Facing a housing crunch after World War II, the University quickly constructed a Faculty Village commonly called Silver City. It was a group of prefabricated "emergency" houses that were erected by an NDAC faculty-housing corporation. The project began in the fall of 1946 and by 1947 twenty-four of the units were complete and most were occupied. The planners hoped to construct a total of 30 of the bungalow homes on the 12 lots which the college owned between 12th and 13th Streets and 12th and 13th Avenues. The completed houses, including the lot, cost approximately $4,000 each. Rental of the units and their eventual salvage were expected to defray cost of building. This was the only non-veteran housing project in Fargo-Moorhead and, due to limited building supplies, was allowed under special educational priority. The houses measured 16 feet by 32 feet and had two bedrooms, a living room, a combination kitchen-dinette and a bathroom. All units were fully insulated and were equipped with an oil-burning "area heater" (Fargo Forum, March 6, 1947; Chemistry Scrapbook, U.A. ACC 20).
Silver City remained a fixture on the campus for only a short period of time. After the tornado of 1957 destroyed many of the homes, the space was converted into a parking lot.
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University Archives, 701-231-8914 Published by the University Archives, NDSU Last Updated: 8/27/04 |