HomeMy WebLinkAboutMT_GallatinCo_MSUHDUnited States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Sections 1-6 page 2
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
1. Name of Property
Historic name: Montana State University Historic District
Other names/site number: Montana State College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, Agricultural College of the
State of Montana, 24GA1893 (number for the entire district), 24GA0336, 24GA1629,
24GA1681, 24GA1763, 24GA1796-24GA1799, 24GA1865-24GA1892.
Name of related multiple property listing: NA
____________________________________________________________________________
2. Location
Street & number: Roughly bounded by West College St., South 11th Ave., West Grant St., and South 6th Ave.
City or town: Bozeman State: Montana County: Gallatin
Not For Publication: Vicinity:
____________________________________________________________________________
3. State/Federal Agency Certification
As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended,
I hereby certify that this X nomination ___ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation
standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and
professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60.
In my opinion, the property _X__ meets ___ does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that
this property be considered significant at the following
level(s) of significance:
___national _X_statewide _X_local
Applicable National Register Criteria:
_X_A ___B _X_C ___D
Signature of certifying official/Title: Date
______________________________________________
State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government
In my opinion, the property meets does not meet the National Register criteria.
Signature of commenting official: Date
Title : State or Federal agency/bureau
or Tribal Government
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Sections 1-6 page 3
______________________________________________________________________________
4. National Park Service Certification
I hereby certify that this property is:
entered in the National Register
determined eligible for the National Register
determined not eligible for the National Register
removed from the National Register
other (explain:) _____________________
______________________________________________________________________
Signature of the Keeper Date of Action
____________________________________________________________________________
5. Classification
Ownership of Property
(Check as many boxes as apply.)
Private:
Public – Local
Public – State
Public – Federal
Category of Property
(Check only one box.)
Building(s)
District
Site
Structure
Object
x
X
X
x
x
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Sections 1-6 page 4
Number of Resources within Property
Contributing Noncontributing
_____30______ ______11_____ buildings
______5______ _______3_____ sites
______0______ _______0_____ structures
______3______ _______9_____ objects
_____38______ ______23_____ Total
Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register ____0____
____________________________________________________________________________
6. Function or Use
Historic Functions
EDUCATION: College
EDUCATION: Research Facility
EDUCATION: Library
EDUCATION: Education-related (College Dormitory)
LANDSCAPE: Park
LANDSCAPE: Plaza HEALTH CARE: Clinic
TRANSPORTATION: Pedestrian-related
RECREATION & CULTURE: Theater / Auditorium
RECREATION & CULTURE: Sports Facility (Gymnasium)
RECREATION & CULTURE: Monument / Marker
RECREATION & CULTURE: Work of Art (Sculpture)
RELIGION: Religious Facility (Chapel)
SOCIAL: Meeting Hall
Current Functions
EDUCATION: College
EDUCATION: Research Facility
EDUCATION: Library
EDUCATION: Education-related (College Dormitory)
LANDSCAPE: Park
LANDSCAPE: Plaza HEALTH CARE: Clinic
TRANSPORTATION: Pedestrian-related
RECREATION & CULTURE: Theater / Auditorium
RECREATION & CULTURE: Sports Facility (Gymnasium)
RECREATION & CULTURE: Monument / Marker
RECREATION & CULTURE: Work of Art (Sculpture)
RELIGION: Religious Facility (Chapel)
SOCIAL: Meeting Hall
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Section 7 page 5
___________________________________________________________________________
7. Description
Architectural Classification
(Enter categories from instructions.) LATE VICTORIAN: Collegiate Gothic LATE 19th & 20th CENTURY REVIVALS: Italian Renaissance Revival LATE 19th & 20th CENTURY REVIVALS: Jacobethan Revival LATE 19th & 20th CENTURY REVIVALS:Spanish Mission Revival
LATE 19th & 20th CENTURY REVIVALS: Neoclassical Revival
LATE 19th & EARLY 20th CENTURY AMERICAN MOVEMENTS: Craftsman
MODERN MOVEMENT: Modern
MODERN MOVEMENT: International
MODERN MOVEMENT: New Formalism
MODERN MOVEMENT: Exaggerated Modern (Googie)
MODERN MOVEMENT: Brutalism
MODERN MOVEMENT: Postmodern
Materials: (enter categories from instructions.)
Principal exterior materials of the property:
Foundations: Stone, Concrete, Granite, Walls: Brick, Terra Cotta, Limestone, Sandstone, Finished
Concrete, Precast Concrete Panels, Asbestos (Glasweld, Cemesto) Panels, Glass/Aluminum Curtain
Wall, Prefinished Metal Paneling; Roofs: Clay Tiles, Asphalt Shingles, Slate Shingles, Standing Seam
Metal, Built-up Synthetic Membrane; Windows: Wood, Aluminum and Steel
Narrative Description
______________________________________________________________________________
Summary Paragraph
The Montana State University Historic District (MSU Historic District) consists of approximately 93.359
acres at the southern edge of Bozeman, Montana (2010 population 37,285), the seat of Gallatin County,
Montana.1 Bozeman stands at the southeast end of Montana’s fertile Gallatin Valley, bounded on the
north by the Horseshoe Hills, on the northeast by the Bridger Mountains and the Gallatin Mountains to the
south and east. Foothills rise along the edge of the valley to meet the mountains. The west and east
branches of the Gallatin River run to the west and north of the city. The branches combine north of
Bozeman and continue northwest to meet with the Madison and Jefferson Rivers, forming the headwaters
of the Missouri River at Three Forks, Montana.2 On a smaller scale, the historic district rests on an
elevated hill generally bound to the west by Bozeman’s S. 11th Avenue, to the north by College and
Cleveland Streets, on the east by S. 8th and S. 6th Avenues and on the south by Grant Street. Deviations
exist at the southwest corner of campus, where the boundary continues across S. 11th Avenue to include
five mid-20th century resources, and along the district’s southern edge. Here, the boundary jogs south
across Grant Street to include the 1930 Gatton Field Gate, and the Heating Plant and Plew Building.
Residential neighborhoods and the remainder of the MSU campus surround the district. Beyond the
historic district boundaries, the campus stretches south for another one-third of a mile to Kagy Street
containing athletic and support facilities, including the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (24GA1795), Bobcat
1 U.S. Census Bureau. “Quickfacts: Bozeman (city), Montana.” Accessed online, 6/19/2013.
2 Sanford, Dena. “Montana State University Campus,” Draft National Register Nomination, 1990. Portions of this
nomination are adapted from this draft nomination and a 1995 Draft Multiple Property Document Nomination
prepared the Bozeman Historic Preservation Office in 1995.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Section 7 page 6
Stadium, the Marga Hosaeus Fitness Center, ASMSU/Outdoor Recreation, University Records, the
Huffman Building (MSU Security and Police), Aquatic Sciences, the Forestry Sciences Lab and faculty
housing. Campus also continues across S. 11th Avenue for approximately one mile with academic
buildings including the Creative Arts Complex, Plant Growth Center and Animal and Plant Bioscience
buildings in the immediate vicinity, and graduate/family housing and a research park farther west.
Bozeman residential neighborhoods border the historic district to the south and east, with College Street
containing a commercial strip that serves the campus community.
In general, large high-style, brick-clad buildings separated by formal and informal open spaces
characterize the MSU Historic District. For the most part, buildings sit in a bilateral axial arrangement
centered on Montana Hall (Main Hall) with a north/south pedestrian axis running between Romney
Gymnasium and the Johnstone Center and an east/west axis running between S. 6th and S. 11th Avenue.
The former is aligned with Bozeman’s S. 9th Avenue, portions of which were abandoned as early as 1894,
while the latter runs along Garfield Street, which was abandoned and converted into a pedestrian mall in
1993. The variety of revivalist and modern architectural styles found on campus reflect the University’s
long and ambitious history, with Collegiate Gothic, Italian Renaissance Revival, Jacobethan Revival, Mid-
century Modern, Brutalism / Heroic Expressionism and more Contemporary 21st Century styles well
represented. Building clusters form historic or contemporary campus “neighborhoods,” often surrounded
by green spaces, including the Romney Oval, Danforth Park, Harrington Park (including the Duck Pond),
Hannon Green, and Alumni Plaza. The MSU Historic District also contains an urban forest that includes
approximately 26 species of purposefully-planted coniferous and deciduous trees, as well as extensive
shrubbery.3 Large scale sculptures and more modest markers scattered throughout campus add to the
setting. Paved walks of various scales connect buildings and landscapes, while service roads provide
interior access to the campus from arterial city streets. In total, 38 resources contribute to the MSU
Historic District, including 30 buildings, 5 sites and 3 objects. There are 23 noncontributing resources,
including 11 buildings, 3 sites and 9 objects.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Narrative Description
Montana State University Campus: A Designed Cultural Landscape (one noncontributing site)
Within the boundaries of the MSU Historic District, the campus’ designed cultural landscape contributes
to the historical and aesthetic significance of the property, and therefore counts in its entirety as a
contributing site. The campus cultural landscape reflects responses to the natural environment, land use
and activities, patterns of spatial organization and cultural traditions. Even before the Agricultural College
of the State of Montana’s founding in February of 1893, the area that would become its core campus had
been shaped in response to Bozeman’s natural environment. City planners platted the elevated site, “a
low hill on the southwest edge of the city, a sightly place,” in 1890 as the Capital Hill Addition to Bozeman
in a failed attempt to secure the state capital.4 Designers built S. 8th Avenue as a boulevard linking Main
Street to the proposed site during the state capital campaign. As such, topography has had a marked
effect on the campus’s spatial organization, architecture and landscaping. A natural spring near the
district’s southwest corner also shaped campus, leading to the development of the Duck Pond in
Harrington Park, one of MSU’s most iconic landscape features. More broadly, the selection of Bozeman
as home to Montana’s land grant university in 1893, based in large part on the Gallatin Valley’s reputation
as an agricultural paradise, was also a response to the natural environment.5
Standardized cadastral systems including the Public Land Survey System and the city grid shaped the
MSU campus during its early years. Its first land parcels included half of a 160-acre quarter-section, the
3 Montana State University. “MSU Landscaping Map,” May 10, 2013. Accessed online, 18 June 2013.
4 Burlingame, Merrill G. A History: Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana. Office of Information Publication,
Bozeman, MT, 1968, 10.
5 Ibid., 4.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Section 7 page 7
former Gallatin County Poor Farm, and 40 acres (approximately 20 blocks) of the 1890 Capital Hill
Addition to Bozeman. Of course, few city streets existed so far south in the 1890s, despite the area being
officially platted, and the new college took advantage and built on its land freely with the Extension
Service Building (Taylor Hall) at the west end of the core campus, adjacent to the bourgeoning college
farm, and Montana Hall, centered on S. 9th Avenue, facing Bozeman to the north. A campus plan
developed by Montana architect George Carsley and nationally prominent architect, Cass Gilbert, in 1917
(the 1917 Carsley/Gilbert Campus Plan) called for a formalized campus with buildings sited along
landscaped east/west and north/south courtyards that intersected immediately south of Montana Hall.
While buildings constructed prior to World War II largely followed the plan, it was all but abandoned
during the mid-20th century. Portions of the plan, however, remain still highly visible, especially along
Malone Centennial Mall (formerly Garfield Street) and between Montana Hall and Romney Gymnasium to
the south. Due to the presence of city streets, the city grid system more heavily shaped land acquired
later to the northeast. The Atkinson Quadrangle (1934) and Hapner Hall (1959), for instance, continue to
sit on their own city blocks purchased by MSU in 1934 and 1915, respectively.
Land use also shaped the campus with heavily used buildings, including the Strand Union Building and
Renne Library, centrally located and more specialized buildings and residences halls on the periphery.
Designers formalized this concept during the ambitious 1968-1974 Building Campaign, which called for
an “eight minute [pedestrian] circle” radiating outward from the center of campus.6 Finally, cultural
traditions including a historic emphasis on gender divisions and the importance of college athletics also
shaped the MSU campus. A cluster of “women’s” buildings including the 1926 Herrick Hall and four
exclusively female dormitories (Hamilton, Hapner, Hannon and the Quadrangle) developed at the
northeast corner of campus between 1910 and 1960. As such, female students at MSU were highly
valued, but largely expected to inhabit their own spheres. This officially changed in the wake of Title IX,
which attempted to bridge the gender gap in public education, when the Associated Women Students and
Men’s Resident Association worked together to convert North and South Hedges, as well as Roskie and
Mullan (in the Johnstone Center) Halls into co-ed dormitories in 1972.7 From the first annual “Field Day” in
the late 1890s through the highly-organized Bobcats athletic programs of today, sports have long had a
place on campus, and the 1917 Carsley / Gilbert Campus Plan prominently featured athletic facilities.
Romney Gymnasium and the Gatton Field Gate, at the south end of the district, represent these historic
athletic pursuits at MSU. More broadly, the MSU historic district mirrors the tradition of the college
campus as a showcase of culture and knowledge. Its collection of high-style architecture both reflects and
encourages a tradition of higher learning at MSU.
Natural Systems and Features, Views and Vistas, and Topography
The MSU Historic District sits on the divide between Bozeman Creek to the east and Mandeville Creek to
the west, both which originate in the Gallatin Mountains. As a result, the topography of campus slopes
from south to north (toward the Gallatin River), dropping approximately 40’ between Montana Hall
(elevation 4,910) and College Street. The west side of campus features a secondary slope toward
Mandeville Creek. These slopes affect the architecture, with many buildings having an additional exposed
story on their north or western elevations. Near the southwest corner of the historic district, a natural
spring graces Harrington Park. It currently feeds the Duck Pond, a naturally occurring pond that has been
altered significantly since coming under MSU ownership in 1914. Filled in 1926, it remerged in 1933 and
underwent a major rehabilitation in 2008.8
The district’s views and vistas range from dramatic mountain ranges and building approaches to more
intimate, cloistered spaces. The Bridger Mountains rise to the northeast, visible particularly from the north
side of campus. The university’s iconic “M”, built in 1918 with a permit from the U.S. Forest Service,
6 “Buildings to Blossom at MSU,” The Exponent, 2/16/1968.
7 Robert Rydell, Jeffery Safford, and Pierce Mullen, In the People’s Interest: A Centennial History of Montana State
University, Bozeman, MT: Montana State University Foundation, 147.
8 Montana State University, “Alumni Centennial Notes,” Collegian,
http://alumni.montana.edu/news/collegian/archive/august/cent_notes.htm, accessed 7/26/2013.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Section 7 page 8
looms from the south face of Mount Baldy at the southern end of the Bridger Range.9 On the south side of
campus, the Gallatin Range is visible between buildings, while the more distant Madison and Tobacco
Root Ranges come into view on the west side of campus. Of particular note is the emergence of the
Madison and Tobacco Roots emerge as pedestrians move “up the hill” to the west on the Malone
Centennial Mall,10 and a view of the Gallatin Mountains graces the space between the EPS Building and
Strand Union Building. Centered approaches from the north toward Montana Hall and Romney
Gymnasium are also significant to the identity of MSU and represent the formality of the 1917 Carsley /
Gilbert Campus Plan. Looking west toward Roskie Hall on Grant Street, on the other hand, reveals a
modern, and highly urban, landscape. On a smaller scale, the historic district houses endless “little
corners” that provide visual interest and enhance the pedestrian experience. Danforth and Harrington
Parks are particularly effective in this regard, but other significant areas include Hannon Green, Wilson
Courtyard, Veterans Memorial Park and the mature grove of spruce trees located north of Leon Johnson
Hall. Finally, even small areas between buildings can be visually rewarding. For instance, the slender
western approach between Traphagen Hall and Reid Hall (24GA1798) opens to a small lawn with a
mature spruce contrasted against the building’s red brick and Durk Voulkos’s 1974 rusted sheet metal
“MVI” or “Christmas Tree” sculpture.
Circulation Networks
As the campus evolved, pedestrian paths replaced motorized traffic routes, with the exception of well-
placed service entrances. Historically, however, vehicular transportation played a more significant role
within the landscape. In 1907, for instance, S. 8th Avenue existed as the only city street built as far south
as Grant Street (then a county section line road), but a series of smaller roads intertwined between Main
Hall, the Drill Hall and the Chemistry Building. The 1917 Carsley / Gilbert Campus Plan called for the
formalization of vehicular traffic and by 1933, S. 8th and S. 10th Avenues met to create Park Drive, which
curved in front of Montana Hall, while the secondary Circle Drive continued south, curving in front of
Romney Gymnasium. East/west city streets, including Harrison, Garfield and Grant Streets also bisected
campus at that time. The avenues between Garfield and Cleveland Streets were abandoned in 1901,
1905, and 1991 and replaced with walks, while a 1959 resolution of the Campus Planning Committee
called for the closure of roads and planting of grass in the Romney “quadrangle.” Parts of Harrison,
Cleveland, and Garfield Streets between S. 8th and S. 11th Avenues were vacated in 1905, though
Garfield remained in place for restricted use. The University closed the whole of Cleveland Street
between S. 8th and S. 11th Avenues sometime after 1982, and converted Garfield Street between S. 6th
and S. 11th Avenues into a pedestrian mall (Malone Centennial Mall) in 1993. Harrison Street continues to
cross through campus to the south of the Johnstone Center and Langford Hall (24GA1797), but
terminates prior to connecting with S. 11th Street. 11
Today, service entrances exist on the north boundary at the Johnstone Center and Hapner Hall, on the
east boundary at Hannon and Cobleigh Hall, on the south boundary at the Strand Union Building, and on
the west boundary behind the Visual Communications Building, between Linfield and Taylor Halls, at the
Chemistry and Biochemistry Building, and at the Wool Laboratory. There is also a restricted service
entrance from the south between South Hedges and Roskie Hall. Curved drive-up entrances provide
automobile access in front of Hapner Hall and behind the Strand Union Building. Parking is limited within
the historic district, but includes a handful of mid-sized paved lots on the north end of campus between
the Wool Laboratory and Langford Hall, and to the northwest and northeast of the Chemistry and
9 Burlingame, 116.
10 The Malone Centennial Mall was dedicated on October 4, 2011 in honor of MSU President Michael Malone, who
died in 2009. For more information about Malone’s legacy, see
http://www.montana.edu/president/malone/heritage.php.
11 Roads appear in a 1948-1949 aerial photograph, but have been replaced with walks on the 1954 campus map;
1958-1959 Campus Planning Committee. Letter to President Renne, “Park Area on Campus,” 2/17/1959. University
Records, University Development Committee, 1953-1959. Bozeman City Ordinance Nos. 226, 10/17/1901; 311,
4/26/1905; and 1331, 8/12/1991.] Currently closed due to the construction of Jabs Hall, the University plans to reopen
Harrison Avenue between S. 8th and S. 11th in 2013.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Section 7 page 9
Biochemistry Building. Smaller paved lots provide parking to the east of Hamilton Hall and in front (north)
of Roberts Hall. Finally, stops along Bozeman’s Streamline Bus system stand in front of the Johnstone
Center, Roberts Hall, the Hedges Complex, Family and Graduate Housing, and behind the Strand Union
Building.
Pedestrian walks also evolved over time within the historic district. Early maps show few formal walks,
although the northern approach to Montana Hall, which continues the line of S. 9th Avenue, has been in
place since at least 1907. By 1933, paved walks led from S. 8th and S. 10th Avenues to Herrick Hall and
Linfield Hall, respectively, and a centered pathway approached Romney Gymnasium from the north.
Some secondary walks also existed between buildings, including a walk between Montana and Lewis
Halls and a diagonal walk between Hamilton and Herrick Halls (the women’s buildings). Thirty-four years
later, at the end of the district’s period of significance, paved walks had replaced the curved north/south
Park and Circle Drives and additional walks had been installed. Of these, the long east/west walk
extending from Lewis Hall to S. 6th Avenue just north of Montana Hall and the walks framing Danforth
Park are the most significant survivors, although construction of Leon Johnson Hall interrupted the former
in 1973. Today, the campus continues to exhibit a strong biaxial emphasis with Malone Centennial Mall
(formerly Garfield Street) oriented east/west and a paved walk interrupted only by Montana Hall between
the Johnstone Center and Romney Gymnasium. Significant secondary axes include a north/south axis off
Malone Centennial Mall between the Engineering Complex (Roberts, Cobleigh and EPS) and the Strand
Union Building, and an east/west axis between Linfield and Herrick Halls. Smaller paved walks, almost all
of which run along or diagonal to the cardinal directions, connect buildings and lead to entrances. The
only remnant of the campus’s early curved road/walk system is found in front (north) of Romney
Gymnasium.
