We inspected the old St. Mark’s church in downtown Fargo, which is now the home of the Sanctuary Events Center!
Photo of the roof structure taken from the attic during our inspection
The story started in 1885 when Rev. Ulery came to Fargo to start a Lutheran church using the English language. At the time, all Lutheran churches in the area held services in “foreign tongues,” which primarily was Scandinavian.
Rev. Ulery was hosting a Lutheran Sunday school, and during that time he raised $2,000 to build a church. The funds were used to purchase three lots on the southeast corner of 8th Street and 4th Ave North.
In 1886 St. Mark’s Lutheran church was built. The first service was held in May of 1887 where all 10 members were of Norwegian heritage.
Over the next 20-25 years the church had grown to 300 members, and a larger church was needed. Again, Rev. Ulery raised money, and the first church was torn down to build a new, larger church.
The new St. Mark’s church was completed in 1912, and their membership peaked in 1960 with around 1,200.
The roof structure is now exposed in the concert area
In October 2013 the building was purchased by the Kilbourne Group. They invited the community to provide input for what the building should become. Kilbourne Group ended up investing $4 million to renovate the building into a wedding and event venue.
You can see the transformation of the building in this video
Resources:
NDSU Library
Kilbourne Group Website