Lowman Block: 406-410 North Broadway

The Lowman Block at 406-410 North Broadway, constructed in 1914, and its neighbor at 412 Broadway, built in 1907, together illustrate a key period of commercial expansion in Fargo following the 1893 fire.

The Lowman Block was built for owner W. S. Lowman and designed by the exceptionally prolific regional architectural firm Haxby and Gillespie, whose work shaped numerous public and commercial buildings across the region. The construction itself was handled by T. F. Powers & Co., a major local builder also responsible for projects like the nearby Powers Hotel.

The three-story Lowman Block exemplifies solid, fire-resistant commercial architecture of the era, defined by its red brick facade, a decorative brick parapet, and the prominent "Lowman Block" name carved into the stone.  

The adjacent structure at 412 Broadway, being seven years older, highlights the rapid, continuous development along Broadway in the early 1900s. Its most compelling historical detail is what's hidden: although the storefront has been modernized with metal grillwork, the original three brick-arched windows and stamped metal ornamentation on the second story remain intact and obscured behind the new facade.

This makes the 1907 building a physical record of shifting retail tastes over the decades, while both structures serve as contributing properties to the overall architectural history of downtown Fargo