Vegetation
Vegetation use occurs extensively within the MSU Historic District and trees, in particular, are a significant
feature of the cultural landscape. Twenty-six species make up the 2,800 trees on campus, with spruce
and ash by far the most extensively used, and maple, apple and fir also being relatively common. Trees
create “natural” parks, accentuate building entrances, define linear elements, and beautify campus
portals, edges, and corners. Harrington Park, which includes the Duck Pond on the southwest side of
campus, contains “randomly” planted spruce and poplar trees, interspersed with other species like ash
and apple, creating a naturalistic environment. An outer row of ash trees and an inner row of apple trees
surround Romney Green, with oak and maple trees marking its “corners,” and birch trees accentuating its
northern portal between Reid Hall and Renne Library. Significant tree clusters shade areas at the corners
of Hannon Field, to the north of Leon Johnson and Wilson Halls, north of the Wool Laboratory, and west
of Linfield Hall. Trees are also planted in a linear pattern on campus, with a north/south line of spruce
between Sherrick and Traphagen Halls and an east/west line of ash extending from Leon Johnson Hall to
S. 8th Avenue. Finally, pairs of mature trees often frame building entrances, especially those constructed
during the early 20th Century. For instance, there are maple trees at the entrance to Roberts Hall (1922),
hawthorn trees at Herrick Hall (1926), spruce trees at Romney Gymnasium (1922), and apple trees
ornament the facades of Linfield Hall (1909) and Lewis Hall (1923).12
Large expanses of grass also contribute to the landscape, creating sweeping views of particular buildings
and providing passive and active recreational space. For instance, Hannon Field, located to the south of
Hannon Hall, includes approximately 2 acres of open space, and Lewis and Clark field to the south of the
Johnstone Center, while significantly diminished in size by a parking lot constructed on its east end, offers
approximately one acre. Romney Green adds another three-quarter acres of lawn. The district’s main
pedestrian corridors also provide small “islands” of green space between paved walk ways. Malone
Centennial Mall, in particular, creates several mounded lawns in front of Lewis Hall, Leon Jonson Hall,
Renne Library, the Strand Union Building and the north (rear) elevation of Montana Hall. Extensive use of
deciduous and coniferous shrubs accentuates landscape features, such as the former site of the sundial
12 Montana State University. “MSU Landscaping Map,” May 10, 2013. Accessed online, 18 June 2013. Very few
“original trees” exist on campus. Most mature trees are the result of later plantings.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Section 7 page 10
in Danforth Park and the small lawns created by Malone Centennial Mall, and provide visual interest
along building elevations, particularly at entrances.
The MSU campus also lost vegetation and green space since the close of the period of historical
significance in 1967. The most significant loss is the area north of Montana Hall between Herrick and
Linfield Halls. S. 8th and 10th Avenues once curved to meet in front of Montana, forming Park Drive. The
University abandoned Park Drive between Cleveland and Garfield Street in c. 1950 and replaced them
with paved walks. Mature trees lined portions of Cleveland Street and multiple clusters of trees stood in
the expansive open space (approximately 6.5 acres). The construction of Leon Johnson Hall (1973),
Wilson Hall (1974) and the Chemistry and Biochemistry Building (2007) filled much of the campus’ green
space, and the remaining northeast corner will soon house Jabs Hall, the new home of the Jake Jabs
College of Business and Entrepreneurship.13 The buildings will help define a newly emphasized east/west
axis between Herrick and Linfield Halls and serve as portals to Lewis and Clark Field. Secondary open
spaces lost since 1967 include the sites of Sherrick Hall (1972) and the Visual Communications Building
(1983), which flank Harrington Park. In contrast, a small patch of green space to north of the Wool
Laboratory opened up following the demolition of a World War I barrack in the early 1970s.
Clusters
In addition to the clusters of “women’s buildings” and athletic facilities discussed above, the MSU Historic
District also contains a number of other building groupings based on function, aesthetics, and age.
Perhaps the most obvious of these are the residential clusters including low-rise dormitories (Hannon and
Hapner Halls, the Atkinson Quadrangle, the Johnstone Center and Langford Hall) at the north end of
campus and high-rise dormitories (Roskie Hall and the Hedges Complex) at the district’s southwest
corner. Other groups continue to reflect the 1917 Carsley / Gilbert Campus Plan, including an engineering
cluster on the east side of campus (the 1922 Engineering Building/Roberts Hall, 1970 Engineering
Sciences Building/Cobleigh Hall and 1997 Engineering and Physical Sciences Building) and an
agricultural cluster (the 1907 Agricultural Building/Linfield Hall and 1894 Experiment Station
Building/Taylor Hall) to the west, adjacent to the former college farm. The plan also called for a chemistry
and physics group to the south of Montana Hall, and the 1954 Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson
Hall), 1922 Chemistry II Building (Traphagen Hall) and 1960 Chemistry III Building (Gaines Hall), situated
around Romney Green represent that cluster. A “life sciences” group to the west of Montana Hall is also
evident with the clustering of the “Biology Complex” (the 1922 Biology Building/Lewis Hall, the 1960
Medical Science Research Building/Cooley Laboratories and the 1985 Central Laboratory Animal
Facility/Teitz Hall), the 1909 Agriculture Building (Linfield Hall), and the 1973 Life Sciences Building (Leon
Johnson Hall). Outside of the 1917 Plan, the historic district also includes a cluster of administrative and
heavily-used buildings at the center of campus, including the 1896 Montana Hall, 1939 Strand Union
Building, 1949 Renne Library, 1959 Classroom Building (Reid Hall), and 1974 Classroom-Office Building
(Wilson Hall). Finally, all extant buildings constructed prior to World War II, and before implementation of
the 1917 Plan, are located to the north of Malone Centennial Mall, and all but Linfield Hall (1909) and
Herrick Hall (1926) face Bozeman.
Building groups based on architectural styles and materials can also be found within the district, although
somewhat more difficult to define. For instance, red colored brick purposefully clads all buildings
surrounding Montana Hall to the north of Malone Centennial Mall (Hamilton, Wilson and Leon Johnson
Halls), in an effort to complement the older building. Similarly, the buff-colored cladding on the 2007
Chemistry and Biochemistry Building, matches the nearby 1909 Linfield Hall. Clusters of Mid-century
Modern architecture are found in the low-rise and high-rise dormitories and at the east side of Romney
Field (the 1954 Math-Physics Building, 1967 Addition to the Strand Union Building, and 1960 Addition to
Renne Library). Particularly effective is the progression of buildings along the western half of Malone
Centennial Mall’s south side, which include the 1960 Library Addition, 1959 Reid Hall and 1973 Sherrick
Hall. Together, these buildings create a Modernist pattern of contrasting light-colored vertical elements
(limestone- and travertine-clad columns and concrete sunshades) against red building walls. In contrast,
13 The University plans to complete Jabs Hall by 2015.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Section 7 page 11
the six extant Italian Renaissance Revival buildings are not clustered, but express the balance of the
1917 Carsley / Gilbert Campus Plan.
Boundary Demarcations, Small Scale Elements and Constructed Water Features
While the 1917 Carsley / Gilbert Campus Plan called for a reflective pool at the intersection of its axes, it
was never constructed and the Duck Pond and Spring/Koi Pond in Harrington Park remain the MSU
Historic District’s only water features.14 Other small scale features, on the other hand, have long been a
significant component of the MSU Historic District’s cultural landscape, particularly the numerous
sculptures and monuments that dot campus, which have been counted individually as objects. Most
sculptures are abstract or realistic works by MSU faculty and alumni that post-date the district’s period of
significance. Considering their relatively small scale, artistic design and thoughtful siting, however, these
noncontributing resources do not intrude upon the district’s integrity. “Spirit,” a bronze sculpture of MSU’s
bobcat mascot installed at the center of Alumni Plaza in 2009 is of particular note, because of its visual
impact on the northern approach to Montana Hall. This sculpture, while not of historic age, effectively
establishes the identity of the MSU Campus. Signs marking buildings and campus entry points also add
to the landscape of the modern campus but lack historical significance. Building signage consists of a
white signboard with brown capital lettering between brown metal posts, all capped by a low metal arch
with a centered circular cut out containing an intertwined “MSU.” Entry signs, including gate entrances
found at the east and west end of Malone Centennial Mall, also incorporate the intertwined MSU emblem.
Benches offer respite throughout campus, with black or grey metal slat-backed benches located in park
areas and backless synthetic benches on blue bases with the intertwined MSU emblem in Malone
Centennial Mall. Possibly the most unobtrusive and ubiquitous landscape element, however, are the
numerous light posts lining campus walks. They appear to date from the 1980s and consist of square
concrete aggregate posts that taper upward and support large rectangular lights. Blue rectangular
banners with an “M” capped by a stylized torch all above “Montana State University, Mountains and
Minds” currently hang from light post lining primary walkways.
Memorials constitute the final significant small scale feature within the MSU Historic District. Two
memorials, the 1930 Gatton Field Gate and the 1914 Montana State Territorial Marker contribute to the
historic district. Non-historic plaques and markers are numerous, but not large or significant enough to be
counted individually. The MSU Student Memorial stands as part of the Malone Centennial Mall (see
below). One property subtype—the class memorial—has virtually disappeared from the landscape.
Important examples included the sundial, a small concrete sculpture donated by the Class of 1920 and a
stylized rocket donated by a class of 1959. The former served as the central feature of the Iris Garden
within Danforth Park until stolen during the World War II era, and the latter, which displayed the letters
MSU on its north elevation, served as a signboard in the median of the S. 8th Avenue Boulevard at
College Street until its removal due to safety concerns in 1990.15
Individual Contributing and Noncontributing Resources
All buildings, structures, objects and sites of scale and/or significance found with the MSU Historic District
(and the congruent MSU Campus designed landscape) have been counted as individual resources and
assigned either contributing or noncontributing status. In general, all resources constructed during the
period of significance (1893-1967) that retain sufficient integrity contribute to the historical significance of
the historic district, while later additions to campus are considered non-contributing. In addition to the
MSU Campus Cultural Landscape discussed above and counted as a contributing site, the historic district
contains 30 contributing buildings, 5 contributing sites and 3 contributing objects for a total of 38
contributing resources. There are also 23 noncontributing resources, including 11 buildings, 3 sites and 9
objects. In some cases, resources contain multiple contributing features. For instance, the Hedges
Complex and Atkinson Quadrangle each contain three contributing buildings, while the Heating Plant has
14 For further discussion of the spring and Duck Pond see “Natural Systems and Features” above and the description
on Harrington Park below.
15 Drummond, Victoria C. “Campus Art Inventory, 2013.”
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Section 7 page 12
a detached garage that has been counted individually. Buildings attached to each other by small
annexes, but designed for unique functions at different times and in distinctive styles have been counted
individually. This includes the “Engineering Complex” (Roberts Hall, Cobleigh Hall and the EPS Building)
and “Biology Complex” (Lewis Hall, Cooley Laboratories and Tietz Hall). Sites and objects of size and/or
significance were also counted individually. A comprehensive table of individual resources, along with
their historic name, architect, date of construction (including significant additions and alterations), style
and contributing status appears at the end of Section 7. This nomination includes truncated descriptions
of each building, including the size, shape, style, roofline, and massing, as well as a detailed description
of primary façades. Expanded descriptions of each building, including secondary elevations, occur on the
individual property record forms available at MT SHPO.
Michael P. Malone Centennial Mall, 1993 (one noncontributing site)
Malone Centennial Mall replaced Garfield Street as the east/west axis of the MSU campus upon its
completion in 1993. It stretches approximately 0.3 miles between S. 6th and S. 11th Avenues and ranges
in width between 150’ and 200’. In total, the mall covers approximately 5.5 acres. A 20’-wide central walk
paved with light-pinkish concrete is flanked by islands of lawn, which are created by paved secondary
walks extending off in various directions. The central walk widens to create reddish concrete circulation
nodes between Sherrick, Reid, Lewis and Leon Johnson Halls, behind Montana Hall and between Renne
Library and the Strand Union Building. The main walk bows out at the south façade of Montana Hall,
where it is lined with a short stone retaining wall. A plaque dedicated in 2011 commemorates Michael P.
Malone, MSU history professor and University President between 1991 and 1997, and sits in the center of
the retaining wall. In general, Malone Centennial Mall feels more “organic” at its western end with a
number of rounded lawns fronting buildings and more linear at its east end due to fewer secondary walks.
A pedestrian entrance at the west end of the Mall off of S. 11th Avenue, called the Aasheim Gate, includes
a flight of concrete steps leading up to campus and a blue metal gateway that vaguely mimics a trellis.
Just to the south of this entry stands the MSU Student Memorial, constructed with a blue metal trellis atop
four square piers clad in a reflective black synthetic material and a paved walkway flanked by stone walls.
A vehicular entrance, the Gardner Waites Gate, at the east of the Mall in front of Roberts Hall, includes a
series of parking spaces around a landscaped rectangular space containing shrubs and four cherry trees.
Immediately west, the central walk widens to accommodate a round reddish circulation node with walks
extending north along S. 7th Avenue and south between Roberts Hall and the Strand Union Building. The
lawn islands feature shrubbery and a variety of tree species including maple, birch, juniper, poplar, oak,
linden, elm and mountain ash. Benches and trash cans placed along the mall offer conveniences. While it
cannot be considered a contributing feature due to age, the linear pedestrian mall does re-emphasize the
east/west axis established by the 1917 George Carsley / Cass Gilbert Campus Plan.
Montana Hall (Main Hall), 1898 (24GA1879, one contributing building) / Map No. 1
Facing north to the city of Bozeman, this four-and-one-half-story Collegiate Gothic style building has
served as the centerpiece of the MSU campus since its completion in 1898. Helena, Montana architect J.
C. Paulsen designed the building. It exhibits smooth red brick-bearing walls laid in a common bond and a
full-daylight basement with a rubble course stone foundation. The building measures 90’ x 100'. The floor
plan displays a double-cross arrangement, with two large cross gables flanking a gable-roofed dormer on
the north and south elevations and single, centered cross gables on the east and west elevations, all
projecting from steeply-pitched hipped roof. The roof’s slate covering was replaced in about 1943.
Removed in 1911 but reconstructed in 1993, Montana Hall’s iconic central cupola graces the ridgeline.
The cupola displays a steeply-pitched pyramidal-hipped copper-clad roof with cross gables. Cross
timbering decorates the gable ends above decorative screens protecting a chime and bell mechanism. A
brick base and frame railing complete the cupola. Main Hall exhibits the Collegiate Gothic style's
characteristic multi-gable massing, vertical orientation, tall one-over-one double hung windows, and a
textured, polychrome surface.
Belt courses of tooled sandstone and corbelled and decorative pressed bricks encircle the entire building,
dividing the exterior at regular intervals. A tooled sandstone block watertable divides the rubble stone
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Section 7 page 13
basement and first floor. The second and third belt courses, created with corbelled and curved brick,
divide the first and second stories. The second course is located immediately above the lintels of the first
story windows, while the third course creates a continuous sill for the second story windows. This pattern
repeats between the second and third stories, with the upper course located directly under the
overhanging eave of building’s main walls and serving as sill to third-story windows in the gables. A fifth
corbelled and fancy brick belt course within each cross gable serves as a continuous sill for the attic story
windows. Basement windows have sandstone block lintels, fourth-story attic windows have flat
segmentally arched brick lintels and the rest of Montana Hall’s windows exhibit flat arch brick lintels. Each
projecting cross gable on the north and south elevation displays the same fenestration, consisting of three
large windows in the basement, three large one-over-one double hung windows on the first story, four
narrower one-over-one windows on the second story, shorter versions directly above on the third story,
and paired one-over-one windows in the attic story.
The center of the symmetrical north façade features a four-story bay capped by a gable-roofed dormer.
The first story features a pedimented projection containing the recessed entrance under a compound
brick arch. A belt course of decorative brick squares with a crosshatch pattern runs along the base of the
projection above the sandstone water table. Squared brick pilasters sit on the sandstone kneewall of the
concrete steps leading to the elevated entrance. A red sandstone pediment, embellished with foliage and
a shield with “96” in raised letters, sits atop the rectangular portion of the projection. The pediment
displays a rounded finial, while the pilasters, which extend slightly above the rectangular portion of the
projection, feature flat finials that mimic the building’s belt courses. A line of dark red, molded pressed
brick outlines the pediment, and continues its diagonal lines down through the rectangular projection.
Dark red decorative brick also outlines the outer arch of the entrance, which contains large oak-paneled
double doors with uppers lights under an arched, two-light transom. A belt course even with the top of the
doors and the two courses that divide the first and second stories further decorate the entrance
projection.
The sandstone watertable sits slightly lower in the central entrance bay than on the rest of the north
façade. Two small one-over-one windows are found in the basement on either side of the entrance. A
corbelled brick belt course at the point where the projection’s diagonal extensions of the triangular
pediment meets its pilasters divides the first story of the entrance bay into two sections. A single one-
over-one window fills the lower section and a pair of small, one-over-one windows fills the upper section.
The second story features four elongated one-over-one windows. A balcony at the top of the bay displays
a low parapet wall railing. It originally had a much higher brick wall pierced by a series of small arches. A
small gable-roofed dormer with paired one-over-one windows sits behind the balcony. The north façade
has a number of dates inscribed in its sandstone watertable; from east to west these include "1919",
"1917", "1918" and "1920". A small sandstone block below the watertable at the northeast corner of the
cross gable is inscribed with the construction date, "1896." A cornerstone at the northeast corner of the
east cross gable displays the inscription "Class 1911.”
The east and west elevations were originally identical, however, the east entrance was infilled in 1926
and a small two-story brick addition is located on the south side of the west elevation. A three-story panel
accentuates the first story entrance within the cross gable of the west elevation. The panel is capped by a
compound arch that springs from stacked pilasters and has a large keystone. The entrance contains a
wood and glass door, sidelights and transom and is accessed by a series of concrete steps. Rubble
course stone retaining walls flank the stairs, and are coped with weathered sandstone. The entrance is
slightly recessed behind two compound rectangular panels decorated with alternating dark red and light
red brick which creates dentils or small quoins. Two corbelled brick belt courses separated by six courses
of brick are located above the door surround within the arched panel. The upper of these serves as a sill
for three tall, fixed windows with transoms. Corbelled brick belt courses, which extend across the entire
cross gable, are found at the top of the fixed panes (below the transom) and between these windows and
a series of three half-circle windows located directly above them. Yet another corbeled brick belt course,
contained within the arched panel, is found above the half-circle windows. The tympanum of the arched
entrance panel exhibits embellishment with decorative brick squares laid in a checkerboard pattern.
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Capitals for the stacked pilasters are located at each belt course. On either side of the arch, and within
the cross gable, are two small one-over-one windows on the first and second stories. The third- and attic-
story windows are the same as those found on the north and south cross gables. The north and south
sides of the west cross gable contains two small one-over-one windows with continuous sills on the first
and second floors and two basement windows. On either side of cross gable are three of the usual
windows on the basement, first, and second stories. A small, two-story brick veneer addition to the south
of the cross gable yields no detailing except for a single soldier brick belt course between its first and
second stories. The addition covers all but the outermost windows of the basement and first stories of the
main building.
The east elevation is similar, but the entrance and tall narrow windows within the arch were removed and
infilled in 1926. At that time the tall windows were placed one story lower in the first story wall. The raised
mortar joints of the random rubble course stone foundation do not match the smooth joints of the original
building's mortar. A metal fire escape is located on the north side of the cross gable and the innermost
second story window of the main north wall has been converted into a door. A basement entrance to the
south of the cross gable replaces a window and is sheltered by a shed roof canopy with metal tube posts.
The south elevation, which faces Malone Centennial Mall, has two cross gables and displays the same
fenestration found on the north façade. On the central main wall of the building are four one-over-one
windows on the basement, first and second stories. A wall dormer contains a one-over-one window with a
door and transom to the east. A metal fire escape leading from this dormer door extends down the middle
of the building. Small, paired one-over-one windows are located in the attic story of the wall dormer.
Hamilton Hall, 1910 (24GA1871, one contributing building) / Map No. 2,
Built in 1910, this reinforced concrete building with smooth red brick veneer reflects both the Spanish
Mission Revival Style and the Arts and Crafts Movement. Designed by Bozeman, Montana architect Fred
F. Willson, the building features curvilinear parapets on the gable ends and battered walls, both hallmarks
of Spanish Mission Revival. It stands four-and-one-half stories tall with an attic and full daylight basement,
and measures 116’ x 58’. The north/south cross gables located at the east and west end create an “H”-
shaped footprint and floor plan. Typical of the style, the building exhibits little external detailing. Modern
nine-over-nine double-hung window units in wood frames, installed in 2009, closely match the originals.
Rowlock bricks constitute the sills and flat arches created with vouissors serve as lintels. A brick belt
course above the ground floor windows encircles the building. A central curvilinear parapet rises in the
center of the east-west section of the north-facing façade.
The center section of the north façade features the main double door entrance reached by concrete stairs
on either side. The wood doors contain sixteen-lights with six-light sidelights and a continuous eleven-
light transom. Two additional lights crown each sidelight at the transom level. This is sheltered by a porch
designed in the Craftsman style, with a gabled roof and exposed rafters resting on large brick piers. The
piers have plain concrete block capitals and bases. A globe sconce light sits centered high on each pier.
The c. 2009 porch renovation brought the entrance closer to its original appearance, after a 1925
earthquake caused the replacement of the porch. Windows flank the porch. Above the porch, the second
story contains a tripartite window, identical to those found in the wings, flanked by paired nine-over-nine
windows. The third story mimics this pattern, except the central bay contains only paired nine-over-nine
units. Centered in the upper three floors of each wing on the north façade is a tripartite window of nine-
over-nine lights flanked by six-over-six windows. Typical nine-over-nine light windows flank the tripartite
units and small, vertical five-light casement windows are located in the attic gables. Four windows grace
the battered basement story of each wing.
Roberts Hall (Engineering Building), 1922, (24GA1883, one contributing building) / Map No. 30
Roberts Hall, a 190’ x 78’ three and one-half story reinforced concrete structure that includes a basement
and attic, rests on a granite foundation. Bozeman, Montana architect, Fred F. Willson designed it in the
Italian Renaissance Revival style, with a bilaterally symmetrical façade around a one-story central
entrance bay. Polychrome rug face brick with terra cotta detailing veneers the building. A truncated
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hipped roof clad in red clay tiles and constructed of steel and concrete covers the building. Most window
openings exhibit eight-over-eight double hung units with pink slip sills and flat arches. A line of soldier
course bricks and terra cotta belt course surrounds the building above the second floor windows. Two-
story pilasters rising from the water table to the belt course separate each window. Pink terra cotta frames
tan terra cotta spandrels between the first and second floor on the north and south elevations. These
spandrels feature a white blank terra cotta escutcheon in the center.
