FARGO-MOORHEAD CULTURAL CENTER BRIDGE

1977 - 1979
Fargo and Moorhead, ND, United States

The Fargo-Moorhead Cultural Bridge is an inter-connected complex of three buildings forming a cultural center that spans the Red River of the North. The Red River Valley Heritage Interpretive Center in Moorhead, Minnesota was planned to connect to a concert hall and radio station in Fargo, North Dakota via an art museum constructed above a bridge across the river. Although never built, the project was seminal in Michael Graves’ career and was highly influential in architectural circles. Its influence stemmed from the modern use of classical composition (such as the tripartite division of base, middle and top) and figurative elements (such as keystones and vaults), which created a narrative about the river, the arts and the joining of the two communities. The project’s evocative drawings became its hallmark, and Graves’s. They were widely exhibited and published and are now owned by institutions such as MoMA and the Cooper-Hewitt.