page_title: Bismarck, North Dakota
section_title: Cityscape
hierarchical_section_title: Bismarck, North Dakota / Geography / Cityscape
caption_attribution_description: English: Downtown Bismarck, North Dakota, USA. The McKenzie Building opened on January 1, 1911 as the McKenzie Hotel by Alexander McKenzie. Edward Patterson would purchase the hotel and rename it the Patterson Hotel in 1923, after McKenzie's death. Originally seven stories, the final three were added in the 1930s. For years, the Patterson Hotel was the tallest building in North Dakota. The hotel closed in the 1970s, was condemned in 1980, and then underwent extensive renovation. It now houses a restaurant and the upper floors contain Patterson Place senior housing. Although still known as "The Patterson", most of the Patterson nameplates have been removed, and now bare the original "McKenzie" plates.
context_page_description: Bismarck is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the second-most populous city in North Dakota after Fargo. The city's population was estimated in 2019 at 73,529, while its metropolitan population was 132,678. In 2017, Forbes magazine ranked Bismarck as the seventh fastest-growing small city in the United States.
  Bismarck was founded by European-Americans in 1872 on the east bank of the Missouri River. It has been North Dakota's capital city since 1889, when the state was created from the Dakota Territory and admitted to the Union.
  Bismarck is across the river from Mandan, named after a historic Native American tribe of the area. The two cities make up the core of the Bismarck-Mandan Metropolitan Statistical Area.
  The North Dakota State Capitol, the tallest building in the state, is in central Bismarck. The state government employs more than 4,600 in the city. As a hub of retail and health care, Bismarck is the economic center of south-central North Dakota and north-central South Dakota.
context_section_description: The city has developed around downtown Bismarck, the center of historic development. It is distinctive because the city's major shopping center, Kirkwood Mall, is in the city center rather than in the suburbs. Several other major retail stores are in the vicinity of Kirkwood Mall, which was developed near the Bismarck Civic Center. The two Bismarck hospitals, St. Alexius Medical Center and Sanford Health (previously Medcenter One Health Systems) are both downtown. The streets are lined with small stores and restaurants.
  Much recent commercial and residential growth has taken place in the city's northern section, largely because of expanding retail centers. Among the shopping centers in northern Bismarck are Gateway Fashion Mall, Northbrook Mall, Arrowhead Plaza, and the Pinehurst Square "power center" mall.
  The North Dakota State Capitol complex is just north of downtown Bismarck. The 19-story Art Deco capitol is the tallest building in the state, at a height of 241.75 feet (73.69 m). The capitol building towers over the city's center and is easily seen from 20 miles (32 km) away on a clear day. Completed during the Great Depression in 1934, it replaced a capitol building that burned to the ground in 1930. The capitol grounds encompass the North Dakota Heritage Center, the North Dakota State Library, the North Dakota Governor's Residence, the State Office Building, and the Liberty Memorial Building. The North Dakota State Penitentiary is in eastern Bismarck.
  The Cathedral District, named after the Art Deco Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, is an historic neighborhood near downtown Bismarck. Some homes in this neighborhood date to the 1880s, although many were built in the first decades of the 20th century. At times, the city has proposed widening the streets in the neighborhood to improve traffic flow. Many residents object because such a project would require the removal of many of the towering American elms which line the streets. These have escaped the elm disease that destroyed street canopies of trees in eastern cities.
  After the completion of Garrison Dam in 1953 by the Army Corps of Engineers, which improved flood control, the floodplain of the Missouri River became a more practical place for development. Significant residential and commercial building has taken place in this area on the south side of the city. The Upper Missouri River is still subject to seasonal flooding.
caption: Downtown Bismarck: Patterson Place (built in 1911 as the McKenzie Hotel) was the tallest building in the state until construction of the capitol building. Originally operated as a luxury hotel, it has been adapted for senior housing and a retail restaurant.
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