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In the course of our daily reporting, we often uncover unusual projects, places, or connections that don't make the final cut. Instead of keeping it to ourselves, we're pleased to share our Architrivia.
Now in its third season, the hit television adaptation of the Coen brothers classic 1996 film Fargo features a number of familiar Calgary locales. Bolstered by strong performances and gorgeous cinematography that superbly captures a desolate Midwest landscape, the environment in which the series takes place becomes a character of its own. The cast serves to animate the purposeful bleakness of the visuals, which are often drained of their colour, a fitting accompaniment to the unabashed black comedy that peppers the script.
Eagle-eyed Calgarians haven't been fooled by Hollywood's attempts to mask the city as small-town Minnesota, where most of the series takes place. Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman, Kirsten Dunst, and Patrick Wilson are just some of the stars so far that have been thrown into the crime-ridden world of Fargo. And the latest season, featuring Ewan McGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, is no different. Like the first two seasons, the brick commercial buildings of Inglewood have been prominently displayed in the first three episodes of the new season.
One of the most memorable scenes of the season three premiere saw an engaged-to-be-married duo, played by Ewan McGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, dispatch an air-conditioner on an unsuspecting scofflaw after a robbery deal goes sour. Taking place at the couple's apartment, Inglewood residents will notice the four-storey brick and sandstone building as the Fraser & Seabloom Block on 9 Avenue SE. The structure was built during the late stages of a development boom from 1910 to 1912 that birthed many still-surviving buildings. The arched upper windows — decorated with Christmas lights in the show — are topped by sandstone keystones. Above that, the Fraser and Seabloom names are conspicuously inscribed on the frieze.
The crew made no attempt to hide the Inglewood reference in the name of the storefront law office, which is quite visibly portrayed in the episode. Loyal followers of the show may even recognize the single-storey building to the immediate east, which played Bo Munk Insurance Shop, workplace of the hapless Lester Nygaard, in season one.
The Fraser & Seabloom Block was designated a Registered Historical Resource in 1996, underwent a facade restoration, and received a City of Calgary Heritage Award the following year.
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