The north, primary façade displays a one-story porticoed entrance with three semi-circular arches that
evoke an arcade. Granite steps lead to the entrance and red tiles cover the portico roof. Two free-
standing polished granite columns support the terra cotta-framed arches. Stacked stretcher bricks
continue the line of the exterior arches to the ground. The arches’ tympanums display three terra cotta
medallions with gold emblems on a blue background representing three engineering divisions a gear
wheel behind a steam engine "flyball" governor for mechanical engineering to the west; a compass,
triangle, T-square and arcs for civil engineering at center; and flywheel behind and electrical motor for
electrical engineering to the east. A trabeated construction of granite, carved with panels and rosettes,
stands behind the columns. The groin-vaulted, interior portico ceiling features buff terra cotta cladding
finished to resemble tooled stone. Three glass and bronze chandeliers hang from the ceiling. Arches
formed at the juncture of the vault and the walls create tympanums, embellished with terra cotta seals.
The seals alternate with decorations of a stylized flower and a raised, entwined “CE.” The interior walls of
the portico also feature buff terra cotta cladding, with natural terra cotta detailing. Granite and quarry tile
finish the floor. A leaded glass transom tops each of the three double oak and glass doors within this
main entry.
On the north-facing façade, the windows occur in sets of two on each floor. Eight pairs on the east/west
section of the building flank the entrance on the first and second floor. Three singles highlight the center.
The wings feature three eight-over-eight double-hung windows at each floor. Centered above the terra
cotta belt course a terra cotta sign reads “COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING,” flanked by two terra cotta
panels decorated with a floral design in gold on a blue background. Two five-globe iron standing lanterns
remain in front of the north elevation. They are detailed with fluting and garlands and stand on plinths with
lion’s heads on each corner.
Cobleigh Hall (Engineering Science Building), 1970, (24GA1867, one noncontributing building) /
Map No. 31
Cobleigh Hall stands as a six-story reinforced concrete building completed in 1970 and designed in the
Late Modern style by the Helena, Montana architectural firm, Morrison-Maierle & Associates. It has a 142’
x 108’ rectilinear footprint with the north and south elevations being longer. A 28’ x 36’ annex near the
western end of the north elevation connects Cobleigh Hall to Roberts Hall. Its 24’-wide eastern portion,
centered on the rear south elevation of Roberts Hall, is comprised of four stories, while the rest of the
annex stands as a single story. Cobleigh Hall connects to the EPS Building on the west end of its south
elevation by that building’s approximately 25’ x 30’ four-story annex. Variegated face brick laid in a
common bond clads Cobleigh Hall. Decorative brickwork includes only soldier courses found at the
building’s rooflines and just above the concrete pilotis on the west façade. In 2008, the University infilled
the façade’s first story with brick and smaller modern windows, which feature solider course brick lintels
and continuous soldier course sills. A stringcourse of soldier bricks spans the infill just above grade. The
building retains its original aluminum windows on stories two through six on each elevation. These
evenly-spaced, slender (5’ tall x 2’ wide) units consist of a single light above small hopper lights. Each
window features a distinctive 7’ x 4’ precast concrete hood that projects 1.6’ from the wall face of the
building. Secondary entrances occur on the east, north and south elevations, while the building’s main
entrances are on the west façade.
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“Tau Beta Pi,” 1997, (one noncontributing object) / Map No. 35
This bronze sculpture of the Greek letter alpha on a rectangular marble slab base sits to the east of
Roberts and Cobleigh Halls. A plaque on its north elevation reads, “The Bent of Tau Beta Pi, National
Engineering Honor Society, Montana Alpha Chapter, Chartered April 15, 1926, Dedicated to the College
of Engineering, April 25, 1997.”
“Steel Connection,” 1997, (one noncontributing object) / Map No. 34
”Steel Connection,” is an instructional display, intended to show the many ways in which steel structural
beams of varying sizes and shapes can be bolted together. It consists of steel “I” beams and trusses in a
stacked perpendicular arrangement. A white plaque located on its south elevation reads, “AISC Steel
Connection Teaching Aid, Manufactured and Donated by Roscoe Steel, Billings MT.” The sculpture sits at
the west intersection between Roberts and Cobleigh Halls.
“Wind Arc,” 2002, (one noncontributing object) Map No. 33
Local sculptor Gary Bates designed the 44’ tall sculpture titled “Wind Arc,” a curved rust-colored steel
tube atop a polished steel pole, as an example of kinetic art that reacts to wind. Its sits in front (south) of
the EPS Building, and was commissioned with the 1% for public art set aside during that construction
project.
Engineering and Physical Sciences Building (EPS Building), 1997, (24GA1869, one
noncontributing building) / Map No. 32
Completed in 1997, the EPS Building is a massive (just over 150,000 square foot), multi-story, reinforced
concrete and steel contemporary structure, designed by the Billings, Montana architectural firm, CTA. It
consists of a large (approximately 275’ x 150’) three-story section with a curvilinear southwest façade to
the west and a smaller “L”-shaped “shops wing” to the east. The shops wing ranges between one and
three stories (with a full basement) and wraps around the southeast corner of the larger section. The wing
measures 160’ long on its east elevation, 105’ long on its south elevation and projects approximately 44’
south of the larger section and 68’ feet to the east. On the southwest façade, a series of four, one-story
projections fan out toward the north from the main entrance, with each projecting farther west until the
final one pinches back to the main building face. The three southern projections act as a staggered,
rectangular “arcade” to the entrance, while the northern one-story projection serves as an extension of
the building’s first floor. Copper-face brick laid in a running bond, together with sandstone-colored brick
stringcourses and panels, clads the building. Decorative white brick creates a “cornice” at the roofline and
small squares that highlight the building’s structure. Aluminum windows on the large building section and
annex are typically paired two-over-one light units on the second and third stories and ribbons of six two-
over-one light units on the first story, while the smaller shops wing contains horizontally-arranged two-
light windows. Windows frames are finished in a sandstone color. All building sections have a flat built-up
roof. A three-story, 24’ x 56’ foot annex on the north façade connects the EPS building to the six-story
Cobleigh Hall.
Strand Union Building, 1939-1940, 1957, 1967, 1971, 1983, 2008, (24GA1763, one contributing
building) / Map No. 29
Since its construction in 1939-1940, the Strand Union Building has grown with the college and now
includes six additions: a 1957 addition to the west and south elevations of the original building’s east/west
wing; the 1957 Student Health Center Addition to the south end of the north/south wing; a 1967 addition
to the south elevation of the 1957 addition; a 1971 addition to the south end of the Student Health Center;
a 1983 addition to the south elevation of the 1967 addition and a 2008 addition to the south elevation of
the 1983 addition. Today, the building is almost seven times as large as it was originally, extending nearly
340’ from east to west and 420’ from north to south at its widest cross-sections. It features an irregular
foot print with an approximately 200’ x 400’ mass behind and including the east/west wing of the original
building and 100’ x 280’ mass behind and including the original north/south wing. Beginning about 180’
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Section 7 page 17
behind the south façade, an approximately 40’-wide open space between the east and west building
masses provides access to a series of rear service bays.
Fred F. Willson, with assistance from the firm Cottier & Harrington, all of Bozeman, Montana, designed
the original 1939-1940 building in the Jacobethan Revival style. It sports three stories atop a granite
foundation. The L-shaped building includes a 53’ x 121’ east/west wing with its north-facing façade
fronting Malone Centennial Mall and a slightly lower 70’ x 139’ north/south wing attached to its east end.
Both wings feature truncated hipped roofs with flared, overhanging, narrow boxed eaves. A 30’-wide
cross gable with flared eaves at the building’s main entrance protrudes approximately 9’ from the west
end of the east/west wing’s north façade and there is a large gabled wall dormer on the north end of the
north/south wing’s east elevation. Three smaller gabled wall dormers also occur on south end of the
north/south wing. The roof, originally clad in asbestos shingles approximating slate, was replaced with
more typical asbestos shingles. Polychrome rug-faced brick laid in a common bond clads the building,
which stands on a rusticated base. Its stories are visually divided by continuous concrete belt courses in
the appearance of tooled sandstone below the windows.
A concrete door surround finished to imitate tooled sandstone embellishes the main entrance to the 1939-
1940 building in the 30’-wide western cross gable on the north façade. A series of brick steps leads to the
entrance, which consists of three large oak and glass pane doors with bronze kick plates and large glass
plate transoms. Intertwined within a metal grill protecting the transoms are the metal letters "MSC."16 A
concrete veneered balcony finished to appear like sandstone and incised with the words "STUDENT
UNION” protrudes above the first floor entrance. Above the balcony, cast stone quoins frame a large
twelve-over-twelve light window flanked by tall six-over-six sidelights, capped by six- and four-light
transoms, respectively. Offset bricks in a jagged tooth pattern highlight the gable end along the eves.
West of the entrance, the fenestration consists of two six-over-four light windows on the main (second)
story and four-over-four light windows on the first and third stories. The main floor east of the entrance
features large plate glass windows with five-light sidelights and transoms. These windows provide
illumination for an interior lounge. First and third story window openings contain six-over-six light double-
hung units. The north end of the north/south wing has two grouped six-over-six light windows with
concrete sills set in each story below three gabled wall dormers. No concrete stringcourses occur on this
section.
Additions are two-story (except the one-story 1971 Addition), flat-roofed, reinforced concrete buildings
clad in polychrome brick in a running bond, and each exhibits a sub-style of Modern Architecture. The
1957 Addition extends approximately 50’ west of the original building on the south façade and 110’
behind the south elevation of its east/west wing. It also includes an approximately 75’ x 60’ theater
addition attached to the south end of the north/south wing. A partial flyloft on its northern half rises well
above the original building and the rest of the additions. This addition most-closely matches the original
building with a rusticated base and multi-light wood windows. While it's low, rectilinear form reflects Mid-
Century Modern design principles, its style can still be considered Jacobethan Revival. Attached to all but
the east 75’ of the 1957 Addition’s rear (south) elevation (including the theater) stands the approximately
185’ x 150’ 1967 Addition. It features an approximately 70’ wide projecting portico entrance on its west
elevation with a flat roof supported by six slender, squared brick-clad columns. White plexiglass panels
with large stylized dentils decorate the portico’s fascia (or frieze). This classically-inspired entrance
stylistically links the 1967 Addition to New Formalism. The once visible 1967 Addition’s long south
elevation which included an entrance and long window wall under the same plexiglass fascia board
paneling, is now obscured by the approximately 185’ x 65’ 1983 addition. With its large, deeply recessed
first-story windows, this 1983 Addition exhibits some characteristics of Brutalism. The approximately 155’
x 35’ 2008 Addition created a new entrance at the southwest corner of the building, which is contained
within a diagonally-oriented, projecting glass and aluminum curtain wall foyer. This addition’s design and
materials prove sympathetic to the Modern aesthetic and may be considered Neo-Modern.
16 MSC stands for Montana State College, the University’s name until 1965.
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Moving across the Strand Union Building’s open service area to its eastern mass, stands the
approximately 100’ x 50’ 1957 Student Health Center Addition. Designed in conjunction with the 1957
Addition, it attaches to the east side of the theater with its façade extending 45’ further east than the east
elevation of the original building. The Student Health Center’s horizontal curtain wall against the verticality
of the theater’s flyloft, a wide brick wall on the façade, and a mechanical penthouse near its south end
display International Style characteristics. The University added a one-story addition to the Student
Health Center in 1971. With its full-length windows bays defined by thin projecting brick columns, this
addition can be loosely linked to Brutalism.
Renne Library, 1949, 1960 (24GA1882, one contributing building) / Map No. 28
Renne Library consists of two distinctive sections: the original 1949 building designed in a modest
Renaissance Revival style by Bozeman, Montana architect Fred Willson to the east, and its larger 1960
Modern style addition, the work of Great Falls, Montana architectural firm McIver & Hess, to the west. The
former is a 70’ x 135’ three-story building with a full basement clad in polychrome rug-faced brick laid in a
running bond and capped by a hipped roof covered in asbestos shingles. It features a rusticated base on
its side elevations and elongated windows with stacked lights, replaced in 2001 with historically accurate
metal units. Originally, the centered main entrance protruded 10.5’ from the shorter north façade, but it
was removed and bricked in when the 1960 addition swallowed the western one-third of the building. A
2001 renovation by CTA Architects of Billings, Montana included a three-story tower where the original
entrance once stood and two large, hip-roofed dormers on the east elevation. The 150’ x 182’ flat-roofed,
reinforced concrete 1960 Addition sports a full basement, three main stories and a 108’ x 135’ fourth-story
penthouse clad in white corrugated asbestos paneling. The main portion of the addition is clad in red face
brick laid in a running bond and has a massive curtain wall entrance on its north façade and a similar, but
slimmer, entrance on its west elevation. Outside of these curtain wall entrances and a few vertical strips
of glass on the façade, the addition lacks fenestration. Full-height square columns clad in limestone rise
to meet a limestone fascia on the north, west and south elevations and paired columns support each
building corner. This limestone exoskeleton links the addition to the New Formalism branch of Modern
architecture.
The construction of the 1960 Addition covered the western half of the original building and the entrance
was removed with the open area filled with brick salvaged from other portions of the building. Three first-
story windows with five stacked lights infilled the former entrance space and eleven second story
windows remained exposed. CTA’s 2001 renovation altered the remaining north elevation again by the
installation of a reading room on the previously unfenestrated attic story (or third story). A three-story stair
tower, with corner windows at each story, except the basement, now sits where the original entrance
once stood. Tower windows feature concrete sills and match the original light configuration at each story
with the new third story having five stacked lights. The hip-roofed tower sits against the east elevation of
the 1960 addition, which extends approximately 24’ past the north wall of the original building. Six original
second story windows remain exposed to the east of the tower along with four original first story and
basement windows.
The north façade of the 1960 Addition contains six 27’-wide bays separated by full-length, squared
limestone-clad columns, with the curtain wall being offset in the second, third and fourth bays from the
east. On the second and third stories, the curtain wall is divided vertically into six columns of lights in
each bay. It is divided horizontally into five rows with three slender rows of opaque “spandrelite” flanking
two full-story rows of insulated glass. A flat concrete canopy divides the upper stories of the curtain wall
from the first story. The third bay from the east features the first-story main entrance. It consists of two
double aluminum glass door entrances flanked by glass panels. A ribbon of six aluminum-framed lights
provides light from above the doors. First-story bays flanking the entrance (bays two and four) contain
granite paneling capped with an identical ribbon of six aluminum-framed lights. Outside of the curtain wall,
single columns of light, with insulated glass at each story (1-3) and “spandrelite” in the spandrels, flank
each limestone column. White panels, designed by renowned artist Rudy Audio, with abstract, raised,
ceramic, brownish-red figures representing technology, social science, and the humanities grace the
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western corners of bays one, five and six, respectively. The setback fourth story penthouse can be seen
above the façade and on the other elevations.
Reid Hall, 1959, (24GA1798, one contributing building) / Map No. 27
Reid Hall stands as a four-story, flat-roofed reinforced concrete building with an L-shaped footprint that
wraps around the 1919 Traphagen Hall to the southwest. Constructed in 1959, Cushing, Terrell &
Associates designed the Modern style building with a curtain wall entrance. Combed brick in a running
bond pattern clads the exterior walls, and travertine covers reinforced concrete pilasters, or “ribs.” It has a
concrete foundation and a built-up roof. Windows, which were replaced in 2008, and doors feature
aluminum frames. Narrow metal coping caps the building.
The north side of the building serves as the entrance façade. The main entry is offset to the east. It
features a dramatic, four-story curtain wall that projects from the face of the building and contains a stair
tower. The entry displays two sets of double doors with full-height glass and aluminum frames. A flat
canopy that shelters the entrance above a transom window extends across the width of the bay and has
an aluminum fascia. With the exception of solid panels above the canopy, glazing covers this entire
tower. The individual lights feature a horizontal and vertical orientation, in an interwoven pattern original
to the building. The tower terminates in a wide cornice. A brick-clad mechanical penthouse rises behind
the tower. Narrow coping finishes the solid brick wall to the left of the entry. A small sign in dark, free-
standing letters spells out the name of the building in this location. To the west of the entry tower, seven-
and-one-half regularly spaced bays define the interior classroom spaces. The design motifs described
here are typical of classroom facades throughout the building. A concrete “rib” (a deep pilaster) that
projects from the face of the building and extends beyond the parapet at the top separates each bay.
Each bay consists of four, ganged, one-over-one-light windows. The windows sport a large, fixed upper
light over a smaller, operable light. Brick clads the spandrel panels below the windows, which extend from
floor to floor. The east elevation constitutes the building’s secondary façade. On the right (north) side of
this façade are three vertical window bays consisting of small, square windows that rise nearly the full
height of the building. An expanse of solid brick fills the space between each window bay. The two outer
window bays are one light in width, while the center light measures two lights wide. The two upper stories
on the south half of this elevation contain a series of classroom bays similar to those on the façade. At the
ground floor the building face is recessed with the “ribs” acting as pilotis.
Sherrick Hall (Nursing Building), 1973, (24GA1886, one noncontributing building) / Map No. 24
Completed in 1973, Davidson & Kuhr of Great Falls, Montana designed Sherrick Hall in a Late Modern
style (Brutalist). Variegated red brick in a running bond clads the flat-roofed, reinforced concrete building
with two stories and a basement. The T-shaped footprint measures approximately 95’ x 40’ along its
north/south wing and approximately 100’ x 35’ along its east/west wing. The east/west wing contains the
entrance bay immediately to the west of the junction between the wings, where the first story is open,
providing access to an approximately 22’ x 28’ concrete courtyard at the back corner of the building. The
main entrances are located across from each other on the east and west walls of the first-story opening.
Above the entry, the second story contains a curtain wall system. A flush, wide, concrete band with a
broom finish surrounds the building between the first and second stories, serving as a continuous lintel for
first-story windows and a continuous sill for second-story windows (first story windows have individual sills
of slanted soldier bricks). A second, wider, concrete band surrounds the building at the roofline, projecting
slightly beyond the wall face and serving as a continuous lintel for the second-story windows. The
concrete bands are broken only by stair towers at the inner junction of the building wings and on the north
elevation of the east/west wing. Outside of the curtain walls, windows are either slender aluminum
casement units in a bronze finish with a stationary light above and a louvered panel below or larger,
stationary panes above a louvered panel. All are slightly recessed and situated between slender pre-cast
concrete vertical sunshades that project from the building face. The building displays a somewhat random
window arrangement, with first and second-story windows only occasionally in vertical alignment. Some
windows present as pairs and share a central concrete sunshade, others are grouped (separated by the
width of a typical casement window) and still others are singular. Due to slope of the site from east to
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west, first-story windows in the eastern half of the building extend nearly to the ground, while windows to
the west appear well above grade. The concrete spandrels and concrete vertical sunshades, which
essentially create window mullions, serve as the building’s only decorative elements.
Lewis Hall (Biology Building), 1923, (24GA1877, one contributing building) / Map No. 3
The Italian Renaissance Revival style Lewis Hall stands four-and-one-half stories tall, including a daylight
basement and attic. Designed by the Great Falls, Montana firm, Shanley & Baker, the reinforced concrete
building measures 66' x 128' and features polychrome rug-face brick cladding laid in a running bond, terra
cotta ornamentation, and a gable roof covered in red tile. The gable ridge extends along an east-west line
with green tile clad parapets at its ends. Carved rafter tails support the exaggerated overhanging eave.
The granite water table forms a continuous sill for the first story windows. A belt course of soldier and
rowlock bricks capped by terra cotta separates the first story “base” of the building from the upper stories
and serves as a continuous sill for the second story windows.
Paired pilasters extend two stories from the base to their terra cotta capitals of acanthus leaves, evoking
the Corinthian order of classical architecture. Each pilaster shaft consists of a stack course of stretcher
bricks flanking a stack course of rowlock bricks, with a slightly recessed stack of stretchers between the
pilasters. The two corner pilasters on each elevation also have a terra cotta shield with a bas relief sheaf
of wheat. The architrave consists of a rowlock and soldier course of bricks capped by terra cotta
decorated with alternating pearl and billet molding. On the south facade and rear elevation, the frieze
exhibits brick panels with a terra cotta circle in the center, terra cotta accents at the corners above the
pilasters, and three “Union Jack” windows above the window bays. The east and west gable ends do not
have a frieze, but instead attic story windows and other terra cotta ornamentation. Terra cotta and bricks
in a decorative rectangular pattern, with a glazed terra cotta tile in the center, accentuate the spandrels
between the second and third stories. The university replaced all the original wood, one-over-one light,
double-hung windows with smaller one-over-one modern thermal units with metal frames below metal
paneling.
The primary façade contains a recessed entrance set within a protruding two-story gable-roofed porch.
Red tile covers the porch roof, while green tile matching the parapet ends of the main building covers the
porch’s south gable-end parapet. A stretcher and rowlock course of brick accents the parapet’s roofline. A
semi-circular arch framed in terra cotta with bead and reel and rosette patterns frames the recessed
entrance. Flanking the arch are three-light globe wall sconces protected by small metal, gabled hoods
and circular terra cotta roundels embellished with the letters "LH." Granite steps access the double
bronze and glass doors. A painted terra cotta panel detailed with circles and vertical lines separates the
doors from the glass transom/tympanum. An iron screen in a stylized floral motif protects this upper glass.
