it is a BEAUTY. (We admit we did check our map to make sure we had not made a wrong turn and were in Albuquerque or Phoenix, but after that we were okay.)
From the Bismarck Historical Society: (
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"Northern Pacific Railroad Depot
...In August, 1898, The St. Paul Globe reported the Northern Pacific Railway’s intention to build a new depot and office building in Bismarck, N.D. The Globe reported that the new building would replace a framed freight depot built in the 1870’s and destroyed by fire in 1898. According to the article, the Bismarck depot, designed by the nationally prominent architectural firm of Charles Reed and Allan Stem of St. Paul, would be “one of the finest depots and freight offices on the (Northern Pacific’s) system, and one that all the people of that city (Bismarck) can desire from an architectural standpoint.”
Completed in December, 1901, at a cost of $33,601, the Northern Pacific Depot is notable for its Spanish mission-style architecture, uncommon on the Northern Plains....
The Northern Pacific Depot’s Spanish mission-style architecture featured a center façade flanked by towers 13 feet square, originally domed and crowned by louvered cupolas with bellcast roofs and finials. The superstructures of these towers (domed roofs, cupolas, and corner caps) were removed in 1954 and replaced by simple peaked tile roofs, producing the effect of Tuscan campaniles. The main entrance of the depot is recessed between the towers within a one-story portico featuring six concrete Tuscan columns. . . .
By 1916, the Northern Pacific Depot was serving 24 passenger trains daily. By 1950, however, Bismarck began to reflect the nationwide decline in railroad traffic. The decline continued throughout the 1970’s as mergers between the Northern Pacific and other railroads eventually created the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe. Ultimately, the Railway Express Agency vacated its quarters in the west end of the Bismarck Depot following a declaration of bankruptcy in 1975. Today the old Northern Pacific Depot is home to the Fiesta Villa Mexican Restaurant."
The Bismarck NPRR depot was placed on the national Register of Historic Places in 1977. Source: (
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Blasterz LOVE Mission-Revival -- it reminds us of the Alamo, which of course is first in the heart of every Texan. We remember the Alamo every day! The architectural details here are incredible -- especially the Northern Pacific logo inset into what reminded us of the famous Rose Window at Mission San Jose in San Antonio TX. We wish the tower cupolas had not been removed, but perhaps it was for a valid structural reason.
When Blasterz were there the depot was still occupied by a Mexican restaurant -- the owners were very kind to let us come in and take pictures inside the old depot, without asking us to be customers.