NPS Form 10-900 0MB No, 1024-0018 RECEIVE.---- ~lx22&l~ United States Department of the Interior National Park Service JUL 1 2 2013 National Register of Historic Places NAT. REGISTrn OF HISTORIC PLACES Registration Form NATiONAL PARK SERVICE This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in National Register Bulletin, How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. Place additional certification comments, entries, and narrative items on continuation sheets if needed (NPS Form 10-900a). 1. Name of Property historic name Skarsbo Apartments other names/site number Ambassador Apartments and President Apartments 2. Location street & number 204 and 210 North Sixth Street not for publication city or town _G_r_a_n_d_F_o_r_k_s ___________________ _____ ~-____, vicinity state North Dakota code ND county Grand Forks code 035 zip code _5_8_2_03___ _ 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this ---1L nomination _ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property _x_ meets __ does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant at the following level(s) of significance: ~ local D -1-IJ Date State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government In my opinion, the property _meets_ does not meet the National Register criteria. Signature of commenting official Date Title State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government I Park Service Certification _ entered in the National Register _ determined eligible for the National Register _ determined not eligible for the National Register _ removed from the National Register Date ~ ~tio~ 7 •!?' 1 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service/ National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 0MB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/3112012) Skarsbo Apartments Grand Forks, North Dakota Name of Property County and State 5. Classification Ownership of Property Category of Property Number of Resources within Property (Check as many boxes as apply.) (Check only one box.) (Do not include previously listed resources in the count.) Contributing Noncontributing private X building(s) -----3 ---------- buildings public - Local district --------------- site s public - State site ---- ----------- structure s public - Federal structure --------------- objects object 3 Total I Name of related multiple property listing Number of contributing resources previously (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing) listed in the National Register N/A N/A 6. Function or Use Historic Functions Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) (Enter categories from instructions.) DOMESTIC: Multiple dwelling DOMESTIC: Multiple dwelling 7. Description Architectural Classification Materials (Enter categories from instructions.) (Enter categories from instructions.) th th Late 19 & 20 Century Revivals foundation: -----Concrete ---------- w a II s: --Brick----- ---------- roof: Other other: 2 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service/ National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 0MB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) Skarsbo Apartments Grand Forks, North Dakota Name of Property County and State Narrative Descri tion (Describe the historic and current physical appearance of the property. Explain contributing and noncontributing resources if necessary. Begin with a summary paragraph that briefly describes the general characteristics of the property, such as its location, setting, size, and significant features.) Summary Paragraph The Skarsbo Apartment complex, consisting of two nearly identical three-story apartment buildings and a small single­ story caretaker's cottage, is located in Grand Forks, ND at 204-210 N. 6th Street. The neighborhood is located near downtown in an area of transition between commercial and residential. The apartment buildings are commonly known as the Ambassador Apartments (204 N. 6th St.) and the President Apartments (210 N. 6th St.). NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION Setting The Skarsbo Apartment complex is located west of the downtown area of Grand Forks, North Dakota, only a few blocks from the Red River. The buildings sit on the east side of North 6th Street, just north of 2nd Avenue North, facing west. Situated at street level, the two apartment buildings sit only a few feet from the sidewalk; the caretaker's cottage sits farther back from the sidewalk in the area between the two apartment buildings. An alley is located to the rear of the complex; some parking for tenants is located off the alley. The apartment buildings sit on two separate lots, each measuring 75 feet by 140 feet; the caretaker's cottage straddles the two tax lots. General Characteristics Each of the apartment buildings is three-stories in height and sits on a raised basement foundation. The buildings are rectangular-shaped. Stylistically, the buildings fit within the 20th Century Period Revivals, common throughout the country in the 1920s and 1930s. The Skarsbo Apartments show an English period revival influence as evidenced by the diapering pattern of contrasting brick along the upper edge of the buildings, the label molds (also in brick relief) over some of the third floor and projecting bay windows, the "shouldering" of the front-facing bays, and the grouping of the front elevation windows in threes. A belt course, also in contrasting brick and consisting of a lower course of soldier bricks (which project slightly from the plane of the wall) and an upper course of brick laid in rowlock, is located between the basement level and the first floor level of the buildings. The contrasting brick on the Ambassador Apartments building is a glazed off-white with dark speckles; the contrasting brick on the President Apartments building is also glazed, but is cream-colored with no speckles. The foundations of these buildings are poured concrete. The structural walls and floors are poured concrete and hollow clay tile. The roofs are flat, covered with a built-up roof of tar and gravel, and are located behind parapet walls topped with a concrete coping. The small caretaker's cottage is a rectangular-shaped, one-story building. It sits on a concrete foundation and has a hipped roof. It, too, shows an English influence stylistically. Exterior Description The building located at 204 North 6th Street, the first of the Skarsbo Apartment buildings, now known as the Ambassador Apartments, is clad with a reddish-brown brick (laid in a running bond) on the front (west), south and rear (east) elevations - all of which are visible from public rights-of-way. The north elevation, the one facing the second apartment building, has the same brick and decoration extending from the front of the building across the first two bays toward the rear of the building; the remainder of this elevation is clad with a yellow brick. The main entry is located in the front projecting bay and is covered with a flat canopy with a decorative metal edging attached to the building directly above the door and secured by metal cables extending from label molding above the windows over the doorway to the front corners of the canopy. The door is flanked by sidelights and topped with a transom 3 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service/ National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 0MB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) Skarsbo Apartments Grand Forks, North Dakota Name of Property County and State window, all framed with wood. The door appears to be a replacement and the screen door is a later addition. The steps to the doorway are curvilinear, fronted with brick matching the building and flanked by short brick retaining walls. The entrance is flanked by the original metal sconce lighting. In addition to the projecting bay on the front elevation, there are two projecting bays on the south elevation and one on the rear elevation. Each of these bays also projects slightly above the roof edge in addition to projecting outward from the wall surface; the bays on the side of the building do not project as far out as the front and rear bay. At the top of each of the projecting bay walls is a decorative element consisting of a square set on-point within a square topped with a label mold element. This decorative element is also comprised of contrasting brick. The secondary entrance is located in the projecting bay at the rear of the building. There are two separate doors, side by side, which provide entry to the rear stairwell. Both are multi-pane doors, the south door also has a screen door. In addition to the main (front) and rear entries, there is an entrance directly from the outside to the basement level, located on the south elevation near the front of the building. The windows in this building are original and are predominately four-over-four double hung wood sash set in wood frames with brick sills. Most have storm/screen combination windows. Some of the basement windows are two-over-two double hung wood sash. The windows on the front elevation are placed in groups of three with the exception of the upper level windows in the projecting bay. The windows in this bay provide lighting for the front stairwell and, as such, are offset between the floor levels. The same offset is true for the windows in the rear bay. There are also windows set in groups of three on each of the side elevations; these groupings correspond with the living room areas in the apartments.