On either side of the doors, set within the porch, iron screens in a cross pattern protect vents. There are
six windows on either side of the entrance on the first and second story. Above the entrance single
pilasters separate three smaller windows flanked by six medium-sized windows. In the center of the frieze
is a large terra cotta panel incised with the word "LEWIS." Partially hidden by a large conifer, a weathered
concrete retaining wall west of the entrance forms a window well for three basement windows.
The east elevation displays a smaller version of the gabled-roofed entrance porch found on the south
façade. The west elevation proves identical except its entrance has been removed to accommodate the
one-story annex that connects the 1960 Cooley Laboratory to Lewis Hall. An enclosed, elevated walkway
also connects the two buildings on the second story, entering Lewis Hall through a second-story former
window opening immediately off-center to the north. Finally, as a result of the site’s slope from east to
west, the west elevation also contains six basement level windows.
Cooley Laboratory (Medical Sciences Research Building), 1960, 2012, (24GA1868, one
noncontributing building), Map No. 4
Helena, Montana architect, Sigvald L. Berg originally designed Cooley Laboratory in the Modern style.
Built in two phases, the university completed the upper stories in 1960. It is connected on its east
elevation to Lewis Hall (1923) through a one-story annex and a third-story walkway. A recent (2012)
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renovation by the Architect Design Group, a Kalispell, Montana firm, however, transformed the building
into a contemporary play on the Italian Renaissance Revival style of its 1923 neighbor, Lewis Hall. An
overhanging gable roof supported by large metal brackets built atop the original flat roof provides the
clearest stylistic connection to the earlier building. The new roof added a half-story for mechanical
equipment to the four-story, reinforced concrete building, which also features a full basement. Despite the
renovation, Cooley Laboratories still retains much of its original form, including its 122’ x 50’ rectilinear
footprint. The renovation also retained the building’s variegated brick cladding laid in a running bond, its
pattern of slender brick pilasters and recessed bays filled with windows on the long south and north
elevations, vertical columns of glazing on stair towers at the ends of the south façade, and its original
annex to Lewis Hall, which contains Cooley Hall’s main entrance. All windows, typically paired aluminum
units with large lights over small hopper units, were replaced during the renovation. Other significant
changes include the addition of continuous sunscreens above south façade windows, the covering of the
façade’s western window bay with prefinished corrugated metal siding, and the infill of two basement
windows on the west end of the building.
Tietz Hall (Central Animal Research Facility), 1985, (24GA1888, one noncontributing building) /
Map No. 5
Completed in 1985, Tietz Hall is a flat-roofed, one-story reinforced concrete building clad in variegated
red face brick laid in a running bond. The Billings, Montana architectural firm, E. F. Link & Associates,
designed it in a modest Late Modern style. The building exhibits a nearly rectilinear 117’ x 130’ footprint
with a 30’ x 62’ ell, which originally held the biohazard suite, on its southeast corner. An approximately
35’-long, 4-hour fire wall flanked by a 22’ wide courtyard to the east and an approximately 9’ to 16’ wide
courtyard to the west connects Tietz Hall to the center of Lewis Hall’s rear (north) elevation. It connects to
Cooley Laboratories via an entrance into the ground-story foyer between the two older buildings. Two
loading dock bays extend off the north elevation at a 45 degree angle, opening to the northeast. A 103’ x
30’ mechanical penthouse rises along the south and east sides of the building. The building’s concrete
foundation becomes increasingly visible to the north due the downward slope of the site. Tietz Hall’s only
decorative feature, outside the diagonal orientation of its loading docks and entrance, are bands of
elongated soldier course brick found just above the foundation, mid-wall at the lintel level of the entrance,
and at the roofline, where there are two courses. The loading dock bays and openings on the north
elevation of the penthouse also display soldier course lintels.
Taylor Hall (Experiment Station Building), 1894 (24GA1887, one contributing building) / Map No. 23
C. S. Haire likely designed this relatively simple eave-fronted building that combines subtle elements from
the Italianate, Queen Ann and Colonial Revival styles, all popular during the early 1880s. The masonry
building sits on a raised random-coursed stone foundation which sports a full daylight basement and attic.
It measures 44’ x 50’ and stands 35’ tall. The wood-shingled, clipped-gabled roof is orientated with its
ends on the east and west, with the west elevation facing 11th Avenue. Along with its symmetrical
massing and eave front, the roof shape conveys a rural and Colonial feeling. Fenestration treatments,
however, coincide with the Italianate and Queen Anne styles. White-painted square and fishscale
shingles finish the gable ends. The north and south slopes of the roof feature shed roof attic dormers with
four fixed windows in wood. A simple wood “frieze” decorated with panels sits just below the eaves on the
north and south elevations and the attic story on the north and south elevations. The building originally
had a simple wooden staircase with railing leading to the north elevation door. Full-size one-over-one
double hung windows appear within the gable ends, and the remaining windows are two-over-two double
hung.
The north façade features a 1967 flat-roofed porch and stairs, consisting of perpendicular concrete steps
that lead up from the west to a concrete landing. The railing and western porch support is created with
broad panels and open spacing, evoking a geometric modern feel. The wood and glass door sports a
transom and sits under an original sandstone lintel identical to those above the windows on this story.
The elevation displays a symmetrical three-bay fenestration pattern, with three openings on the first and
second stories and two at the basement story. The first story windows, paired one-over-one units with a
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heavy sandstone lintel, flank the elevated main entrance. Second story windows are paired one-over-one
double hung units with arched upper lights and arch hoods in brick. The hoods are particularly
reminiscent of the Italianate style. First and second story windows have wood lug sills and basement level
windows feature brick segmental arch lintels. The different treatment of windows on each story, as well as
the use of different cladding materials (stone, brick and shingles), link the building to the Queen Anne
style.
The unadorned west elevation contains three widow bays. Widows in the central bay are paired one-over-
one units, while windows in the side bays are original two-over-two double hung units, except at shingled
attic level, where they are one-over-one. Fenestration treatments (hoods, lintels and sills) follow the same
pattern as the façade. Attic story windows feature simple wood frames with crown molding. The east
elevation is identical, except it includes a wooden fire escape and its bottom half is obscured by a c. 1970
brick addition. The small addition extends approximately 20’ to the east. It has a flat roof and a recessed
entrance with double metal doors on its north façade. Two small horizontal windows are located to the
west of the door and a brick screen decorates the east wall of the recessed entrance.
Leon Johnson Hall (Life Sciences Building), 1973, (24GA1875, one noncontributing building) / Map
No. 6
Three distinct flat-roofed sections of brick-clad reinforced concrete construction constitute Leon Johnson
Hall: an eight-story tower to the north, a one-story lecture hall to the south and a one-story connecting
plaza. Clad in buff-colored brick set in a running bond, the tower measures 122’ x 114’ at its widest, but
features a number of projecting and recessed wall surfaces. Measuring 134’ x 83’, the red and buff-
colored brick-clad lecture hall displays a similarly complex footprint created by projecting sections. In
essence, both main sections are created with a series of blocks. An approximately 60’ x 75’ one-story
connecting plaza, clad in red and buff-colored brick, links the tower and lecture hall. Because the site
slopes dramatically to the north, the connecting plaza roof sits at grade with the lecture hall’s rear first
floor and enters the tower at its third story. This allows for a view of the tower’s southern elevation
through the lecture hall’s all-glass central entrance bay. Completed in 1973, the Billings, Montana
architectural firm CTA (formerly Cushing, Terrell & Associates) designed Leon Johnson Hall in the
Modern style. The design incorporates elements of two Late Modern styles: Brutalism, especially in the
tower’s projecting blocks and slender, recessed, vertical fenestration bays, and the Second Phase
International style, which is evident in the all-glass entrance bay and strong horizontal emphasis of the
Lecture Hall when contrasted with the tower.
Alumni Plaza, 2009, (one noncontributing site)
Alumni Plaza, an approximately 0.1 acre round paved plaza, offers respite and artfulness to the north side
of campus. Located approximately 400' north of Montana Hall, it marks the intersection of the northern
half of campus’s north/south axis and a secondary east/west access between Linfield Hall (1909) and
Herrick Hall (1926). Non-historic buildings, including the 2007 Chemistry and Biochemistry Building to the
northwest, Leon Johnson Hall (1973) to the southwest, and Wilson Hall (1974) to the southeast, surround
the plaza. Jabs Hall, the new School of Business building currently under construction, will sit at its
northeast corner. Centered within the Plaza stands the cast bronze statue “Spirit,” which depicts MSU’s
bobcat mascot standing on a pile of granite slabs. Random granite boulders also decorate a semi-circular
area north of the sculpture. A short stone retaining wall lines the paved portion of the plaza and plantings,
including immature trees and tall grasses, define its outer edges. Benches are located at the corners of
the plaza and a metal railing accents the walk toward Montana Hall, which narrows to approximately 40’
to the north. While Alumni Plaza is too recent to contribute to the MSU Historic District, it is the
cornerstone of contemporary planning policies for the north end of campus. It re-emphasizes campus’s
historic north/south axis and does not detract from the district’s historic feeling.
“Spirit,” 2009, (one noncontributing object) / Map No. 21
Artist and alumnus R. L. Bob Slayton created “Spirit,” a large cast bronze statue depicting MSU’s bobcat
mascot. It stands as the central feature of the round Alumni Plaza, which sits approximately 400’ north of
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Montana Hall along the northern half of campus’s north/south axis. The bobcat faces northeast and
stands upon a pile of granite slabs. The statue provides visual interest along the northern approach to
Montana Hall and effectively “brands” campus.
Linfield Hall (Agriculture Hall, Morrill Hall), 1909, 1953, (24GA1878, one contributing building) /
Map No. 22
Helena, Montana architects J.G. Link and C.S. Haire designed this three-and-one-half-story solid
masonry building in the Neoclassical Revival style. The building measures 150’ long by 68’ wide, and
measures 35’ in height. Built with buff pressed brick with Columbus sandstone trimmings, this building
has a full daylight basement and attic. The ground floor displays an ironspot brown clay-fired brick with
concrete brick quoining and lintels around the windows. The recycled “slate” facsimile clad roof is hipped
with cross hips on the north and south ends and a pediment over the main entrance.17 Three gable-roofed
dormers appear on the rear (west) elevation, single hip-roofed dormers project from the side elevations,
and gable-roofed dormers flank the entrance pediment on the façade. Most window openings contain
one-over-one double-hung units with wood sashes, and feature flat arch lintels with keystones and
sandstone slip sills.18 The building sits on a stone foundation. A sandstone water table encircling the
entire building divides the ground floor from the first story. A small sandstone beltcourse above the
foundation and below the ground floor windows creates a continuous sill, and a second sandstone
beltcourse above serves as a sill for the first story windows as well as a base for the building’s brick
pilasters. The pilasters rise up two stories, terminating in terra cotta capitals with an egg and dart motif.
The entablature includes a plain brick architrave capped by a pressed metal cornice with block modillions.
The symmetrical east-facing façade features a projecting, pedimented entrance bay flanked by recessed
walls and projecting ends under the cross hips. Pilasters define all window bays on the facade, with the
end segments containing two paired windows on each story and the recessed wall containing three
individual windows per story. A short set of concrete steps and a terrazzo landing lead to the building’s
raised entrance. An arch springing from squat pilasters embellished with a prominent keystone frames the
main entrance. Below a large, multi-light transom, double oak and beveled glass doors sit within the
entrance, separated from large plate glass sidelights by engaged oak columns with ionic capitals. Above
the arch, a large glazed, six-light window fills the second story level, and lights the building’s central
interior stair. The window contains one-over-one sidelights and a transom. A sandstone shield with the
raised date “1907” serves as a keystone for the window’s flat arch. Set into large pilasters flanking the
arch on the corners of the entrance bay are one-over-one double hung windows on each floor. The
pediment displays a raking cornice with block modillions and an oculus window. Two pedimented dormers
with two Union Jack lights flank the main pediment.
Billings, Montana architect, Edwin G. Osness designed the 1953 International style addition called
“Linfield South,” constructed off the south elevation of Linfield Hall. The one to two-and-one-half story
addition has an L-shaped footprint with its main east-west wing measuring approximately 80’ x 65’ and its
north-south wing measuring 135’x 55’. A lower 70’ x 40’ section with a loading dock projects off the
addition’s northwest corner. Linfield South is a flat-roofed, reinforced concrete [correct] addition with
tapestry brick veneer on all elevations except the south, which was originally clad with terra cotta panels
between the expansive rows of aluminum windows. Large areas of windows have been replaced with
EIFS and in 2012 two rows of terra cotta panels (loosening from the concrete substrate) were replaced
with aluminum-clad panels during work by the Billings, Montana firm, CTA. The asymmetrical east-facing
façade consists of two sections: a one-story brick portion to the north which connects to the original
Linfield Hall and the two-story main entrance bay to the south. The northern section is dominated by an
angular “wave” panel created by a series of evenly-spaced brick walls set at an approximately 45˚ angle
from the main building, with interior spaces filled by three columns of opaque glass block set at the
opposite angle. A beltcourse of soldier bricks runs across the north and east elevations, creating a
17 The original roofing was of Ludowici French style clay of terra cotta coloring, remnants of which remain in the attic.
Historic photographs support this material identification. 18 The windows were replaced in 2002 during a renovation by the architectural firm Faure Halverson.
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continuous lintel for the “wave” panel. The two-story entrance bay features vertical columns with a wall of
white paneling to the south and the main entrance to north. A slab-roofed canopy supported by thin metal
posts set on a trapezoidal, brick planter to the south shelters the recessed entrance. Double blond doors
with three square lights, a sidelight, and a transom make up the entrance. Above the entrance, a twelve-
light, aluminum-framed curtain wall dominates the elevation.
Chemistry and Biochemistry Building, 2007, (24GA1865, one noncontributing building) / Map No.
20
Completed in 2007, the Great Falls, Montana architectural firm, L’ Heureux Page Werner designed the
Chemistry and Biochemistry Building as an L-shaped, four-story, reinforced concrete structure. The slope
of the site from east to west results in only three stories being visible on the southeast corner of the
building. The ell of its footprint appears at the building’s southeast corner, with a longer (approximately
155’) wing running west and a shorter (approximately 118’) wing running north. Both gable-roofed wings
measure approximately 95’ wide. The roofs feature exaggerated, overhanging eves supported by
massive tube metal brackets. Connecting the wings at the corner of the ell is a four-story, flat-roofed
curtain wall atrium with its “nose” pointing southeast. A disengaged semi-circular “arcade” with four
rectangular openings extends around the curtain wall on the first story from the main building’s south and
east outer facades. The wings of the building typically display cladding of copper modular brick and brown
“giant” brick in a running bond on their lower stories and grey, pre-finished corrugated metal siding on
their upper stories. Sand-colored decorative brick creates a grid pattern on the lower stories, defining the
building’s stories and window bays. Diamonds created by four sand-colored bricks with a red brick center
sit at the intersection of these horizontal and vertical stringcourses. This motif also continues through the
semi-circular “arcade.” Windows are typically anodized aluminum four-over-one light units with pre-cast
concrete lintels and sills on the first story and flat soldier course brick hoods and concrete sills on the
second story. On the building’s inner corner there is a 15’-wide two-story, brick-clad projection that
extends approximately 55’ along both the north and west elevations of the wings. A 24’ x 34’ one-story
cooling tower sits approximately 50’ from the southern end of the east/west wing.
Chemistry Modular Building, c. 2008, (one noncontributing building) / Map No. 19, (24GA1866)
BNBuilders Inc. constructed the Chemistry Modular Building in 2008 as part of the Gaines Hall renovation
project, designed by the Bozeman architecture firm of Dowling Sandholm. It consists of two rectilinear
wings (Chemistry Modular North and Chemistry Modular South) connected by a partially-covered
breezeway. The approximately 35’-wide wings stand even on their west elevation, but Chemistry Modular
North extends another 20’ past the 106’ long Chemistry Modular South on their east elevation. Each wing
has an asphalt shingle-clad shed roof with boxed eaves that slopes downward from their inner elevation.
The roofs overhang slightly on the side and outer elevations, but extend significantly over the inner
elevations and into the breezeway where they connect by series of closely-spaced triangular trusses.
Solid gable trusses support the east and west ends of the breezeway. A concrete walk flanked by gravel
runs through the center of the breezeway. Each entrance on the interior elevations features its own
concrete path from the central walk. A synthetic sage-colored siding that mimics wide clapboard covers
the exterior walls. Dark green trim highlights the building corners and all windows and doors. The boxed
eaves are also dark green. Fenestration is limited to the north and south outer elevations and the inner
elevations facing the breezeway.
Wilson Hall (Classroom and Office Building), 1974, (24GA1891, one noncontributing building) /
Map No. 7
The Billings, Montana architectural firm CTA designed Wilson Hall, in 1974, in the Late Modern style. It is
a flat-roofed, two-and-one-half story reinforced concrete building clad in a running bond of red brick that
sits on a poured concrete foundation with a partial, exposed basement in the northwest corner. A thick
band of darker red bricks, also in a running bond, under the roofline emphasizes the top of the building. It
has a “U” shaped footprint with its opening on the south elevation and a large landscaped courtyard. The
building site measures almost square, 265’ north/south and 245’ east/west. All three wings measure 65’
wide, but vary in length due to a 60’ x 40’ cutout in the northeast corner of the building: the west wing
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extends the entire length of the building (245’), while the east and north wings run only 180’ long and 225’
long, respectively. The east wing turns the corner west on its southern end, creating a 20’ long “foot.” A
115’-long elevated walkway supported by a central stair tower connects the south ends of the east and
west wings. On the northwest corner of the building, the basement story protrudes outward beneath the
first and second stories, creating a 12’ wide deck extending about 103’ along the north elevation and a 20’
wide deck extending approximately 65’ along the west elevation. A second story deck spans the inner
corner of the northeast cut-out. Overall, the second story of Wilson Hall’s elevations display largely
symmetrical, evenly-spaced fenestration patterns with small recessed windows, while the first and
basement stories are characterized by asymmetrical series of deeply recessed panels, which either
contain entrances, windows, or are completely devoid of fenestration. As such it is stylistically related to
Brutalism, although considering its brick façade and low profile, it presents as a highly-restrained
example.
“Walt Whitman,” 2009, (one noncontributing object) / Map No. 48
Located within Wilson Hall’s courtyard and designed by professional artist James Dolan, “Walt Whitman”
is a welded steel sculpture that depicts the author relaxing on a bench.
Danforth Park / Iris Garden, c. 1926; 1952, (one contributing site)
Danforth Park contains approximately 1.2 acres between S. 7th Avenue to the east, Wilson Hall to the
west, Herrick Hall to the north, and the Hamilton Hall parking lot to the south. Danforth Chapel
(24GA1796), from which the park derives its name, stands at the south end of the park. As early as 1933,
the area already presented a park-like appearance with a variety of mature trees and the formal Iris
Garden at its eastern end. Today, a mature grove of Douglas fir, juniper, spruce, and ash create a
naturalistic, shaded park. Danforth Park contains two component resources, an “L”-shaped stone wall, a
remnant of the “Bobcat Lair,” and the Iris Garden, c. 1926. The “L”-shaped stone wall sits approximately
85’ southeast of Herrick Hall and is the remnant of an enclosure that held the College’s bobcat mascot
“Spirit” through the 1960s. An open-wire cage with timber framing originally attached to the interior
elevations of the wall, now lined with a bench. Due to its close resemblance to the perpendicular stone
wall projecting from the east façade of Danforth Chapel it fits well within the surrounding landscape. The
efforts of the Associated Women Students (A.W.S.) in 1930 resulted in the round Iris Garden, designed
by H. C. Cheever, an MSU professor of architecture. Located approximately 105’ south of Herrick Hall,
the formal garden surrounded a small sculpted sundial donated to MSU by the class of 1920, which was
stolen sometime before 1946 and replaced in 1975, only to be stolen again. Recently revitalized by the
Class of 2011, the Iris Garden retains its original flagstone paving, and its formal planting of irises and
deciduous shrubs has been restored. Reminiscent of its predecessor, the acrylic, stainless steel, and
cast concrete sculpture “Four Seasons” replaced the sundial in 2010 (See Below).
“Four Seasons,” 2010, (one noncontributing object) / Map No. 10
In 2010, the university installed this sculpture by MSU adjunct professor Heath “Tad” Bradley at the
former site of the sundial, a small bronze pillar donated by the Class of 1920, approximately 105’ south of
Herrick Hall. (See “Danforth Park / Iris Garden.) “Four Seasons” has a similar shape with multi-section
concrete base below four colored (red, blue, yellow and green) acrylic rectangles representing the
seasons. While too recent to be considered a contributing object, the sculpture successfully replaces the
sundial and brings order back to the circular Iris Garden. It is a non-intrusive addition.
“Black Elk,” 2012, (one noncontributing object) / Map No. 9
This is an abstract welded metal sculpture by professional artist Jim Dolan that loosely depicts the
Ogallala Sioux Holy man. The metal figure stands atop a smooth rounded base of welded metal. It is
located to the east of Danforth Chapel.
Danforth Chapel, 1952, (24GA1796, one contributing building) / Map No. 8
Completed in 1952, Danforth Chapel is a small, one-story frame building designed in the Modern style by
Emanuel Milstein, then a student at MSU. The “L”-shaped building sits atop a concrete slab foundation
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and has a shallow-pitched, built-up shed roof that slants up toward the east façade. It features a deep,
boxed overhanging eave and a tall fascia on the façade, but no eaves on the side elevations and narrow
eaves on the back. Pressed wood clapboard siding replaced the original wood siding in 1994. A stone
masonry wall projects from the east façade, linking the building to the surrounding landscape and
providing a privacy screen between the main entry and the chapel. The rear “L” of the building reads as
an auxiliary space and the nearly flat roof contributes to the perception of the building as a cubic form. Its
modernity is further evidenced by the window wall on the east façade that brings the outdoors inside.
