HomeMy WebLinkAbout26 and 26.5 E Main 1985 "IdONTANA HISTORICAL AND
ARCHITECTURAL INVENTORY I Site
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Legal Description:_Qraainal Towrisite Lots E 25' of 6. all 7 & 8/Blk A
Adaress: 26 & 2615 East Main tb"'"1-'rs�`-'1°��
Ownership:name: Louis R. Spain, etal.
❑ private address: Roll# 77 Frame N 28
Elpublic SBA Partnership 36 East Main
P94AA bL Historic NameUnknown
-- Y I [�RA 11 y Common Name:
L I 1889-90/1891 ❑ estimated
Date of Construction: �7 documented
I
u Architect: Unknown
T' i — T 1 Builder. Unknown
�f Original Owner: Thomas B. Ellis
original Use: Hardware farm & grocery
Present Use: Commercial Structure
_ -
Research Sources:
7 r T—�� El abstract of title El city directories
I
❑ plat records/maps E. sewerlwater permits
❑ tax cards ,, obituaries
❑ building permit biographies
t• - r _. -' -. IN Sanborn maps-dates 18 90/18 91
Z T ~ I 2 Bibliography:
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PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Describe present appearance of structure/site,then contrast and compare that with it's original appearance,
noting additions,alterations,and changes in materials. Discuss significant architectural features.
This attached two-story commercial structure has a rectangular plan with a
two-storefront facade on the street level , both with entrances. One store has
a soldier course above the store. The one-bay facade is asymmetrical and con-
sists of two off-center front entrances with aluminum storefront windows at
street level , and 1/1 double-hung windows in pairs on the upper level . The
brick construction in running bond has vertical headers forming pilasters , and
a coping of limestone and sandstone. The flat-built-up roof runs parallel to
the street.
His I.ORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Justify how the persons,important events,and/or historical patterns associated with the structure/site
and surrounding area lend the property significance.
This property was built by Thomas B. Ellis, an early businessman engaged in
dry goods business. lie was first engaged in business in 209-215 East Plain
under the firm's name Ellis, Davis and Sperley, built in 1872.
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This structure is a neutral element within a potential historic district.
INTEGRITY: Assess the degree to which the structure/site,and surrounding area accurately convey the historical associations of the
property.
The historic integrity of this property has not been retained due to change
in original design and materials.
INFORMATION VALUE: Explain how the extant structure/site may demonstrate or yield information about its historic use or construc-
tion.
None.
FORM PREPARED BY: GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION:
Name__ JAMES R. MCDONALD ARCHI-CLCTS P.C. Acreage:
Address: p._ 0. BOX 8163 usGs Ound-
Date:_ MISSOULA, MONTANA 59807
M4 REVISED
Matthew A. Cohen
Sr,7gin, Montana
I'll V nFrFV1 rVP 19P5
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26-261/2 E. Main
1985 revision
Matt Cohen, surveyor
This simple Art Deco style facade, the west half of which spans an entire small
building, and the east half of which spans only half of a larger commercial block,
was constructed according to specifications provided by the F.W. Woolworth Co. ,
probably in 1950. It is significant as one of the three architectural expressions
of the three major, national department store chains to do business in the historic
district in the first half of this century. (The others are J.C. Penney, 9 E. Main,
and Montgomery Ward, 201 E. Main. ) The building is presently non-contributing due
to age.
The small building behind the west half of the facade was originally a simple, 3-
bay brick structure with a corbelled cornice, and a plate glass storefront with a
tall transom and central recessed entrance. It may have been built around 1891 by
Thomas B. Ellis for his dry goods business (information from inventory form, no
sources listed) . A c. 1909 photograph of the building shows it with a bulb-studded
sign projecting over the sidewalk that reads : "Shop of Bill the Nifty Tailor"
(Burlingame, 1976, p. 24) .
Perhaps the next occupant was Byron' s Cafe, which is listed here in the 1927 City
Directory (p. 177) , and which according to Louis Spain remained until the expansion
of the F.W. Woolworth Co. into the space from the adjacent building.
The section of the larger, but only slightly more elaborate adjacent brick block that
is now covered by the east half of the present facade, was vacant in 1927 (Sanborn Map) .
Probably in 1929, the F.W. Woolworth company moved into this space. Woolworth had
previously occupied the ground floor of the Fechter Hotel (128-130 E. Main) from
the time of its construction in 1918, and left when the J.C. Penney Co. , which
opened for business in Bozeman in 1929, moved into that impressive retail space.
The F.W. Woolworth Co. expanded from this second location into the ground floor
of the small building to the west, formerly occupied by Byron' s Cafe, sometime
before 1950. Around 1950, as a condition for the extension of their lease, the
F.W. Woolworth Co. provided specifications for an extensive remodeling that the two
landlords, Robert E. Dawes (east building) and a Mr. Sears (west building) were to
undertake - this according to Charles Vandenhook, who arranged the loan for the
work, which he said was quite expensive. Arrangements such as this were typical
for large chain stores whose policy it was to invest in merchandise rather than
real estate.
The remodeling included much interior work, as well as the construction of the
present facade, which visually unified the separately owned buildings. A fine
woodworker from New York, Lester Newman, constructed the interior display cases
(none of which survive) . (See attached photograph for original storefront design) .
G. Davenport may also have been involved in this transaction , for he applied for a
sewer permit on May 24, 1950 for this address, probably in connection with the
remodeling. (According to Louis Spain, the east building was owned by Dawes and
Davenport when first combined with the west building to allow the expansion of
Woolworth' s) .
After Woolworth' s, the store was occupied for a relatively brief period by the
Coast to Coast store until about 1980. The band of black screening across the
upper edge of the eastern third of the former Woolworth facade is associated with
yet another remodeling, this one in 1983, when Owenhouse Hardware (36 E. Main)
attempted to architecturally unify the various components of their own newly-
expanded busines.
Bibliography
Louis A. Spain, interview, 9/4/85
Application and Record of Sewer Connection, May 24, 1950, G. Davenport, 26 E. Main.
City Directories, 1927, p. 177; 1933
Sanborn Map, 1927
Charles Vandenhook, interview, 9/7/85