travel united states montana butte historic commercial architecture
Like the historical civic and residential architecture of Butte, the historical commercial architecture features beautiful brick and metal work.
TRAVEL:
2009 -
2015 - Spent a couple hours enjoying and photographing the historical architecture
unless noted otherwise all images copyright d. holmes chamberlin jr architect llc
Hennessy Building, 16 East Granite, Butte, Montana, USA, 2015.
Architect: Frederick Kees
Built: 1898
"In little more than a decade, entrepreneur Daniel Hennessy’s mercantile business became Montana’s first and most elegant department store.
Minneapolis architect Frederick Kees designed the magnificent 1898 Renaissance Revival style showcase of steel, terra cotta, decorative glass,
and wrought iron grille work to house Hennessy’s thriving business.
The Anaconda Copper Mining Company added to the building’s prestige, moving its executive offices to the sixth floor in 1901.
There the company reigned over its empire atop the city’s most modern building.
Façade restoration in 1989 by ENTECH, Incorporated, rejuvenated the building, which now serves as a major business center accommodating modern offices."
from: montanahistorywiki.pbworks.com
Tuttle Building, 304 North Main Street, Butte, Montana, USA, 2015.
Architect: J. C. Martin
Built: 1892
"Shelley Tuttle began a Butte foundry and machine shop business in 1881.
By 1890, the expanded Tuttle Manufacturing and Supply Company had a plant in Anaconda and employed twelve machinists, blacksmiths, molders, and pattern makers.
Tuttle supplied parts and machinery for local mining operations, including the immense smelter works of Marcus Daly, who was a major stockholder in Tuttle’s company.
In 1892, Tuttle built this business block as an outlet for his foundry products and to house an inventory of hardware goods.
Butte builder J. C. Martin designed the three-story brick building with graceful brick arches and rusticated stone trim.
Besides mining supplies and machinery, Tuttle’s foundry manufactured cast-iron storefronts and architectural ornamentation like the metal brackets that support the cornice displayed here.
He also sold home furnishings and Garland stoves. Daly bought out the company in 1896 and changed its name to the Anaconda Copper Mining Company Hardware Department.
The descendent of Tuttle’s foundry still operates in Anaconda today."
from: montanahistorywiki.pbworks.com
Commercial building at W. Copper and Main, Butte, Montana, 2015.
Old Ionia Cafe, 16 South Main Street, Butte, Montana, USA, 2015.
Builder: Constructed by Gagnon Realty Company
Built: 1914, 1916
"The Gagnon Realty Company constructed a single-story building on this site in 1914, adding the second floor before 1916.
Mosaic tiles at the entrance proclaim the business of its early tenant, baker Joseph Boulet, who moved his Iona Cafe and Baking Company here from Park Street in 1915.
In 1917, the Iona became the State Cafe, and so it remained through the 1960s. An ornate metal cornice, decorative brickwork, transomed windows, and a sign for "Flor de Baltimore" painted on the north wall recall another era.
Underneath the building is an excellent example of the subterranean passageways that crisscross the city.
These passageways delivered steam heat to downtown businesses.
Local tradition has it that Butte's Chinese population used these passageways before the turn of the twentieth century and later, that they served as a delivery system during Prohibition."
from: montanahistorywiki.pbworks.com
922 South Main Street, Butte, Montana, USA, 2015.
Builder: T. T. Fitzmaurice
Built: c. 1903
"Railroads were crucial to facilitate industrial-scale copper mining, and it was South Butte that became the city’s great railway hub.
Because a variety of industries located here along with the railroad, South Butte reflects a colorful ethnic and occupational diversity.
This picturesque residential/commercial building was constructed circa 1903 for T. T. Fitzmaurice and adds significantly to the area’s architectural variety.
The distinctive Tudor look, achieved with the use of half-timbering on the upper story, is unique to the area.
The building long served as a neighborhood grocery store and residence catering to railroaders, laborers, teamsters, and others who lived and worked in South Butte.
The top floor originally accommodated up to five tenants in separate rooms with a common kitchen and bath.
Two exterior stairways provided access to the upper floor.
From 1918 to 1920, Ellen Ivey operated her grocery here. English-born Mrs. Ivey was the widow of a miner and lived upstairs with her daughter, Nellie.
Jess Dearborn, a miner, boarded with the family."
from: montanahistorywiki.pbworks.com
copyright d. holmes chamberlin jr architect llc
page last revised august 2015