City of Architectural Majesty

And bridges.

May 04, 2025

Valley City, North Dakota is sometimes referred to as The City of Bridges, for its plethora of spans across the Sheyenne (sic) river. I didn’t know this as I turned off the 94 to get gas and decided to be adventurous and fill up in town rather than at the freewayside, blaa corporate filling station with all the truckers and stale jojos under the heat lamp in the quick mart.

fact-checking my own blog- for journalistic integrity!

This city, 12th largest in North Dakota but with only 6 1/2 thousand residents, had a small town charm and seemed like a pretty friendly place. When I was driving, walkers waved at me. When I was walking, drivers waved at me. When we were both walking, walkers instigated friendly conversation. When we were both driving- drivers would smile and give me a look that said, Well hello Stranger, welcome to town!- OK, I made the last one up- I just wanted to complete the circle there.

Valley City has a typical, Main Street, Anywhere, USA downtown zone, and park where the river meanders through, and a nice-looking college, lots of trees, and yes, plenty of bridges. I crossed this one before pulling into the park:

No nonsense, straight-shooting, midwestern reportage. *“This is going to be a fine bridge when completed.”*

Not only all that, but they have a coffee shop that runs on the honor system. No employees! Just grab what you like and put the money in the slot. The best description of that coffee shop comes from the New York Daily News. It’s best because of the first sentence in the article: The owners of one North Dakota coffee shop have a latte trust in their customers.

In Valley City, the local news keeps all the farmers abreast of the latest prices in the market, and I like how the announcer pronounces the hard R. It’s quaint the way the English omit the R sometimes, but I really like the North Dakotan pronunciation of words like corn, hard, and harvest. The North Dakota hard R is almost as charming as the Minnesota long O.

All that small-town charm aside, what really stands out here is the amazing architecture. There are so many styles,

like Colonial Revival:

Italian Baroque:

Jacobean Tudor:

Rayonnant High Gothic:

and Roman Neoclassical:

What teen wouldn’t be enticed by this fine example of Parisian Beaux Arts?

and on Main Street you find the UNESCO-protected buildings with the most history, all in the Shropshire Paladian Revival style, as per city ordinance. Long live zoning!

Aside from the bridges and distinctive architecture, Valley City is also known as The Birthplace of American Ad Copy. You no doubt noticed in the last photo the midwestern flair for clever, penetrating verbiage; it’s signage that really grabs you! There’s just, well, there’s just something inexpressible- it’s a kind of, how to put it, crafty understatement laced with humor that deftly tells you just what you need to know, without actually telling you. Does that make sense?

Examples abound all over town.