Dick Olsen says his tiny garage normally is indestructible.
But that probably wouldn't be true if it were standing in floodwaters. If it were, Dick says, "It would have gone down years ago."
Happily, though, the garage is high and dry in north Fargo, far away from the Red River floodwaters, which is a good thing, for as Dick says, "It's a little piece of Fargo history worth preserving."
His building is a Rusk Auto Garage. It's made of galvanized tin. It was built around 1912-13 in the 1400 block of Seventh Avenue South, Fargo.
Dick bought it in 1979 and moved it to his home at 1644 5th St. N.
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Forum columnist Andrea Halgrimson has written about these structures in the past. Credit for digging up their history goes to her.
Pre-World War I days
George Rusk founded the Fargo Cornice & Ornament Co. in Fargo about 1885. It made a number of metal items, including cornices, interior ceilings and walls and shingles.
But its Auto Houses became its top product, coming out as America was moving from horses and buggies to the automobile.
The garages were prefabricated and portable, with galvanized panels bolted to a wooden frame.
They were built from 1912 until 1915, when World War I created a sheet metal shortage and production had to be halted. But Andrea says from 40 to 50 were built and sold in North Dakota.
Dick has become something of an authority on the houses, too. He gave a presentation on them last May during Historic Preservation Month to the Fargo-Moorhead Heritage Society.
Dick is a retired teacher who works part time as a parking lot attendant for Gate City Bank in downtown Fargo.
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He's proud of his garage, saying that aside from some modifications, it's basically the same building it was when it was built nearly 100 years ago.
He thinks each letter of the Rusk logo on the front was handmade, before the company began machine pressing them.
And for sure, the cars it first housed fit more comfortably than does the 1988 Lincoln Mark VII coupe, which he says he now "just barely squeezes" into the 12-by-18-foot building.
The company continued making metal products until 1942, when it closed. But some of its Auto Houses are still out there as reminders of the early days of the automobile era.
Rusk Auto House locations
Dawn Morgan of the Fargo-Moorhead Heritage Society knows of several Rusk Auto Houses in Fargo, but she has been told about at least one
on an area farm, and she says there could be "many others"
in Fargo and the F-M area.
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This is Dawn's list of the Rusk Auto Houses that she knows are located in Fargo:
- 315 S. University Drive
- 329 9th Ave. S.
- 390 7th Ave. S.
- 415 9th St. S.
- 1644 5th St. N.
- 505 5th Ave. N.
- 714 6th Ave. N.
- 1346 4th Ave. N.
- 1822 3rd Ave. N.
If you have an item of interest for this column, mail it to Neighbors, The Forum, Box 2020, Fargo, ND, 58107; fax it to 241-5487; or e-mail blind@forumcomm.com