The stone masonry wall, which stands approximately 7’ tall and projects about 45’ to the east, divides the
east façade of the building into two sections. The main entrance provides access from the south side, and
contains two flush wood doors, each paired with a window of full-height glass. Three transom windows
surmount these ensembles. The exaggerated overhanging roof creates a canopy and protects the
entrance. To the north of the wall, the façade contains a window wall of full-height glass with widely-
spaced wood mullions that lights the chapel area. The windows extend from the concrete sill above the
foundation to the underside of the soffit. The roof overhang is less exaggerated here and supported in
part by the building’s north wall, which extends past the façade. The south elevation of the building
contains one opening on its west side: a modern, full-height, stained glass window within a recessed area
enclosed on the left with an extension of the rear wall and above with an extension of the eaves.
Herrick Hall (Women’s Building), 1926, (24GA1874, one contributing building) / Map No. 11
The three-story, reinforced concrete Herrick Hall includes a full daylight basement, measures 144’ x 52',
and features a granite water table. The concrete and steel hipped roof is covered in red tiles and carved
rafter tails are visible under the exaggerated overhanging eave. Fred F. Willson designed the building in
the Italian Renaissance Revival style, with a bilaterally symmetrical façade around a full-height, hipped-
roof entrance bay. Polychrome rug-face brick with terra cotta detailing makes up the exterior walls, and its
fenestration is characterized by paired six-over-six double hung windows. Rowlock bricks comprise the
first and second story sills, and soldier-course bricks form the flat arch lintels. A belt course of soldier and
rowlock bricks separates the first (basement) story from the second story. Above the second floor
windows, a tumbled brick pattern belt course defines a simple "frieze" decorated with rectangular brick
patterns.
Large brick corner pilasters, which rise two stories and project slightly, frame the west façade’s projecting
central entrance bay. Dark brick in a vertical pattern and terra cotta diamonds decorate the pilasters.
Immediately under the upper beltcourse a series of small stepped arches with corbelled bases decorate
the top of the entrance bay’s slightly recessed wall face. A terra cotta panel inscribed with “HERRICK
HALL” is found in the “frieze” between the beltcourse and the eave. Three six-over-six windows with a
continuous sill, flanked by single six-over-six windows, appear below the arches. At the first story, three
recessed arches define the entrance. The larger, taller, central arch contains a pair of wood and glass
doors below a semicircular glass transom/tympanum. A terra cotta shield embellished with ribbon serves
as a keystone to the central arch. Within the center of the shield is an escutcheon with the raised date,
"1926." The smaller, flanking arches have brick keystones and surround fixed 12-light windows. Small
terra cotta diamonds appear within the tympanums. Above the smaller arches, small terra cotta shields
are embellished with raised letters: “LVX” (light) on the north shield and “VE TRITAS” (truth) on the
south. Single, four-over-four double-hung windows punctuate each story of the projecting entrance bay’s
north and south facing walls. Four pairs of six-over-six windows on each story flank the central bay.
Decorative brick panels matching those found in the pilasters of the entrance bay adorn each of the
building’s eight corners.
Hannon Hall, 1955, (24GA1872, one contributing building) / Map No. 12
The brick-clad, reinforced concrete Hannon Hall stands three full stories tall, with a full daylight basement
and a partial sub-basement. Designed in the Modern style by the Billings architectural firm, Cushing &
Terrell (later CTA), with Fred F. Willson as the local supervising architect, and completed in 1955, it
displays an irregular trapezoidal footprint with only the east elevation and the first story of the south
elevation built along the cardinal directions. The west elevation, which contains the main entrance, runs
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northwest from its south end and the north elevation runs northeast from its west end. The four elevations
create a trapezoidal interior courtyard with the following dimensions: 111’ (west), 78’ (north), 116” (east)
and 48’ (south). The building has a flat roof with boxed overhanging eaves on most elevations. A one-
story section containing the main entrance, lobby, kitchen, dining room and service areas wraps around
the entire south elevation and southwest and southeast corners of the building. The second and third
stories sit back approximately 20’ at the southwest corner of building, 50’ at the southeast corner and 40’
along the south end of the east elevation. Brown brick clads the one-story portion of the building and stair
tower entrances, while the main building sports a polychrome mixture of blond and red brick, with both
sections laid in a common bond. Interestingly, the color contrast represents different interior uses, with
darker brick signaling public or service spaces, and the polychrome brick signaling private residential
rooms.
The west façade faces S. 7th Avenue, measures 117’ long x 38’ wide on its main section, and contains the
building’s main entrance at its southern end. The 47’ wide one-story main entrance section has no
overhanging eave and extends approximately 28’ west from the main building. It contains a recessed pair
of glass doors with a large sidelight and transom all framed in aluminum and centered in its northern half.
A lower, 17’-wide flat canopy supported by three wide brick columns on the north (creating a modern style
screen) and one column on the south extends another 12’ over the north half of the entrance section.
Modern style cylindrical lamps light the concrete landing leading to the entrance. Above the entrance, the
roofline of the one-story section is broken and flush with the canopy. To the south of the entrance stands
a brick wall interrupted only by a single rectangular metal vent. The south end of this section terminates in
a slightly setback window wall created with a large stationary aluminum light under a small light, all above
a brick knee-wall and under an overhanging boxed eave. This marks the beginning of the public lobby
space that continues along the south elevation. The north-facing wall of the entrance contains two sets of
ribbon-style, double hung aluminum windows and leads to a secondary entrance recessed within the
main portion of the building. This entrance contains a single wood door with three vertically-arranged
square lights, a side light to the south and a transom. The remainder of the west elevation is a solid wall
of polychrome brick punctured regularly by flush aluminum windows.
On the secondary south façade, which faces Hannon Field, the main portion of the building contains nine
bays on its second and third stories, all of which contain large stationary panes flanked by two light
casement units. The protruding, dark brick, one-story section contains the dining room to the east end
and the main lounge to the west. Both are well lit by recessed curtain walls of glass above a brick knee
wall, broken only by entrances and a solid brick wall in the center that visually separates the dining and
lobby areas. Squared concrete columns divide the walls into sections, while wood mullions divide the
lights. The area east of the brick wall features nine sections. Immediately to the east, there is a slender
section with a full length window wall of three lights and an entrance which contains double solid wood
doors with a transom and three-light sidelight. The remaining sections contain two columns of lights
above a brick knew wall: a slimmer column containing three identical lights, and a wider column with a
lower light that covers two-thirds of the space and an upper light covering the remaining one-third. The
configuration of these columns is flipped in alternating sections. West of the brick wall, the fenestration
displays a similar configuration of lights with slight variations. It is divided into five sections, with an
entrance immediately west of the brick wall. The entrance contains double solid wood doors with a
transom and a sidelight with two lights above a wood panel. Remaining sections include two columns of
lights: one containing a large stationary pane taking up three-fourths of the area and an upper pane
covering the remaining space and the other, which is much slimmer, containing four lights in the lower
three-fourths of the window wall and a single light in upper one-fourth. The configuration of lights is again
flipped in alternating sections.
Atkinson Quadrangle, 1934, (24GA1881, three contributing buildings) / Map Nos. 13a, 13b, 13c
Three Jacobethan Revival style buildings designed by Bozeman, Montana architect, Fred F. Willson
comprise the Atkinson Quadrangle complex. Large cross gables and wall dormers, which typically
terminate at the wall in corbelled flairs characterize the buildings. Multiple brick chimneys of varying
heights add further complexity to the rooflines. Each 32’ x 112' building consists of two dormitories
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sharing a common 13’ wide soundproof wall. The east building contains Quads A and B, the north Quads
C and D, and the west Quads E and F. Their three and one-half stories stand 50' tall, and include a
basement and attic. The reinforced concrete buildings feature variegated-color brick walls in a common
English bond, and cast stone accents. Variegated color asbestos shingles, replacing the originals
simulated slate shingles, cover the roofs, which in accordance with the building style, feature shallow
eaves. Most window openings contain four-over-four or six-over-six double-hungs in wood frames, with
slanted rowlock brick sills and soldier brick lintels. A brick soldier course runs between the concrete
foundation and the upper brick walls. The units face into a landscaped courtyard planted with evergreens
and deciduous trees. Old fashioned lampposts provide illumination.
Each of the buildings displays slightly different details from the others, but all share characteristics
common to the style. All have steeply-pitched, gable roofs clad in asbestos shingles, with at least one
large cross gable. The central (north) building displays full cross gables above projecting sections on its
west and east ends, two cross gables facing the courtyard and one central cross gable on its rear
elevation. On the east and west buildings, the northernmost dormitories (Quads B and E) project slightly
farther into the courtyard than their southern neighbors (Quads A and F). Quads A, B and F have one
large gabled wall dormer facing into the courtyard alongside a hip-roofed dormer to the north and one
large rear cross gable. Quad E contains a large gable-roofed wall dormer to the south and smaller one to
the north on its eastern façade, and a large rear cross gable. The walls of the gables are corbelled to
meet the roof eaves. Each Quad features at least one large interior, corbelled chimney with clay chimney
pots.
“Untitled,” c. 1960, (one contributing object) / Map No. 14
Professional artist and MSU Art Professor, George K. Conkley completed this tall welded bronze and
steel sculpture c. 1960. Originally part of the Renne Library’s atrium, the university moved the abstract
sculpture to the Atkinson Quadrangle in 2002 after filling the atrium fountain. It now sits against the west
façade of Quadrangle’s east building. The sculpture consists of a series of abstract metal forms spiraling
around a central metal pole. Although the sculpture was moved after the MSU Historic District’s period of
historic significance (1893-1967), it can still be considered a contributing object because its primary
significance comes from its design. The sculpture represents the type of abstract works commissioned by
MSU during the mid-20th century.
Hapner Hall, 1959, (24GA0336, one contributing building) / Map No. 15
Completed in 1959, Hapner Hall was designed in the Modern style by the Billings, Montana architectural
firm of Cushing, Terrell and Associates (later CTA). It is a brick-clad, reinforced concrete building with a
102’ x 104’ two-story central section containing lobbies, dining and kitchen space flanked by elongated
44’ x 242’ three-story wings that house dorm rooms. This configuration creates a distinctive “H”-shaped
footprint. Both the central section and the wings have flat roofs covered with a synthetic membrane. Brick-
colored metal fascia covers the roof-wall junction unless otherwise noted. Twelve-foot wide corridors (or
hyphens) connect the wings, which stand approximately 36’ from the central section. Because the site
slopes from south to north, the wings are divided into two separate sections with the first story of the
southern sections at the same level as the second story of the northern sections. In addition, the slope
causes the central section and connecting corridors to transition into two stories on their northern
elevation. The wings extend approximately 27’ farther north and approximately 90’ farther south than the
central section. A “U”-shaped drive takes traffic from Cleveland Street to the main entrance on the south
façade of the central section. Mature coniferous and deciduous trees grow within the “U” and in front of
the building in various places.
The university extensively altered the main entrance to Hapner Hall in 2012. Originally, the south
elevation of the central section presented basically symmetrical, with a double door entrance centered
within an almost full height window wall flanked by solid brick walls. A flat-roofed concrete canopy
protecting the walk leading to the entrance extended approximately 20’ south of the façade. The recent
renovation is sympathetic to the Modern style of the building, but creates an asymmetrical façade. The
recessed entrance is now an oversized vestibule, with the double glass doors located on the west end of
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the modern window wall. A wide overhanging roof structure clad in an Exterior Insulation and Finish
System (EIFS), features a square column clad in the same material and thin metal posts to the west. Thin
metal posts support a floating metal canopy located about three-fourths of the way up the window wall. It
begins between the building and the eastern column and extends to the west end of central section’s
south elevation. A sign reading “HAPNER HALL” in individual metal letters sits atop the canopy above the
entrance. The original solid brick walls continue to flank the new entrance. Red and yellow face brick laid
in running bond covers Hapner Hall unless otherwise specified.
The corridors connecting the wings to the central section of Hapner Hall are actually two stories, with the
lower story being below grade on the southern elevation. Face brick clads both corridors, which contain
two sets of windows on their south and north elevations. The windows location directly across from each
other contributes to the corridors’ open feeling. The south and north elevations of both wings are virtually
identical. Excepting the stair towers, the south elevations are solid brick walls. The north elevations,
feature centered, recessed entrances with single aluminum-framed glass doors and sidelights. All four
side elevations of the east and west wings are also nearly identical. Each consists of nine recessed bays
in each section, containing an aluminum window with a large stationary light flanked by two light
casement units on each of the three stories. Nine stack courses of stretcher brick create spandrel
sections between the windows. The spandrel brick is the same color and size as that used on the main
building, but with a different texture and a darker mortar.
Johnstone Center (Lewis and Clark Hall), 1955, (24GA1876, one contributing building) / Map No. 16
Lewis and Clark Hall stands as one of the few buildings on campus not utilizing brick as a major
component of its exterior design. Instead, smooth finished concrete covers most of the reinforced
concrete building. Helena, Montana architects Sigvald L. Berg and L. O. Bradford designed the building in
the Modern style. Constructed in two phases, its complex design includes an approximately 360’-long
southern façade. The 196’ x 90’ central wing contains the kitchen, dining rooms, and lounges, while dorm
rooms occupy four individually-named wings extending off the sides and rear of the central wing. From
east to west they are Pryor Hall, Colter Hall, Mullen Hall and Culbertson Hall. The central wing and
adjacent connecting wings (or hyphens) feature one story with a partial basement, while the dorm wings
stand four-and-a-half stories. Pryor and Culbertson Halls, each approximately 242’ x 40’, make up the
entire east and west elevations of the complex, and link with the central wing via connector hyphens.
Colter and Mullen Halls, each approximately 142’ x 40’, directly connect to the rear of central wing. All
wings have a flat, built-up roof. Side elevations (east and west) of each dorm wing contain central
entrance bays with concrete and glass block panels flanked by bays with two flush aluminum windows on
each story. The wings create three rear courtyards that contain service entrances. The north ends of all
four dormitory wings feature centered rear stair towers that extend approximately 17’ to the north
accessed by single, solid metal doors located on their west walls.
The nearly symmetrical south-facing façade of Lewis and Clark Hall sprawls about 360’ along the north
side of Harrison Street and can be divided into four different sections that radiate outward. An
approximately 94’-long section clad in red brick with recessed entrances at both ends stands at the center
of the façade. This c. 1978 renovation envelops the original recessed central kitchen section
(approximately 60’ wide) and spans about 16’ of each flanking dining hall. It protrudes a few feet outward
from the walls of the dining halls and displays a lower roofline. Entrances have modern double aluminum
frame glass doors with a transom and sit within a slightly protruding brick wall defined by pre-cast
concrete blocks designed to look like stone quoins. Berg, Grabow & Schofield of Bozeman designed this
Postmodern style addition. Their use of brick and Colonial-inspired detailing detracts from the original
building’s Modern aesthetic. Flanking the brick section, light pink concrete clads the south walls of the
building’s dining halls. Each side contains a centered, cast concrete-framed window section with three
sets of three aluminum windows. Each window includes an elongated stationary light with a small upper
and lower light, the latter of which operates as an awning unit. The south ends of Colter and Mullen Halls
rise above the central wing, with each containing paired aluminum lights on each visible story.
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The connecting hyphens’ north walls (or lounge sections) flank the central wing on the façade. The
western hyphen sits back approximately 24’ feet from the south face of the dining halls (and Pryor and
Culbertson Halls), while the eastern hyphen protrudes slightly. A flat-roofed canopy protects the original
western hyphen, which also features a window wall of five large stationary lights separated by aluminum
mullions. A sixth window is located to the east. On the west-facing wall of the dining hall are two sets of
paired windows matching the configuration of those found on the south façade. In 1986, Bozeman
architect Richard M. Shanahan designed a renovation of Pryor and Colter halls, as well as a small shed-
roofed addition to the eastern hyphen. The addition is made up almost entirely of aluminum windows
above a short concrete knee wall. Each window contains an elongated light above a small operational
awning unit. The renovation also resulted in replacement windows on all elevations of Pryor and Colter.
The similar four-story south ends of Pryor and Culbertson Halls make up the east and west ends of Lewis
and Clark’s south façade. Both have been altered, with the addition of a stair tower to Pryor Hall during
the previously-discussed 1986 renovation and the construction of concrete canopies over the entrances.
Unlike the c. 1978 kitchen renovation, however, these renovations sympathize with Berg’s original design.
The south elevation of Pryor Hall, the eastern dorm wing, has a protruding EIFS-clad central tower with
the entrance bay to the west and a mostly un-fenestrated wall to the east. The entrance contains double
aluminum-framed glass doors flanked by sidelights. A flat-roofed concrete canopy supported by tapered
and highly stylized concrete posts extends approximately 20’ to the south and protects the entrance’s
concrete walk. Each of the three stories above the entrance is clad in pink concrete and contains a ribbon
of three window units with a regular light and a spandrelite panel above a slender stationary light. The
central tower contains a single column of alternating lights and spandrelite panels beginning at the
second story. East of the tower, the wall is divided into a recessed first story clad in stone-faced blocks,
and an upper wall of pink concrete. A row of five small, square aluminum lights punctuate the first story’s
west side under the concrete. The slim concrete section between the roofline and the fourth story
windows of Pryor Hall, as well as on the rest of the dormitory wings, sports a darker shade of pink,
creating the vague illusion of a cornice. The south elevation of Culbertson Hall lacks a stair tower and
mimics that of Pryor, with its recessed, canopied entrance on the east side. The entrance contains tripled
aluminum-framed glass doors with sidelights and a transom, and the recessed, stone-clad first story west
of the entrance contains seven small square lights directly under the pink concrete wall. Aluminum
windows with four horizontally-arranged lights appear on each story above the entrance.
Territory-State Dedication Marker, 1914, (one contributing object) / Map No. 47
Originally located at the southwest corner of Cleveland and 7th Avenue, the marker was likely moved to its
current location at the northeast corner of the Johnstone Center during the building’s construction in
1955. It consists of a squared concrete column atop a square concrete base. A metal plaque on its east
elevation contains the following in raised letters: “In Commemoration of the Organization of the State of
Montana, May 26, 1864 and the Admission of the Territory into the Union of States, November 8, 1889 –
Erected August 8, 1914 by the Society of Montana Pioneers Assembled in Annual Reunion.” Although
only tangentially associated with MSU, the marker serves a reminder of the College’s connection to the
state and the surrounding community of Bozeman.
Langford Hall, 1960, (24GA1797, one contributing building) / Map No. 17
Completed in 1960, the Great Falls architectural firm McIver, Hess & Haugsjaa designed the four-story
reinforced concrete Langford Hall in the Modern style. Its red-brick cladding lies in a running bond. The
building displays a flat built-up roof and sits atop a concrete foundation. Green fascia board surrounds the
roofline. In plan, Langford Hall has a distinctive double-cross shape, with the south cross oriented north-
south and the north cross situated at a 45 degree angle to its companion. On the outer (west) corner of
the juncture between the crosses stands a five-story tower with an entry at the ground level. The inner
(east) corner originally featured a one-story entry arcade off Harrison Street leading to a one-story public
wing connected to the short east ell of the south cross. A 2012 renovation by Helena, Montana’s Mosaic
Architecture altered this entrance extensively. The renovation added a new aluminum and glass entrance
framed in green tile and protected by a flat, asymmetrical metal canopy. A tall, one-story box clad in dark
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brick and a series of window walls rises to the east of the entrance and a low dark brick wall extending
south and then west screens a new western section of the original one-story wing. Another segment of
the original public portion of the wing, which contains a window wall above green glazed brick and two
aluminum-framed glass doors, is visible to the north of the tall box. The new entrance, while somewhat
oversized, proves sympathetic to the Modern aesthetic of the building, though clearly new construction.
Each cross has three wings with double-loaded corridors, in addition to the shorter east wings. The side
elevations of each wing consist of vertical bands of brick between wide window bays. End walls typically
display brick cladding with one vertical bay of windows above an entry, and a narrow nearly full-length,
multi-light window lighting an interior stair. The windows, largely identical throughout the building, align
vertically. Each three-light window features a slight horizontal orientation, with a large light on top and two
smaller lights, one of which is operable, below. A glazed green brick spandrel panel separates each
window opening. Doors are typically full-height glass in an aluminum frame, with narrow sidelights under
a flat canopy with a plain aluminum fascia. Utility doors are flush metal.
Lewis and Clark Field, c. 1915, (one contributing site)
Montana State College purchased this property (Blocks 10 and 11, Capitol Hill Addition) in 1911 and 1915
and it has remained an open grass-covered field since that time.19 Originally consisting of approximately
5.5 acres bound by Harrison and Cleveland Streets and S. 10th and S. 8th Avenues, the field’s size
diminished significantly since the close of the MSU Historic District’s period of significance (1893-1967).
The university paved approximately 1 acre on the east side of the original field for parking, and another 2
acres on the west side have been lost to another parking lot and the northern portion of the Chemistry
and Biochemistry Building. The temporary Chemistry Modular Building and associated two classroom
trailers currently cover another acre; however, the university has plans for their removal. Despite its
significant loss of size, Lewis and Clark Field still retains sufficient integrity to convey its significance as
an important open space providing recreational opportunities. Prior to the construction of Gatton Field (c.
