WATFORD CITY - A beautiful community space officially opened in Watford City on Wednesday.

A new $6.8 million theater, restaurant, gallery and banking complex is done after more than two years of construction and six years of planning.

All through a sunny November day, people streamed through the front doors to have their first look at the Main Street showpiece that looks from the outside like a Montana ski lodge, and from the inside like a perfect mixture of natural western materials and functional elegance.

It is this generation of the Stenehjem banking family - Steve and Gretchen's - way of paying forward to a town and region that has supported the family banking business since the old-time days.

The open house was to signal the work was finally done.

Well, it's almost done.

The Watford City High School jazz band played in the gallery on one end, notes bouncing off the soaring ceiling and clerestory windows, while on the other, stone masons worked to finish the floor and deliverymen carried in other building products. It was "that end" that houses the original First International Bank and Trust offices and the last to get brought into the project.

Movies were showing in the 6 Shooters Showhall and Cafe and folks were dining at Outlaws Bar and Grill. One of the movies was a continual all-day loop of last weekend's Class B 11-man football championship game, with Watford City pulling it off over region rival Dickinson Trinity. How sweet it was, over and over again on the big screen.

There are beautiful touches everywhere, from the wheat-toned acid-washed paint on the walls, to the metal sculpture and art work, to the glassed-in elevator, to the nearly three-story rock wall that doubles as a trickling water feature.

Elgin Crows Breast, of New Town, said he's been driving the 50 miles to Watford City for 16 years to do his banking.

He said he likes the service, and Wednesday, he was very impressed by the new surroundings.

He sat in a couch not far from the main entrance, watching the community come and go.

"I think this will bring the community together. It's a good thing," he said. "It's nice to see business people building the community up."

Architect Craig Helenske said the design was a challenge because it meant weaving so many normally separate projects - theaters, restaurant and bank - into one tasteful whole.

He said the economic boom in the region made it a secondary challenge to get the building. "All the trades are very busy. It's a good thing and a bad thing," he said.

Gretchen and Steve Stenehjem enjoyed the opportunity to say hello to their well-wishers, friends and family alike.

It's been a long, long haul, and they are pleased not only to be so nearly done, but also with the fruit of the bank board's decision to invest in town.

Gretchen Stenehjem said the part of the project that most satisfied her was the portion of the gallery devoted to the history of the area and the bank.

She said the display is a reminder both of what's owed to those who worked in the past, as well as to the importance of staying grounded to family and community values.

That sounds pretty serious. The fact is, there's just a lot of fun going on at the complex, from a cold brew at the saloon, to hot buttered popcorn at the showhall. Folks can dress in a business suit, or a cowboy hat, and it's all the same.

Steve Stenehjem hosted guests for lunch at the Outlaws and then wandered through the gallery while the jazz band - two of his kids performing - warmed up with a few scales.

"It's great it have it this far along and to have people in," he said.

The open house would end with a buffet and a few dignitaries cutting the obligatory ribbon.

But for Watford City, a new era of fun, entertainment and leisure would just begin.

(Reach reporter Lauren Donovan at 888-303-5511 or lauren@;westriv.com.)