source: Vittles in the Fast Lane.
Peacock Alley still a hub for legislators, lobbyists
by Andrea Winkler Collin, Editor
If this is an odd-numbered year, it means the North Dakota Legislature is in session. For the past 80 years – and 40 legislative sessions – a downtown Bismarck restaurant and bar has been the unofficial headquarters for after-hours gatherings of legislators and lobbyists. The past few months have been no exception for the Peacock Alley American Grill and Bar.
“This building was the temporary North Dakota State Capitol,” says restaurant owner Dale Zimmerman of the Patterson Hotel building, which houses the Peacock Alley and has been standing on the corner of Fifth Street and Main since 1911. “When the state capitol building burned down in December 1930, many state offices were relocated here, including Governor William Langer’s.”
The current Capitol building was occupied in January 1935, and while state officials worked out of the Patterson, the legislature convened for two sessions at the World War Memorial Building, one block to the east.