1929) to the south of Romney Gymnasium, Lewis and Clark Field was home to the Bobcat’s first football
field. After the completion of Lewis and Clark Hall (1955) and Langford Hall (1960) to the north across
Harrison Street, the field was heavily utilized by their freshman residents. The field is especially significant
as the only open area remaining of the once extensive green space to the north of Montana Hall.20
Wool Laboratory, 1947, (24GA1892, one contributing building) / Map No. 18
The gable-roofed, wood-frame, two-and-one-half story Wool Lab rests on an elevated poured concrete
daylight basement foundation. The foundation walls, visible on all elevations, retain the horizontal lines
left by the construction board forms. Original wide clapboard siding covers the walls and newer asphalt
shingles cover the roof. The roof also features exposed rafter ends. The eave-fronted façade faces 11th
Avenue to the west and measures 60’ long, while the north and south gable ends measure 32’ long. An
approximately 25’ x 28’ flat-roofed garage, also clad in wide clapboard siding, attaches to the north side of
the rear (east) elevation. The garage connects to an approximately 50’ x 25’ Quonset-type garage via a
small, gable-roofed section, also clad in wide clapboard. The Quonset features corrugated metal siding
on its curved longer elevations and wood paneling in its shorter north and south ends. It sits upon a
poured concrete foundation. While not included in the original architectural drawings, the Quonset
appears in a historic photo printed in the Montana Collegian shortly after construction. White paint
currently covers the Wool Lab complex. A paved driveway south of the main building accesses the
garages from 11th Avenue, and a paved walk leads to the centered main entrance. Montana State College
Supervising Architect William R. Plew designed the 1947 Wool Lab in a modest Craftsman style shortly
before his death.
The symmetrical, eave-fronted west façade features a central gable-roofed porch that measures
approximately 15’ wide and extends approximately 8’ from the face of the building. Modern wood stairs
19 Montana State University, “DNRC Land,” Excel Spreadsheet, accessed 6/19/2013.
20 Portions of Lewis and Clark field are currently being utilized as a staging area for the construction of the new Jabs
Hall for the School of Business, but plans for its restoration are in place.
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Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Section 7 page 32
lead to the porch. A simple railing surrounds the porch, and wide clapboard siding, in keeping with the
rest of the building, encloses its base. Two squared, wood columns support the porch’s gable roof, which
has exposed rafter ends and three knee-braces in its vertical-board gable end. The original wood door
has a large rectangular light above two panels. Each story of the façade contains two evenly-spaced
original, double-hung windows on either side of the porch. The first-story windows are eight-over-eight
wood units, while the basement story openings, located immediately below, contain six-over-six units. A
simple wood frame, almost flush with the wall face, surrounds each window, and first and attic story
windows display a very low profile crown.
Harrington Park (Duck Pond), 1914, (one contributing site)
Early Bozeman entrepreneur Nelson Story donated the 1.7-acre Harrington Park to Montana State
College in 1914. It includes a natural spring that feeds an approximately 0.1 acre pond near the
northwest corner of the park. Originally called the “frog pond,” it is now known as the duck pond. The
university rehabilitated the pond in 2008 with the addition of a rubber liner and flagstone border. Its shape
changed at this time to encourage better drainage. To discourage tug-of-war contests and general
roughhousing, Montana State College filled in the pond in 1926, but it returned with its characteristic small
island by 1933.21 Located approximately 75’ to the northwest of the duck pond, a deep, circular koi pond
lined with stone and protected with a black metal fence was built over the spring sometime prior to 1933.
By 1967, the park boasted a mature grove of spruce trees; the park currently also includes an apple tree,
two ash trees and a number of poplar trees. Named for Frank M. Harrington, a long-serving head of the
Horticulture Department, the park remains one of campus’s best-loved features.
Visual Communications Building, 1983, 2008, (24GA1890, one noncontributing building) / Map No.
42
The reinforced concrete, flat-roofed Visual Communications Building stands two-and-a-half stories tall.
Designed by the Billings, Montana firm, CTA Architects Engineers in a restrained Late Modern /
Postmodern style, and completed in 1983, the building includes a 2008 two-story addition off the south
facade (the Black Box Theater) designed in the Neo-Modern style by Billings, Montana firm, A&E
Architects. The original building consists of an irregular L-shaped footprint with perpendicular brick-clad
wings connected by a slightly lower 44’ wide aluminum curtain wall entrance bay of sleek dark reflective
glass. Both wings measure 42’ wide with cladding of variegated brown brick laid in a running bond. The
162’-long north/west wing faces west and its south end extends approximately 27’ beyond the south
elevation of the curtain wall bay and 14’ beyond the south elevation of 122’-long east/west wing. Two
curtain wall cubes of dark reflective glass step down from the 30’ tall brick wings and extend across the
interior (rear) north and east elevations. The main entrance occurs on the south façade of the dark curtain
wall underneath a broad arch cutout, a decorative exaggerated flourish that evokes historical associations
and links the building’s design to Postmodernism. A secondary entrance provides ingress at the north end
of the taller curtain wall cube that runs along the interior east elevation. A stringcourse of limestone
paneling begins at the base of the arch accenting the main entrance and extends around both brick
wings. Due to the slope of the site from east to west, exposure of the first floor of the building occurs only
on the north/south wing where a lower stringcourse divides the first and second stories. A brick soldier
course also occurs at the roofline. A half-story or attic on both brick wings contains a mechanical room.
Due to the function of the building, which contains numerous studios and screening rooms, the building
lacks significant fenestration. Most offices and public areas appear in the curtain wall portions of the
building or along the exposed first story of the north/south wing’s west elevation.
Gaines Hall, 1961-1967; Renovated 2010, (24GA1870, one noncontributing building) / Map No. 41
Constructed in 1961 and completed in 1967, Gaines Hall originally stood as a four-story, reinforced
concrete Modern style building with a curtain wall façade designed by the Billings, Montana architectural
firm, Orr Pickering & Associates. A 2010 renovation by Dowling, Sandholm Architects of Helena, Montana
completely transformed Gaines Hall by stripping the building to its concrete frame and creating an entirely
21 Burlingame, 124; 1933 Arial Photo, University Records.
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new Neo-Modern building. The building’s one-story north wing, which housed a 330-seat lecture hall, was
also removed during the renovation. A new building envelope completely covers the approximately 230’ x
70’ original building. Additional changes include construction of a 190’ x 60’ extension to the south
façade and a new angular, one-story entrance added to the north façade. The addition of steeply-pitched
shed roofs on either side of projecting towers on the long elevations (only the north tower is original)
resulted in the addition of a fifth story to the south façade, where the roofs exhibit a dramatic overhang
supported by massive metal tube brackets. The 2010 building envelope displays red brick laid in a
running bond and prefinished corrugated metal siding cladding. One-over-one light metal units finished in
black typify the building's windows. Due to the slope of the site from west to east, only three stories are
visible on the east side of the building.
Romney Green, 1922, (one contributing site)
Alternatively called Romney Field, Romney Oval and Romney Quad, this location exemplifies one of the
Historic District’s most significant open spaces. The approximately 2-acre area is flanked by Romney
Gymnasium to the south, A.J.M. Johnson Hall (the Math-Physics Building) to the east, and Traphagen
and Reid Halls (Chemistry II and III) to the west. Reid Hall (1959) and the 1960 Library addition create an
approximately 135’-wide Modern style portal on the north side of the Green. Its main paved walk extends
approximately 300’ from Malone Centennial Mall to the south façade of Romney Gym and serves as the
southern half of the historic district’s north/south axis, which centers on Montana Hall. A roughly oval
walk, flattened on its north end, currently encircles the green space. The main walk widens at its
intersection with an east/west walk to the side entrances of Reid Hall and Renne Library, near the center
of the Green to accommodate a historic flagpole, and at its north and south intersections with its oval
walk. Ash trees, many which date to the period of significance, form an oval-shaped outer ring, with
younger apple trees forming an inner ring. Both rings break down toward the oval’s flatter north end.
Maple trees mark the four “corners” of the Green, while Oaks grow near the southeast and southwest
corners and two birch trees help define the northern portal. A pair of mature spruce trees flank the
entrance of Romney Gymnasium.
The development of Romney Green occurred after the approval of the 1917 Carlsey / Gilbert Plan in 1920
and the completion of Romney Gymnasium in 1922. By 1933, the curved Circle Drive, which extended off
Park Drive (S. 8th and 10th Avenues) in front of Montana Hall, and a central paved walk extending from
Garfield Street to the north were in place. Two spruce trees flanked the gymnasium’s entrance, and ash
trees were planted along the east and west borders of the open area to the north of the “math building”
and service shops, which sat along the south side of Garfield Street across from Montana Hall until the
1950s. In 1959, the Campus Planning Committee recommended closure of the curved avenue in the
“quadrangle”, the area planted with grass, and that the Horticulture Department see the area “properly
landscaped.”22 It was at this time that Circle Drive was replaced with the current oval-shaped paved walk.
Romney Gymnasium, 1922, (24GA1884, one contributing building) / Map No. 40
The imposing four-story 1922 Gymnasium sports reinforced concrete with polychrome rug face brick and
tannish-pink terra cotta tile cladding. Great Falls, Montana architects Shanley & Baker designed the
building in the Italian Renaissance Revival style used for all of the buildings added to campus in the
1920s. It measures 163’ x 99' and displays a distinctive steel truss barrel roof with an approximately 75’
wide cross barrel centered on the north facade.23 There is also a 35’ wide, flat-roofed rectilinear enclosed
staircase centered on the south (rear) elevation. Granite cladding covers the foundation and creates a
continuous lintel for most ground floor (basement story) windows. A stringcourse of soldier and rowlock
bricks encircles the building between the ground and first floors creating a base for the building. On the
eave-fronted north façade and south elevation (but not on their centered projections) engaged brick
pilasters with terra cotta bases and centered stacked courses rise from the building’s base to a terra cotta
22 Campus Planning Committee, 1958-1959, “Park Area on Campus,” Memo to President R. R. Renne, 2/17/1959.
23 Romney Gymnasium’s roof structure was purportedly the first steel riveted truss in non-industrial application in
Montana. (Lesley Gilmore, CTA architecture, 2013).
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Section 7 page 34
stringcourse which serves as the entablature’s architrave and also marks the start of the fourth (attic)
story. The pilaster’s terra cotta capitals, embellished with small terra cotta diamonds, slant back to meet
the building face. Terra cotta brackets decorated with inverted acanthus leaves on the brick frieze support
the original copper gutter above each pilaster. The gutter acts as a cornice and sports decorative
projecting floral squares above each bracket and three single acanthus leaves between each square.
Rowlock courses of brick border the bottom and top of the frieze.
Arched barrel ends on the east and west elevations exhibit elaborate corner pilasters with soldier course
bases and “capitals” and a central panel of stacked courses with three rowlock courses flanked by a
stretcher course, another rowlock course and a soldier course. The upper corners of the pilasters display
terra cotta embellishments with a floral square above an inverted acanthus leaf motif, similar to those
found at the roofline of the north and south elevations. The corner pilasters “support” an elaborate
decorative brick and terra cotta arched “entablature” in the barrel ends. Smaller arches created by
corbelled brick occur just below the arch and first-, second- and third-story windows are found in six
arched bays. The projecting arch on the north façade exhibits a similar organizational pattern, except
here wider corner pilasters appear with first- and second-story windows flanked by simple brick panels. A
recent standing seam metal system tops the roof, originally covered with wide-battened (7”) copper.
Green roofing tile accented with terra cotta tile floral panels at their corners cover the parapets on the
barrel ends.
Windows typically comprise multi-light steel-framed units with center pivoting sections or multi-light
double-hung wood units (steel at the sports and locker rooms, wood at the stairhall and offices). The first-
story window openings lighting the swimming pool at the southwest corner of the building have been filled
with glass block. All windows not immediately above a horizontal embellishment display terra cotta lug
sills and many windows not found within arched bays exhibit rowlock brick lintels.
The north façade, distinguished by its approximately 75’-wide cross barrel arch, which projects
approximately 12’ from the main wall face, contains the building’s main entrance on its ground story.
Twelve-foot x 18’ flat-roofed bays flank the cross barrel arch and act as corner pilasters. Green terra cotta
roof tiles embellish the roofs of all three projections. The two-story corner pilasters begin at the base of
the building and include a window bay flanked by brick panels framed horizontally by soldier courses and
embellished near their tops by terra cotta floral squares above inverted acanthus leaves. A wide
entablature of decorative terra cotta and brick extends across the projecting bays, meeting at a terra cotta
shield decorated with a raised “M” and garlands in the center of the arch. The entablature includes a
corbelled terra cotta band decorated with evenly-spaced terra cotta diamonds in a floral motif and bead
and reel molding, all between bands of stretcher bricks bounded by rowlock courses. The top band of
brick in the arched entablature is capped with a thin band of terra cotta. Small arches created with
corbelled brick are found just under the entablature in the arched projection.
Seven arched window bays, which step down in height from the center bay, occur in the projecting arch in
addition to the two rectilinear window bays in the flanking pilasters. Rowlock bricks and bead and reel
terra cotta molding frame the former, while the latter exhibit soldier course bases and tops flanked by
stacked stretcher courses. All nine window bays demonstrate a similar configuration with terra cotta
bases with two raised rectangles and terra cotta spandrel panels separating the second and third stories.
The spandrel panels exhibit decorative raised depictions of sporting equipment with a football in the
center, flanked by rapiers, boxing gloves, bats and balls and dumbbell weights (in the pilaster bays). Six-
over-six, double-hung wood units comprise the second-story windows, while upper story (3-4) windows
demonstrate the following configuration (moving out from the tallest center window bay): twenty-one-over-
nine, nine-over-eighteen, twelve-over-nine, six-over-three and six-over-six (in the pilaster bays). Six terra
cotta floral squares above inverted acanthus occur between arches.
The main entrance sits under the three central arched window bays, protected by a large copper canopy
attached to the building by four large chains set in terra cotta diamonds on the building face. The frieze of
the canopy sports a Union Jack pattern broken by four small "pilasters" decorated with an intertwined 'M'
and 'C.' Four globe lights sit on the top of the pilasters, while three hang from the center of the canopy.
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The entrance consists of three sets of double wood and glass doors with bronze pulls and individual
transoms. Three six-over-six windows appear on each side of the entrance on the ground floor of the
projecting bays and six-over-six windows on each story (1-3) of the pilaster bays’ east and west side
elevations. All display terra cotta lug sills with the east and west-facing windows set between the same
engaged pilasters found on the remainder of the north façade and the entire rear (south) elevation.
On the main wall face of the north elevation are two bays flanking the projecting arch and its pilasters.
The inner bays contain paired six-over-six windows on the first and second stories, paired nine-light third
story windows and paired six-light (two rows of three lights) windows in the fourth (attic) story. Second-
and third-story pairs exhibit continuous terra cotta lug sills surrounded by rowlock bricks and separated by
a stacked course of stretcher bricks. Stacked stretcher courses set between the terra cotta architrave and
the rowlock course at the top of the brick frieze separate the fourth-story pairs. The corner bays contain a
sixteen-light ground floor window in the building base. Second- and third-story windows sit within a
continuous bay bordered by rowlock bricks. This bay exhibits a terra cotta base with two raised rectangles
(identical to the base of the window bays in the projection), a six-over-six second-story window, a wide
terra cotta spandrel panel with a raised rectangular outline and centered diamond, a twelve-light third-
story window, and another spandrel panel. A single six-light window occurs in the frieze.
Gatton Field Gate, 1930, (one contributing object) / Map No. 46
Gatton Field (c. 1930) was built immediately south of Romney Gymnasium in accordance with the 1917
Carlsey / Gilbert Plan, replacing the College’s earlier football facility in Lewis & Clark Field. The Gatton
Field Gate originally served as the formal entrance to grassy parking lot to the east of Gatton Field. The
monument honors fallen World War I fighter pilot and former MSU football standout, Cyrus J. Gatton.
MSC’s supervising architect, William R. Plew, created three different designs for Gatton’s mother, who
funded construction of the monument. Mrs. Gatton chose the design consisting of three tall, polychrome
rug-face brick veneer piers with pyramidal granite caps. The two smaller flanking piers exhibit short
pilasters with granite weathering centered on each side, while the center pier displays corner pilasters
coped in the same fashion. The north elevation of the center pier’s top granite weathering is incised with
the words "GATTON FIELD." Recessed arches, detailed with a course of brick voussoirs, occur on the
north and south elevations of the center arch. In the north arch rests a bronze plaque with a raised eagle
at the top embossed with: "To the memory of Cyrus J. Gatton, who gave his life for his country. He loved
athletics, he was strong, alert, resourceful, valiant, loyal to his comrades, honest and generous toward his
opponents. Enlisting early in the Great War, he was among the last to die in air-battle. A student at
Montana State College, September 1913 to June 1916. Born, July 25, 1894 Died November 4, 1918.”
After razing Gatton Field in 1973 to make way for the new Health and Physical Education Complex (now
Marga Hosaeus Fitness Center), Gatton Field Gate served as an entrance to a parking lot. Mature trees
flanked the gate by that time, and the addition of wood trellises between the piers along with a series of
low brick walls to the south, created a small landscaped courtyard called “Gatton Court.” The dedication
plaque with the sentimental phrasing was removed at that time and replaced with a more generic plaque.
During the 1990s, the gate was moved in front of the Fitness Center and immediately across Grant Street
from Romney Gymnasium and the original plaque was restored in c. 2008. Three spruce trees now sit
immediately behind the gate, creating a small romantic scene along the increasingly urban and congested
Grant Street arterial corridor. The gate retains significance as the sole surviving component of Gatton
Field, and also for its design. With its brick cladding, the gate remains sympathetic to the Italian
Renaissance Revival buildings constructed in the 1930s, though the stepped (or zuggarat) piers also
suggest the Stripped Classical and Art Deco styles popular during the 1920s and 1930s. It is the only
resource found within the MSU campus to exhibit characteristics of these styles, which created a
transitional aesthetic between revivalist and modern architecture.
Veterans Memorial Park, c. 1984, renovated 2010, (one noncontributing site)
Originally dedicated around 1984, this small, approximately 0.5 acre park area to the east of Romney
Gymnasium, underwent complete refurbishing in 2010. After construction of Romney Gymnasium, this
area was planted with ash trees, and it remained largely unaltered throughout the MSU Historic District’s
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Section 7 page 36
period of historic significance. Today, the park consists of an oval-shaped paved courtyard with a
diagonal (northwest/southeast) walk crossing through its center, as well as walks entering it from the
north and northeast. Vegetation surrounds the courtyard with deciduous shrubs, including lilacs, in front of
an outer ring of trees, including three mature ash trees, two apple trees, one maple tree and one chestnut
tree. The ash trees may date from the 1920s. A raised flower bed slants down toward the courtyard from
the northwest, serving as a backdrop for the park’s flagpole. Benches and picnic tables sit on the west
side of the park.
Traphagen Hall (Chemistry Building, Chemistry II), 1919, (24GA1889, one contributing building) /
Map No. 25
Traphagen Hall, a 57’ x 129’ three-and-one-half story reinforced concrete structure, includes a full
daylight basement and attic. It stands 58’ tall with the foundation displaying granite cladding on the east
and north elevations. The building was likely designed by George H. Carsley of Helena, Montana, with
Fred F. Willson of Bozeman administering the local construction. The original Italian Renaissance Revival
design called for a southern addition, but it never occurred resulting in a somewhat asymmetrical façade
and roof shape—a hipped roof covers the north end (as intended), but the south end terminates in a
gable. The low-pitched, wood-framed roof exhibits an overhanging eave supported by evenly-spaced
decorative brackets on all elevations except the south, which displays a gabled parapet. The building,
excepting the south elevation, is finished in the Italian Renaissance style with red roof tiles, polychrome,
rug face brick veneer in a common bond and ornamental glazed terra cotta tile. Designed as a temporary
exterior wall, the south elevation remains an unfinished wall of common, pinkish-red brick and little
fenestration.
A brick water table created by a soldier course and rowlock course separates the basement and first
stories on the east-facing façade, north side, and rear elevation. A simple soldier course suggests a water
table on the unfinished south elevation. On all finished façades, pilasters extend two stories from the
water table terminating in a belt course of soldier bricks capped by terra cotta that mimics an architrave.
The pilasters separate each bay of windows, which now hold four-light thermal aluminum units instead of
the original eight-over-eight double-hung wood windows. Square basement windows sit just above the
foundation. Slip sills below first and second story windows are terra cotta on the east and north elevations
and rowlock brick on the west and north elevations. Terra cotta blocks embellish the upper corner of each
second story window on the east façade and north and rear elevations. Spandrels between the first and
second stories on the east façade and north elevation exhibit detailing with terra cotta and bricks in a
decorative rectangular pattern, with a glazed terra cotta tile in the center alternating in red and green
between bays.
The frieze is decorated on the east façade and north elevation with a green glazed terra cotta tile
centered in a soldier course of brick above each window bay, except for above corner bays and the main
entrance bay on the façade. Here, a shield-shaped ornamental terra cotta piece is centered in the
brickwork. The shield display gold outlining with a raised gold “M” on a blue background. Corner pilasters
on the building’s north side and the north end of the east façade also include slender rectangular panels
created with decorative brickwork and accented with terra cotta tiles at each corner. Terra cotta panels
with torches in bas relief on the north side and scales on the façade embellish the top of each corner
panel.
The east façade sports a semi-circular arched entrance with recessed doors, framed in a terra cotta tile
floral pattern. Within the arch hangs a wrought iron ornament supporting a suspended iron and glass
lantern. Three narrow oak and glass doors with bronze handles provide ingress. A transom of Union Jack
pattern lights and a glass tympanum sits above the doors. Three granite steps and a terrazzo landing
lead to the doors. Art Nouveau iron screens protect vents located within the arch on either side of the
doors. Above and on each side of the top of the arch are two diamond-shaped, blue and white glazed
terra cotta tiles, which flank a terra cotta panel inscribed with the word “CHEMISTRY.” A vertical six-light
aluminum window comprised of six casement windows lights the main central stairway above the
entrance; decorative brickwork frames the windows. Without its intended addition on the south end, the
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façade presents asymmetrically with seven bays to the north of the entrance, and only four to the south.
