​VIP Room: the ghost in the basement

On the corner of the 600 block of Main Avenue, across the street from the historic site of the North Pacific Depot, lies a building scorned by the slights of time. The five-story building on Main Avenue houses more than just the residents of the apartments within, as it is also home to various businesses, creating a beating heart of business and commerce in a building that has long existed to thrive as such.

There are rumors that exist of another presence that lingers just beyond the sight of the living in the block six building, however.

At the heart of the block six building, there lies an elegant but humble restaurant, residing in the very beautiful mezzanine of the structure that has stood since 1879. The VIP Room opened some fourteen years ago and the restaurant, a hidden gem of Fargo, has developed a rumor of its own. In the very depths of the structure’s foundation, beneath the modestly fashioned restaurant, is a basement space that is utilized for storage. It is in this space that there have been reported sightings of an apparition lingering in the darkness.

According to staff and patrons of The VIP room, corroborated sightings of a ghostly figure have emerged in the years since the restaurant’s opening. Though the stories vary, descriptions have all remained the same regarding sightings of a veiled woman who wanders the property. Though some see her has a guardian of the building and some as a lost spirit trapped to the confines of lonely space, the history behind the presence suggests a possibility that might not have been considered.

What stood before the Block Six building was a flourishing place of business called The Chicago Dry Goods House, which was later named after its owners, the DeLendrecies. The general goods store was created and managed by a man named Onesine Joassin DeLendrecie and his brother, Eugene.

DeLendrecie’s, known as the largest department store west of the Twin Cities, neighbored another of similar reputation in the time of its growth here in Fargo. Just across the street was another growing business, emerging from the location of one that had been destroyed in fire, and would soon make its name known to the United States.

Originally known as The Waldorf Hotel, built upon the grounds of the former Sherman House Hotel, the establishment was known for its extensive tunnel-like underground horse stables. Eventually changing in ownership and name to The Milnor Hotel, and subsequently, the Earle, the hotel housed many famous and important guests, including former president Theodore Roosevelt, who had been known for giving an important Labor Day address from one of the hotel’s second story balconies in September of 1910. The hotel, capitalized in part by the DeLendrecies, was known nationwide as the “leading hotel of the Northwest, offering 108 rooms within its five stories.

On December 13, 1951, a fire ignited within the Earle Hotel, quickly growing into an inferno and spreading to the Waldorf Tavern, a site adjacent to the origin of the flame. The fire killed one and left two others missing in its wake; unfortunately, the missing individuals were officially pronounced dead later. The fire - an unexpected blaze that occurred around 7:09am on a cold December morning of minus thirteen degrees, caused the hotel’s guests to evacuate to the nearby North Pacific Depot.

The fire that claimed the hotel in its entirety was one of many that devastated the region in the 1900s and faded from breaking news to word of mouth and, eventually, to whisper and rumor. Much like the whispers regarding the mysterious phantom of the VIP Room, some things refuse to be forgotten. In fact, many rumors exist today about the veiled woman who roams the basement of the VIP Room, including one that mentions the discovery of valuable antique gold coins that were found with the aid of the ghostly apparition who was said to have been pointing from the darkness to the spot where they had been hidden.

Though the origin of this woman remains a mystery, one can speculate about where she may have come from. Perhaps she is a wandering spirit who found refuge in the dark quiet recess underneath the Block Six Building or perhaps the story goes deeper, to the cavernous and tunneling basements or the underground stables that may have connected the two businesses at one point in time. Could this be the insight or clue that has been overlooked?

___________

[Editor’s note: Seng is the host of “Whispers in the Night” podcast--which explore topics of the paranormal and unexplained in the Midwest]