The I-Beam – Fargo, ND (1980s–2000s)
In a state not exactly known for queer nightlife, The I-Beam stood strong.
Opening in the 1980s, The I-Beam (actually located in Moorhead) became Fargo’s defining gay bar — a rare, durable LGBTQ+ gathering space in North Dakota. The name fit perfectly: structural, industrial, unpolished. Like the steel beam it referenced, the bar held weight.
Inside, it was equal parts dance floor and dive — pool tables, jukebox energy, themed nights, drag shows, leather nights, karaoke, Pride events. It wasn’t flashy. It didn’t need to be. It was consistent. It was there.
For LGBTQ+ people across Fargo, Moorhead, and the broader Upper Midwest, The I-Beam wasn’t just a bar — it was infrastructure. A place to meet. To date. To organize. To mourn. To celebrate. In smaller cities especially, that kind of space carries outsized importance.
Through the 1990s and 2000s, as national queer culture shifted and visibility expanded, The I-Beam remained a constant in a region where safe spaces were few and far between.
