The 400 Apartments (Powers Hotel)

The first three floors of this Classical Revival building were constructed for businessman T. F. Powers. Located near the Great Northern Railway depot, business was so successful that in 1919 two more floors were added in the same style. Elaborate terra-cotta medallions and other ornament at the cornice line reflect Prairie Style commercial influence. A painted sign that survives faintly on the north exterior wall proclaims that this is "Fargo's first totally fireproof hotel." The upper stories are served by an interior lightwell. The restored lobby is the dominating interior feature, and the connected restaurant, in which North Dakota native and vocalist Peggy Lee performed, was renovated in 1938 in Art Moderne. The Powers Hotel coffee shop was for many years a main gathering place in downtown Fargo. In 1983 the small hotel rooms were consolidated and the building renovated as subsidized apartments, serving mainly elderly residents. The renovation was generally sympathetic, but one notable loss to the building fabric resulted from replacement of delicate small-paned windows with larger panes.