Welcome to the World War Memorial Building! Bismarck has a long tradition of honoring veterans with memorial structures. There is a memorial bridge over the Missouri River, the Veterans Memorial Public Library, the Liberty Memorial Building on the Capitol Grounds, and, the workhorse building of Bismarck, the World War Memorial Building, just north of the Belle Mehus Auditorium on 6th Street.

In 1929, nearly 75% of the Bismarck voters decided to fund a building which would honor the sacrifices of those who served in World War I and give the city a property big enough to host public events on a scale not before envisioned by the expanding community. Despite the economic upheaval of the Wall Street crash, which heralded the hardscrabble years of the Great Depression, Bismarck stood behind its plans for the future and persevered in the plans to build the World War Memorial Building. The city managed to fund $125,000 for the project and Burleigh County chipped in $84,000. On December 31, 1929, the cornerstone was laid.

The World War Memorial Building was finished just in time to give the state legislature a temporary home, after fire destroyed the North Dakota Capitol. Fire again had taken a toll on the town. Fortunately, the new Art Deco building designed to house a wide variety of events was just across the street from the firehouse. The World War Memorial Building utilized the most up to date construction techniques of the day, including a steel frame construction and the use of steel reinforced concrete. Local resources were used for much of the structure which helped the struggling area economy. Over 700,000 bricks produced at the Hebron, North Dakota Brick Plant were used to face the building. Immediately put to the intended use, the World War Memorial Building hosted all manner of events ranging from basketball games and boxing matches to statewide agricultural shows like the Corn Show of 1930 and automobile and ag industry machine exhibits showcasing new models of cars and farm equipment. Many a day has been spent by people of Bismarck and the area around it enjoying sports shows and sporting events at the large and versatile civic facility.

Garden shows were a popular type of event from the earliest days of the venue. The Slope Poultry organization designed new pens to suit the spaces of the new event location, considering it the best facility of its type in the entire region. In March of 1932, crowds of thousands gathered in and outside the World War Memorial Building to celebrate the vote which denied Jamestown its bid to wrest the location of the state capitol from Bismarck to their own city to the east along the James River. Political skulldudgery was thwarted and Bismarck has remained the capital city, thanks to the votes of the rest of the state citizens and the party of celebration was a huge event. Today, the World War Memorial Building remains a civic asset used for a wide assortment of activities by the Bismarck Parks and Recreation District and is a very busy facility.