The corners of the façade also present differently, with the south corner lacking decorative paneling and a
continuous overhanging eave.
“MV I”, 1974, (one noncontributing object) / Map No. 26
Designed by MSU student Duryea “Durk” Voulkos in 1974, this abstract rusted sheet metal sculpture sits
to the west of Reid Hall in a small courtyard between that building and Traphagen Hall. Various
appellations applied to the sculpture include the “Christmas Tree,” because its shape somewhat mimics a
coniferous tree, and the “Voulkos Oriental Sculpture,” possibly because it evokes the flowing lines of
written Chinese. Although it postdates the MSU Historic district’s period of historical significance, the
abstract sculpture stands appropriately by the Modern style Reid Hall and a mature Spruce tree. Like
most of the public art on the MSU campus, it is a non-intrusive addition to the landscape that adds visual
interest and complements the surrounding landscape and architecture.
AJM Johnson Hall (Math-Physics Building), 1954, (24GA1681, one contributing building) / Map No.
38
A.J.M. Johnson Hall, completed in 1954, is a two-story reinforced concrete building with a full basement
designed in the Modern style by the Billings, Montana architectural firm, J. G. Link & Company. Its
rectangular footprint extends 188’ north/south and 69’ east/west. Recessed rows of aluminum windows
and pinkish-tan terra cotta spandrel panels between thin brick-clad columns characterize the long east
and west elevations, a pattern repeated on the shorter north elevation to the west of a solid brick wall. A
concrete basement addition constructed in 1968 extends approximately 20’ to the north of this elevation.
In 1996, the Billings, Montana architectural firm CTA redesigned the original south elevation’s solid brick
wall, centered entrance and second story window, with a protruding EIFS-clad, two-story entrance bay.
All brick surfaces, including the elevator penthouse and southern stair tower, display cladding of red face
brick laid in a running bond. The building’s reinforced concrete foundation is visible on all elevations. The
flat roof’s parapet is terminates in a stepped concrete with fewer steps (3) at the entry canopies. Finally,
a 60’ x 50’ observation deck sits near the south end of the building’s flat roof. Construction of a solid wood
fence around the observation deck occurred in 1986.
The west façade of A.J.M. Johnson Hall exhibits thirteen recessed bays defined by slender brick-clad
columns, with the main entrance in the third bay from the north. The two bays north of the entrance
contain recessed brick panels on their first story. Three aluminum windows with small lower hopper units
above four rows of terra cotta panels stacked in six columns make up the second story. A short flight of
brick-like steps leads to the entrance and contains modern double aluminum-framed glass doors with
sidelights and a large transom. The second story of the entrance bay mimics the arrangement found in
the northern bays. A window wall of twelve large glass panes divided by aluminum mullions lights the
main staircase in the bay immediately south of the entrance. Each of the remaining nine bays contains an
arrangement of aluminum windows and terra cotta panels on both stories. Three rows of terra cotta
panels stacked in six columns sit immediately above the concrete foundation on the first story. Three
aluminum windows, identical to those found in the second story of the northern bays, occur above the
terra cotta spandrel. The second story spandrel consists of seven rows of terra cotta panels stacked in six
columns. A row of three slender aluminum awning windows is located between the terra cotta spandrel
and the stepped cornice. The first and second story spandrels of the second, forth, sixth and eighth bays
from the south and in the first story spandrels of the third and seventh bays display slender louvered
intake vents. Only the three-foot narrower southernmost bay offers any variation; because of the
narrowness, this bay exhibits narrower central windows and only five columns of terra cotta panels in
each spandrel. A long concrete window well added in 2000 extends along the bottom of the nine southern
bays, providing light to the renovated basement.
“Untitled”, 1970, (one noncontributing object) / Map No. 39
This abstract painted metal sculpture, designed by artist Gary Bates while a student at MSU, includes
perpendicular open rectangles that somewhat approximate the number of four. Variously referred to as
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Name of Property County and State
Section 7 page 38
“Four,” “Yellow Four,” and “Bates 4,” due to its shape, the sculpture sits by A.J.M. Johnson Hall. While
this sculpture postdates the district’s period of significance, its thoughtful siting by the Modern style A.J.M.
Johnson Hall adds visual interest to the area instead of detracting from the historic integrity of that
building and Romney Field. Bates’ other works also include the 2002 Wind Arc in front of the EPS
Building.
Hedges Complex, 1964-1967, (24GA1873, three contributing buildings) Map Nos. 44a, 44b, 44c
The Hedges Complex consists of two eleven-story residence halls (South Hedges and North Hedges)
connected to the central Food Service Building (Miller Dining Hall) by one- or two-story brick-clad
hyphens. All are reinforced concrete and structural steel buildings with full basements. O. Berg Jr. &
Associates and William E. Grabow, both of Bozeman, Montana, designed the complex in the Modern
style. The Complex construction occurred in two stages, with South Hedges and the Food Service
Building completed in 1965 and North Hedges finished by 1967. The virtually identical dorms exhibit a
“slab” form with long (194’) east and west elevations and much shorter (73’) north and south elevations.
Long elevations display a massive curtain wall of white precast concrete Mo-Sai spandrel panels and
columns and slender ribbons of sliding aluminum windows on stories two through eleven. The concrete
columns act as pilotis creating the allusion that the upper stories float above the recessed, and largely
glass, first stories. Large canopies project from the first stories on the east façades. Side elevation curtain
walls include Mo-Sai panels and aluminum windows, but lack columns. Red brick in a running bond and
capped by smooth white concrete clad the graceful, concave corners of the dormitory buildings. They
serve as the massive, solid “columns” supporting the buildings’ lightweight (and lightly-colored) walls. A
grill created with metal tubing offers ventilation for mechanical systems found between the curtain walls
and the flat roofs of the dormitories. The roofs’ exaggerated overhanging eaves display dark red porcelain
enamel cladding.
The identical upper stories (2-11) on the east façades contain eight bays within the curtain wall between
the buildings’ concave brick corners. Bays include six slender, Mo-Sai precast concrete columns. Outer
bays contain a ribbon of three, square, sliding aluminum windows above white Mo-Sai spandrel panels,
while the six central bays contain a ribbon of eight identical windows above Mo-Sai panels. All North and
South Hedges windows are original unless otherwise noted. A row of Mo-Sai spandrel panels also occurs
between 11th story windows and the grill of metal tubing at the mechanical level in the curtain wall
portions of all elevations. Porcelain enamel-clad eaves occur above the grill on the curtain wall and the
buildings’ brick corners. Each dormitory sports three mechanical penthouses on its flat roof, with the
central penthouse containing the elevator. Cemesto panels clad South Hedges’ 28’ x 20’ outer
penthouses, while the 19’ x 27’ elevator penthouse displays brick corner piers and Cemesto panel
cladding. North Hedges’ outer penthouses display greater length (42’), while the elevator penthouse
exhibits similar dimensions. Cemesto panels clad all three.
Long centered canopies dominate the first story of each façade. Protruding 63’ from the east face of the
buildings, the canopies measure 40’ wide and rest upon twelve T-shaped brick piers, whose “T-tops” face
inward presenting a similar design to the piers supporting the exposed roof beams of the Food Service
Building (see below). The canopies consist of two 14’-wide flat roofs flanking a 12’-wide open span
broken only by beams found at the piers. Each roof protects a paved walkway that leads to the main
entrances of each dorm, while the central open span provides light for a small concrete courtyard that
includes two square plantings.
Glass comprises the majority of the first story fenestration patterns of North and South Hedges; however,
they possess differences that reflect both their original designs and later alterations. Both possess two
double glass door entrances with sidelights to the outside and the canopy’s westernmost brick piers to the
inside. Large glass panels fill the space between canopy piers and the façade’s central concrete columns.
On South Hedges, the slender south bay and half of the next bay are brick, while the remaining bays
outside of the entrances contain glass paneling above a brick knee-wall. Originally, the first story of North
Hedges resembled South Hedges except the southernmost bays sported glass and not brick and the
north bay (along with a small section of the next bay) contained raised square windows like those found
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Section 7 page 39
on the upper stories. The north side of North Hedges also included a concrete ramp leading to the
dormitories northern entrance. Today the north half of the first story retains much of its original design
with the exception of the construction of an approximately 12’-wide shed-roofed atrium addition to the
southern side in the early 1990s. The eastern façade’s window wall contains ten full-length lights with
aluminum mullions. Smaller glass panels comprise its slanted roof. Both ends of the addition are made of
brick. While it does obscure a significant portion of the original first story, and compromise the “floating”
allusion created by the pilotis (Mo-Sai precast concrete columns), the small addition stays largely
sympathetic to the building’s Modern aesthetic.
The round, two-story 162' diameter Food Service Building sits between the dorms, offset to the northwest
and southeast. It consists of 24 pie-shaped bays that measure approximately 21’wide on the exterior
façade. Each bay is recessed between brick piers and sits underneath the building’s overhanging roof.
Vertical L-shaped walls separated by thin strips of brick-colored metal paneling create the T-shaped brick
piers. Each pier supports a heavy Glu-Lam (glued laminated) roof beam, which projects slightly beyond
the closed overhanging eave. A scupper projecting from the metal fascia caps each exposed beam. In
general, second story bays contain six sliding glass windows above a white precast concrete Mo-Sai
panel. On the east façade, first story bays also contain this configuration, although due to the slope of the
site only the upper story sits above grade in the southern bays. Brick typically fills the first story bays on
the west (rear) elevation. The low-pitched roof displays a central, circular “monitor roof” with an
approximately 60’ diameter. White Glasweld asbestos panels cover the vertical space created by the
monitor and the building's wide soffits. The east façade, found between the connecting hyphens, contains
nine bays (Bays 1-7 and 23-24) and the west (or rear) elevation contains fifteen (Bays 8-22). While most
bays follow the configuration described above, the east façade also contains a number of entrances. Bay
23, next to the North Hedges connecting hyphen, contains a main first-story entrance, consisting of
double aluminum-framed glass doors and a transom in its north half and two aluminum windows above a
Mo-Sai panel in its south half.
A one-story hyphen connects the Food Service Building to the first story of South Hedges. It measures
approximately 18’ wide and runs southeast for about 40’ before turning south for another 30’ to meet
South Hedges. The north hyphen is 4' wider and runs approximately 50’ straight northwest to connect to
North Hedges. It stands two-stories tall and connects to the dormitory’s basement and first stories. Red
brick clads connecting hyphens and both contain windows on their east façades.
Roskie Hall, 1967, (24GA1885, one contributing building) / Map No. 45
Designed in the Exaggerated Modern style by Bozeman, Montana architects, O. Berg Jr. and William E.
Grabow, and completed in 1967, Roskie Hall consists of three eleven-story, nine-sided columns (or
enneagons) situated around a 12-story central column of the same shape. It serves the University as a
high-rise dormitory. The building has a full, unfinished basement and sits upon an exposed (except on the
south elevation due to the slope of the site from south to north) poured concrete foundation. Flat roofs
and white concrete parapets (or cornices) capped by white railings top each column. Upper stories (2-12)
of the core column display brown precast concrete cladding with a “fluted” texture. Its three longer (22’)
sides connect to the north, south, and east wing columns. Upper stories (2-11) of the wings exhibit nine
exposed bays made up of white pre-cast concrete wall panels and aluminum windows above glasweld
panels. Seven of these bays measure approximately 19’ long and are centered on corners of the
columns, while the remaining two bays measure about 6’ long and sit against the core column. A slender
continuous round concrete canopy supported by large tapered concrete brackets divides the “shaft” of the
columns from their first-story bases, except on the outer five bays of the north wing. The canopy also
protects a round concrete deck above the building’s poured concrete foundation. Entrances to Roskie
Hall are located on the east, southwest and northwest elevations of the core column. A projecting, flat-
roofed concrete canopy that sits atop three sets of tapered concrete brackets arranged in a cross (the
innermost set of brackets is engaged) protects the paved walk leading to the southwest entrance. First
story bays, including those containing entrances, typically contain trapezoid-shaped panels filled with
glass windows or entrances.
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McCall Hall (Agricultural Experiment Station Laboratories; Chemistry Research-TV Building), 1952
(24GA1799, one contributing building) / Map No. 43
McCall Hall, a U-shaped, flat-roofed one-story building designed in the Modern style by Billings, Montana
architect Edwin G. Osness, faces east and overlooks S. 11th Avenue. The approximately 180’ x 50’ main
north-south wing has a 70’-wide wing on its north end and 40’-wide wing on its south end, both of which
extend some 25’ to east. The small building's (10,488 ft.2) east façade contains the main entry. The
recessed entry sits at the south side of the main north-south wing and consists of a double entry door with
full-height glass, two broad sidelights and three transom windows, all with wood frames. The edge of the
soffit on this elevation aligns with the narrow eaves on the remainder of the building. North of the entry is
a recessed bank of aluminum-frame windows with terra cotta-clad sills, protected by slightly-overhanging
boxed eaves covered in green paneling and finished with a narrow coping. The windows display three
lights each, a large central light and two smaller lights, separated by wider mullions. They display a
2:1:2:1:1:1:2:1:2:1:1 arrangement here and throughout the building. Clear glazing alternates with colored
and textured glass, with many of the central lights being blue. Sills are glazed terra cotta or tile with a
mottled pattern. Brick cladding finishes the walls below the sills and at each end. A slightly raised, about
18" above grade, concrete foundation occurs at this location. The south wing exhibits greater length and
width than its northern counterpart. The end wall on the south wing is finished in brick with no openings.
The end wall on the north wing contains a bank of windows similar to the central portion of the west
façade, with a wide brick wall to the north.
Heating Plant, 1922, (24GA1629, two contributing buildings) / Map Nos. 37a, 37b
The 1922 Italian Renaissance Revival style Heating Plant stands 40' tall. Constructed of reinforced
concrete with a basement and a flat roof, it displays cladding of red brick, with "pink granite" terra cotta
ornamentation. The rectangular building measures 80' x 36'. Its iconic 175' tall brick-clad rear smokestack
was removed due to safety concerns in 2003. The Heating Plant rests on granite blocks set on a concrete
foundation. The arched multi-light wire glass windows found on all the building's elevations measure 30'
tall, sport steel mullions and three panel divisions with a central section and sidelights. Two rectangular
panels occur in the lower two-thirds of the windows with 42-light central sections and 12-light sidelights.
The upper panel boasts an arched top and contains a 42-light central section and sidelights that step
down from the center with five lights in the inner column and four in the outer column. Ten-light center
sections pivot to allow cross ventilation. Two stacked courses of stretcher and one stacked course of
rowlock bricks in an arch pattern that extends down to the granite foundation frame the windows.
Skylights once allowed even greater illumination, but were removed around 2000. Decorative circles of
rowlock brick surrounding a field of stacked rowlock courses and a brick diamond with corner accents are
found between the windows. A heavy terra cotta entablature with a blank frieze encircles the north and
east elevations. Above the entablature sits a short brick parapet capped with terra cotta. Small, evenly-
spaced, dark terra cotta circles decorated in a floral pattern embellish the top of the building on all its
elevations.
An original 20’ x 20’ brick-clad tower connects to the west elevation of the main building by a one-story
hyphen. The tower stands slightly taller than the main building; a flat roof protects the tower. It displays
poured concrete corners and a concrete belt course encircles the second floor. The main building’s
granite block and concrete foundation extends under the hyphen and tower. A brick-clad, single-story,
shed-roofed addition, built off the west side of the rear (south) elevation in 1990, measures approximately
30’ x 35’ and possesses tall parapets on its east and west elevations that are flat at their north end and
slope downward until flattening again at their south end.
The north, primary, facade contains three tall, arched windows bays. The central arch contains a typical
upper light panel consistent with the side arches, but the middle panel only contains five rows of lights
instead of six to accommodate the building’s entrance. A gabled metal pediment and pilasters frame the
double metal doors, each displaying eight-lights above a metal panel containing an “X” pattern. Sidelights
contain two columns of six lights. A shield with the date "1922" is centered in the pediment. Two globe
light sconces flank the door. A large terra cotta shield with a raised torch in the center hangs above the
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entrance bay in the cornice. A step up in the brick parapet, which contains a terra cotta panel incised with
"HEATING PLANT," accentuates the central entrance. Granite steps lead to the entrance. Six-light
windows flanked by two-light windows occur immediately under the outer window bays in the granite
foundation. The hyphen connecting the main building to the west tower contains a long, narrow, vertical
24-light window coped in terra cotta. The north elevation of the tower contains two small windows: a 12-
light window near the bottom of the tower, and a 9-light window near the top. An exposed metal walkway
at the cornice level connects the main building and tower.
A small (28’ x 24’) brick-clad detached garage (Map No. 37b) sits approximately 25’ behind (south of) the
west half of the main building. Two simple parapets on the garage’s east façade accent its bays, each of
which contains a single garage door.
Plew Building, 1952, (24GA1880, one contributing building) / Map No. 36
The Plew Building, a two-story, flat-roofed, reinforced concrete structure clad in polychromatic brick laid in
a common bond, displays an L-shaped footprint with its slightly longer (104’) ell fronting Grant Street and
its shorter (90’) ell running along the alley between South 5th and South 6th Avenues. Completed in 1952,
Bozeman architect Fred F. Willson designed the building in a vernacular style commonly applied to
utilitarian and industrial buildings throughout the early- and mid-20th century. Features of this vernacular
style include flat roofs, brick cladding with little ornamentation, exposed structural forms and multi-light,
industrial-style steel windows. All entrances are located on the interior of the “L”, with the main entrance
on the west end of the longer ell and secondary entrances and loading docks on the south and west
elevations. The building sits on a poured concrete foundation, visible on all elevations. Brick clad piers
divide the building into bays on all elevations except the south end of the shorter ell. Concrete “capitals”
that slant back to meet the building walls near the roofline cap the piers. A slightly corbelled stringcourse
of solider and stretcher courses between rowlock courses occurs on the brick walls at same level as the
concrete capitals. Twenty-light, industrial-style windows with slanted rowlock brick lintels appear at the
main story in each bay on the exterior (north and south) elevations. Some bays also include loft-level
windows, some of which were added during a recent renovation. A corrugated metal addition extends
approximately 60’ off the south end of the shorter ell.
Historic Integrity
The Montana State University Historic District retains sufficient historic integrity to convey its significance
under Criterion A in the areas of Education, Agriculture, and Community Planning and Development,
along with its significance under Criterion C in the area of Architecture. With three exceptions, buildings
and building additions constructed within the period of significance (1893-1967) retain excellent integrity
of design, materials, workmanship and location. As such, they readily convey their historical associations
with the development of the MSU campus and curriculum. Under Criterion C, each contributing building
also continues to reflect its architectural style or type, as well as the skill of the architect responsible for its
design. Most significant alterations occurred within the period of significance and reflect the historic
growth of MSU and the evolution of architectural styles. Alterations significant in themselves include the
Modern style additions to Renne Library (1949, 1960 addition), Linfield Hall (Agricultural Building, 1909,
1953 addition) and Strand Union Building (1939-1940, 1957 and 1967 additions). Three additions to the
Strand Union Building are non-historic (the 1971, 1983 and 2008 additions), however, they are found at
the back (south) of the building and do not constitute a majority of its square footage. Only two buildings
have been altered to the point where they no longer contribute to the historic district: Cooley Laboratories
(1960) and Gaines Hall (1961-1967). Both witnessed complete renovations in recent years and no longer
retain enough of their original design, materials or workmanship to be considered historically or
architecturally significant. Gatton Field Gate, a contributing object, has been moved since the period of
significance, and has therefore lost it integrity of location and setting, but it still retains its original design,
materials and workmanship and has been positioned as a symbolic gateway to MSU’s athletic facilities,
most of which sit immediately south of Grant Street. Less significant alterations, including recent
renovations to the main entrances of Hapner and Langford Residence Halls (1959 and 1960), may render
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Section 7 page 42
certain buildings individually ineligible for the National Register, but not as contributing resources to the
MSU Historic District.
Only one significant historical building, the 1922 Engineering Shops (Ryon Laboratories) was purposefully
demolished within the district’s boundaries; construction of the Engineering and Physical Sciences
Building (EPS Building) resulted in its loss in 1995. Most other buildings removed from the landscape
were either temporary and/or substandard, including the Veterinary Building (Mathematics Building), two
small heating plants, the original service shops, Bridger Hall, the Montana Hall Annex, and an array of
wartime housing. In 1916, fire destroyed one building that may have achieved significance, the 1896
Italianate style Chemistry Building. The nine major academic buildings added to campus after the period
of significance, however, introduce issues to the district’s integrity. In most cases, these buildings
represent necessary additions that often replaced the substandard buildings or conditions discussed
above. None of the new buildings, excepting the 1997 EPS Building, required the demolition of
“permanent” buildings that would have achieved anything other than minimal historic or architectural
significance. The new buildings have, however, impacted the setting of contributing buildings and the
cultural landscape as a whole. This is especially true of Tietz Hall (Central Laboratory Animal Facility,
1985) and Cobleigh Hall (Engineering Science Building, 1970), which attach to Lewis Hall (Biology
Building, 1923) and Roberts Hall (Engineering Building, 1922), respectively. Fortunately, in both cases,
the newer structures attached to the rear elevation of the historic buildings, with Tietz Hall sited below
Lewis Hall on the campus’s northern slope and Cobleigh Hall setback far enough from its predecessor
that it is hardly visible from the north façade.
The newer buildings, along with recent landscape components, such as Malone Centennial Mall, also
impact the historic design of the cultural landscape to the point that the MSU Historic District is no longer
eligible under Criterion C for in the area of landscape architecture as a reflection of the 1917 Carsley /
Gilbert Campus Plan. While elements of the plan (and more importantly its interpretation at MSU during
the period of significance) still exist and its overall biaxial arrangement preserved, the landscape does not
retain sufficient integrity of historic design, materials and workmanship to warrant listing under Criterion C.
This results from a loss of circulation systems (the curved auto and latter pedestrian routes), open space
and mature trees to the north of Montana Hall, which have been severely impacted by the construction of
Leon Johnson Hall (1973), Wilson Hall 1974) and the Chemistry and Biochemistry Building (2007).
However, the campus landscape does continue to reflect the evolution of campus over the MSU Campus
Historic District’s period of significance (1893-1967), making it a contributing resource under Criteria A
and C (in the area of Architecture for its component buildings).
Despite their current status as noncontributing resources, it must be noted that all buildings constructed
after 1967 reflect the continued evolution of MSU and its campus planning polices, in addition to being
fine examples of Late Modern, Postmodern and contemporary late 20th and early 21st century
architecture. In addition, their design and siting were, in most cases, intended to complement the historic
buildings and landscape components which they have affected. Malone Centennial Mall and Alumni
Plaza, while very much in keeping with the 1917 Carsley / Gilbert Campus Plan, are of too recent design,
materials and workmanship to be considered viable historic preservation treatments as defined by the
Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. Moreover, while Malone
Centennial Mall provides a much preferable campus experience to Garfield Street, the latter circulation
system existed throughout the district’s period of significance. Similarly, many landscape objects (mostly
sculptures) may not possess sufficient age to be considered contributing resources, but they often add
visual interest to their historic surroundings and are relatively non-intrusive.
In sum, noncontributing resources do occasionally hinder the historic setting, feeling and association of
the MSU Historic District, but never so much that they render it ineligible for listing in the National
Register. Furthermore, more noncontributing resources are of such high quality of design and/or are so
significant to MSU’s recent history, that they will likely be considered eligible for listing under future
amendments or expansions of the MSU Historic District.
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Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
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Section 7 page 43
Historic Preservation at Montana State University
The nomination of the core campus area to the National Register of Historic Places represents an
important step in historic preservation efforts at MSU, but it is certainly not the first or the last. A detailed
inventory of historic buildings and a draft National Register nomination, prepared in 1990, was tabled due
to the high number of noncontributing resources. Since that time, a number of buildings dating from the
mid-20th century have come of age making it an ideal time to revive the National Register nomination
process. MSU has also taken physical steps to preserve its historic resources, including the
reconstruction of Montana Hall’s iconic cupola in 1993, the renovation of Hamilton Hall in 2009, which
included the restoration of its original porch, and the 2010 masonry restoration of Linfield, Traphagen,
Lewis, and Montana Halls by the architectural firm CTA. The latter project won an Excellence in Historic
Preservation Award from the Bozeman Historic Preservation Advisory Board in 2012. The completion of
Malone Centennial Mall in 1993 and the current focus on strengthening the north/south axis between
Montana Hall and the Johnstone Center (Lewis and Clark Hall, 1955) are a further example of MSU’s
dedication to the historic feeling of their historic district. Just as importantly, the preservation and
continued use of “Historic and Heritage Sites” constitutes an important component of the University’s
“Long Range Campus Development Plan,” completed in 2008.24 Furthermore, MSU also dedicates itself
to the preservation of its urban forest and to the continued enhancement of the campus landscape, both
of which contribute heavily to the integrity of the historic district. The Arbor Day Foundation granted MSU
“Tree Campus, USA” status in March 2013. Landscape planning philosophies at MSU currently focus on
preserving campus experiences, using landscaping and vegetation to enhance campus architecture and
creating signature landscapes.25 While recognizing it might not be possible to save every campus tree or
landscape feature, the University is committed to retaining the historic and aesthetic feeling of the
campus landscape.
24 Montana State University, “Long Range Campus Development Plan,” 2008, 43.
25 Personal Interview with E. J. Hook, MSU Environmental Services Manager, 6/20/2013.
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List of Contributing and Noncontributing Resources:
Resource Name Historic Name Map
No.
Architect Year Style Resource
Type
Contributing?
MSU Campus
Cultural
Landscape
(Border is
congruent with
Historic District)
NA
George
Carsley &
Cass Gilbert;
MSU
Physical
Plant: MSU
Horticulture
Department,
MSU
University
Development
Committee
1893-
1967
Romantic /
Picturesque
(1893-1917)
Beaux Art /
Neoclassical
(1917-1967)
Site YES
Centennial Mall Garfield Street NA 1993 NA Site NO
Alumni Plaza NA 2009 NA Site NO
Danforth Park Iris Garden NA H.C.
Cheever
1926;
1952
NA Site YES
Lewis & Clark
Field
NA 1915 NA Site YES
Alumni Plaza NA CTA 2009 NA Site NO
Harrington Park Duck Pond NA 1914 NA Site YES
Romney Green Romney Oval NA George
Carsley,
Cass Gilbert
1920 NA Site YES
Veterans
Memorial Park
NA c.1980;
2010
Site NO
Montana Hall Main Hall 01 J.C. Paulson 1898 Collegiate
Gothic
Building YES
Hamilton Hall Hamilton Hall 02 Fred F.
Willson
1910 Spanish
Mission
Revival
Building YES
Lewis Hall Biology Building 03
Shanley &
Baker
1923 Renaissance
Revival
Building YES
Cooley
Laboratories
Medical
Sciences
Research
Building
04 Sigvald L.
Berg
1960;
2012
Modern Building NO
Tietz Hall Central
Laboratory
Animal Facility
05 E. F. Link &
Associates
1985 Late Modern Building NO
Leon Johnson
Hall
Life Sciences
Building
06 CTA 1973-
1976
Late Modern Building NO
Wilson Hall Classroom-
Office Building
07 CTA 1974 Late Modern Building NO
Danforth Chapel 08 Emanuel
Milstein
1952 Modern Building YES
“Black Elk” 09 Jim Dolan 2012 Welded Metal
Sculpture
Object NO
“Four Seasons” 10 Heath
Bradley
2010 Steel, Acrylic,
Concrete
Sculpture
Object NO
Herrick Hall Women’s
Building
11 Fred F.
Willson
1926 Renaissance
Revival
Building YES
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Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Section 7 page 45
Resource Name Historic Name Map
No.
Architect Year Style Resource
Type
Contributing?
Hannon Hall 12 CTA; Fred F.
Willson
1955 Modern Building YES
Atkinson
Quadrangle (A-
B, C-D and E-F)
Quadrangle 13a
13b
13c
Fred F.
Willson;
Gordon
Cottier
1934 Jacobethan
Revival
Building
(3)
YES
“Untitled” 14 George K.
Conkey
c.1960 Abstract
Steel &
Bronze
Sculpture
Object YES
Hapner Hall 15 CTA 1959 Modern Building YES
Johnstone
Center
Lewis & Clark
Hall
16 Sigvald L.
Berg
1955 Modern
(International)
Building YES
Langford Hall 17 McIver, Hess
& Haugsjaa
1960 Modern Building YES
Wool Laboratory 18 William R.
Plew
1947 Vernacular/
Craftsman
Building YES
Chemistry
Modular Building
19 BNBuilders,
Inc.
2008 No Style Building NO
Chemistry &
Biochemistry
Building
Chemistry
Research
Building
20 L'Heureux
Page Werner
2007 Postmodern Building NO
“Spirit” Bobcat
Sculpture
21 R. L. Slayton 2009 NA Object NO
Linfield Hall Agriculture
Building; Morrill
Hall
22 Haire & Link;
Edwin G.
Osness
1909;
1953
Neoclassical
Revival;
Modern
Building YES
Taylor Hall Experiment
Station Building
23 C.S. Haire
(attributed)
1894 Vernacular Building YES
Sherrick Hall Nursing
Building
24 Davidson &
Kuhr
1973 Late Modern Building NO
Traphagen Hall Chemistry
Building II
25 C. H.
Carsley;
Fred F.
Willson
1919 Renaissance
Revival
Building YES
“MV I” Christmas Tree;
Voulkos
Oriental
Sculpture
26 Durea “Durk”
Voulkos
1974 Abstract
Rusted Sheet
Metal
Sculpture
Object NO
Reid Hall Classroom
Building
27 CTA 1959 Modern Building YES
Renne Library Renne Library 28 Fred F.
Willson;
McIver &
Hess
1949;
1960
Renaissance
Revival;
Modern
Building YES
Strand Student
Union
Student Union 29 Fred F.
Willson,
Cottier &
Harrington;
L.R. Sundell;
Hoiland &
Zucconi; A &
E Architects
1939;
1957;
1967;
1971;
1983;
2008
Tudor
Revival;
Modern
Building YES
Roberts Hall Engineering
Building
30 Fred F.
Willson
1922 Renaissance
Revival
Building YES
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Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Section 7 page 46
Resource Name Historic Name Map
No.
Architect Year Style Resource
Type
Contributing?
Cobleigh Hall Engineering
Science
Building
31 Morrison-
Maierle &
Associates
1970 Late Modern Building NO
EPS Building Engineering &
Physical Sci.
Bld.
32 CTA 1997 Postmodern Building NO
“Wind Arc” NA 33 Gary Bates 2002 Steel
Sculpture
Object NO
Tau Beta Pi NA 34 Unknown 1997 Bronze
Sculpture on
Marble Base
Object NO
“Structural
Connection”
NA 35 Roscoe Steel
Co.
1997 Abstract
Welded Steel
Sculpture
Object NO
Plew Building Service Shop 36 Fred F.
Willson
1952 Vernacular /
Industrial
Building YES
Heating Plant &
Garage
37a
37b
Fred F.
Willson
1922 Renaissance
Revival
Building
(2)
YES
A.J.M. Johnson
Hall
Math-Physics
Building
38 J. G. Link &
Company
1954 Modern Building YES
“Untitled” Four; Yellow 4;
Bates 4;
49 George
Bates
1970 Abstract
Painted Metal
Sculpture
Object NO
Romney
Gymnasium
40 Shanley &
Baker
1922 Renaissance
Revival
Building YES
Gaines Hall Chemistry
Building III
41 Orr Pickering
&
Associates;
1961-
1967;
2010
Modern;
Postmodern
Building NO
Visual
Communications
Building
42 CTA 1983,
2008
Late Modern/
Postmodern
Building NO
McCall Hall Agricultural
Experimentation
Laboratories
43 Edwin G.
Osness
1952 Modern Building YES
Miller Hall Food Service
Building
44a O. Berg, Jr.;
W. E.
Grabow
1965 Modern Building YES
North Hedges 44b O. Berg, Jr.;
W. E.
Grabow
1967 Modern Building YES
South Hedges 44c O. Berg, Jr.;
W. E.
Grabow
1965 Modern Building YES
Roskie Hall 45 O. Berg, Jr.;
W. E.
Grabow
1967 Modern
(Exaggerated
Modern)
Building YES
Gatton Field
Gate
46 William R.
Plew
1930 Stripped
Classical
Object YES
Territory-State
Dedication
Marker
47 Society of
Montana
Pioneers
1914 NA Object YES
“Walt Whitman” 48 Jim Dolan 2009 Welded Steel
Sculpture
Object NO
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Name of Property County and State
Section 8 page 47
_________________________________________________________________
8. Statement of Significance
Applicable National Register Criteria
(Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property for National Register
listing.)
A. Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the
broad patterns of our history.
B. Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past.
C. Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of
construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values,
or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack
individual distinction.
D. Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or
history.
Criteria Considerations
(Mark “x” in all the boxes that apply.)
A. Owned by a religious institution or used for religious purposes
B. Removed from its original location
C. A birthplace or grave
D. A cemetery
E. A reconstructed building, object, or structure
F. A commemorative property
G. Less than 50 years old or achieving significance within the past 50 years
Areas of Significance
(Enter categories from instructions.)
Education
Agriculture
Architecture
Community Planning and Development
x
x
x
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Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Section 8 page 48
Period of Significance
1893 – 1967
Significant Dates
1893; 1914; 1917; 1965; 1967
Significant Person
(Complete only if Criterion B is marked above.)
NA
Cultural Affiliation NA
Architect/Builder
J. G. Link & C. S. Haire / Link & Associates
Fred F. Willson
Cushing, Terrell & Associates (CTA)
O. Berg Jr. & William E. Grabow
Sigvald L. Berg & L. O. Bradford
McIver, Hess & Haugsjaa
Shanley & Baker
Edwin G. Osness
William R. Plew
Cass Gilbert & George Carsley
Statement of Significance Summary Paragraph
The Montana State University Historic District (MSU Historic District) is eligible for the National Register of
Historic Places at the statewide level under Criterion A in the area of Education and Agriculture and at the
local level in the area of Community Planning and Development. Under the provisions of the 1862 Morrill
Act, Montana State University (MSU) provided a high standard of education in agriculture and the
“mechanical arts” as Montana’s land-grant institution during its first 75 years, while also extending beyond
its mandated subjects into the physical sciences, arts and humanities. Through the provisions of the 1887
Hatch Act and the 1914 Smith-Lever Act, MSU also served Montana’s rural communities through the
public dissemination of applied agricultural research completed by the Agricultural Experiment Station
and practical knowledge on agriculture and home economics compiled through the Agricultural Extension
Service. At the local level, MSU had an immeasurable impact on its host city of Bozeman, both in terms of
its physical growth and the development of its socio-economic and cultural character. Furthermore, the
MSU Historic District is also eligible for listing at the statewide level under Criterion C in the area of
Architecture. As a collection of free-standing, high-style buildings designed by many of Montana’s leading
architects, the MSU Historic District is matched only by Montana’s other institutions of higher learning.
The district also includes a range of historically significant Victorian, Revivalist, and Modernist styles
beginning with the Collegiate Gothic Montana Hall (1896-1898) and extending though the 1967 Roskie
Hall, an eleven-story dormitory designed in the futurist Exaggerated Modern (or Googie) style.
The district’s period of historical significance extends from the founding of the University in 1893 as the
Agricultural College of the State of Montana through the completion of its final Modern style building in
1967. This 74-year period encompasses the institution’s growth from a small “cow college” to a leading
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Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
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Section 8 page 49
technical school to a modern university, as indicated by the evolution of its name from the Agricultural
College of the State of Montana (MAC, 1893), to State College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts in
(MSC, 1913), to Montana State College, (MSC, 1920), and to Montana State University (MSU, 1965).26
The 74-year span also includes the University’s physical transformation, beginning with the acquisition of
200 acres on a hill south of Bozeman in 1893 through the construction of thirty buildings ranging in style
from Collegiate Gothic and Italian Renaissance Revival to Modern. The end date of 1967 also represents
a shift in style, as future buildings (beginning with the 1970 Cobleigh Hall) would be increasingly
influenced by the spread of Late Modern movements such as Brutalism and Heroic Expressionism in
public architecture.
Although the period of significance extends four years past the standard 50 years of age established by
the Nation Register Criteria for Consideration, the MSU Historic District need not meet Criteria
Consideration G, as “a historic district in which a few properties are newer than fifty years old, but the
majority of properties and the most important Period of Significance are greater than fifty years old.”27
Only four contributing properties within the MSU Historic District are less than 50 years old: the three
buildings in the Hedges Residential Complex (North Hedges, South Hedges and the Miller Dining and
Food Service Building) and the nearby Roskie Hall. Plans for the former were underway in 1963, exactly
50 years from the present, and architectural drawings for the latter were completed only three years later.
In addition, the MSU Historic District contains three moved contributing objects (Gatton Field Gate, the
1914 Montana Territorial-State Marker and an abstract metal sculpture), two contributing commemorative
objects (Gatton Field Gate and the 1914 Montana Territory-State Marker), and one non-denominational
religious property (the 1952 Danforth Chapel). However, the district need not meet Criterion
Consideration A, B or F, because these resources are not of primary associational significance within the
district. Furthermore, all display significance under Criterion C for their design, rendering the relevant
criterion considerations unnecessary.
Narrative Statement of Significance (Provide at least one paragraph for each area of
significance.)
Early History of the Gallatin Valley Area
(Adapted, with permission, from Jim Jenks, A Guide to Historic Bozeman, Montana Mainstreets Series,
Vol. 7, Helena, MT, Montana Historical Society Press, 2007 and Jenks’ “Fenton/Ferris/Hermsmeyer
Ranch National Register Nomination,” on file at MT SHPO, 2007.)
Prior to Euro-American settlement, several American Indian tribes used the southwest region of present-
day Montana as both a thoroughfare for intertribal trade and an access route to seasonal hunting
grounds. Major tribal groups that maintained traditional ties to the area include the Crow28 and the
Shoshone-Bannock, as well as the Lemhi Shoshone and Blackfeet people. The homelands of these tribes
overlapped in the area around present day Bozeman, making the Gallatin Valley a cultural meeting
ground for Intermountain Region tribes.
Within the recent historic period and until forced to reservations, the Blackfeet held most of an immense
territory stretching from the North Saskatchewan River, Canada, to the headwaters of the Missouri in
today’s Montana.29 Meanwhile, the Shoshone Tribe occupied areas both east and west of the Rocky
26 Montana State University, “Historical School Names,” http://www.montana.edu/opa/facts/SchoolNames.html,
accessed 7/25/2013.
27 Patrick W. Andrus, “NR Bulletin 15: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Consideration,” Washington,
DC, National Park Service, rev. for internet, 2002, 41.
28 Raymond J. DeMallie, ed, Handbook of North American Indians: Volume 13, Plains. Parts 1 and 2. (Washington,
D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 2001) 694.
29 DeMallie, “Blackfeet,” 406.
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Section 8 page 50
Mountains. Shoshone-Bannock homeland generally came to encompass an area that coincides with
today’s state of Idaho. The Shoshone-Bannock as well as the related Lemhi band pursued buffalo
northeast into Montana, along the Gallatin, Madison and Jefferson River corridors. Like the Shoshone-
Bannocks, the Lemhi Shoshones were buffalo hunters who had once lived on the plains of what is now
Montana. 30 Historically, Crow homeland came to encompass a large area in north and central Wyoming,
as well as most of Montana. Stretching west to east from the Three Forks region to the current Montana-
North Dakota border and north to south from the Milk River to the North Platte, Crow land included
mountains, valleys, plains, and river systems, offering different climates and food sources throughout the
year.31
The various tribal movements through the region made the area important for trade, into which the Crow
quickly established themselves. The Crow traded horses and other goods from the Shoshone and the
Flathead, and offered elkhorn bows, buckskin clothing, tipis, arrows, shields, and dried meat for
exchange. Crow trade, although centered in the Montana/Wyoming area, essentially linked them to both
sides of the continent. Crow people exchanged buffalo goods from the Plains for salmon oil and
pemmican from the Pacific Northwest, as well as Spanish horse bridles from the Southwest and Sioux
eagle feather war bonnets from further east.32
As the nineteenth century unfolded, the once plentiful bison herds became increasingly scarce as more
non-Indians moved into southwestern Montana, forcing tribes to withdraw further into core homelands
and away from outlying seasonal hunting grounds. Discovery of gold in Virginia City attracted thousands
of white settlers to the region and the impact was felt throughout Crow country. This new population of
non-Indians resulted in the U.S. government’s agent in Montana to report in the early 1860s that “the
whites are now overrunning their [Crow] whole country.”33
Non-Indian settlement continued and inter-tribal power shifted and weakened. The last two decades of
the 18th century began a century of tragedy for the Blackfeet. The population was drastically reduced by a
small pox epidemic in 1781, and between 1785 and 1805 large numbers of both the Blackfeet and
Shoshone tribes were killed in battles over hunting territory. In 1837 another smallpox epidemic killed
nearly 6,000 Blackfeet. This was an estimated two-thirds of the total population.34 However, the Blackfeet
maintained their traditional way of life based on hunting bison, until the near extinction of the bison by
1881 forced them to adapt their ways of life in response to the effects of the Euro-American settlers. The
tribe was restricted to land assigned in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851, but this attempt to designate
Blackfeet hunting territory failed when white settlers began taking the land. In 1870, American soldiers
attacked the camp of the peaceful Piegan Blackfeet leader Heavy Runner. Over 200 Blackfeet were killed
during what became known as the Massacre on the Marias River. The Blackfeet did not retaliate and in
1888 those left alive were placed on a 3,000 square-mile reservation in northwest Montana, under the
terms of the Sweetgrass Hills Treaty. The Shoshone and the Crow continued their alliances with non-
Indians, most notably serving as scouts for Lieutenant Colonel George Custer at the Battle of Little Big
Horn in 1876. In 1880, under the leadership of Plenty-coups, the Crow sold the western portion of their
reservation to the United States, and by 1884, the tribe had settled on today’s Crow Agency centered
near Hardin, Montana.
The Shoshone-Bannock endured their own territorial loss. The 1863 Fort Hall Reservation near today’s
Pocatello, Idaho, was established by an agreement between the United States and the Shoshone and
Bannock tribes in the wake of the Bear River Massacre. Then, United States Army troops slaughtered
over 200 Shoshone under Chief Old Bear in present-day southeastern Idaho. Chief Pocatello, another
30 Warren L. D’Azevedo, Handbook of North American Indians: Volume 11, Great Basin. (Washington, D.C.:
Smithsonian Institution, 2001) 515.
31 DeMallie, “Crow,” 696.
32 DeMallie, “Crow,” 696.
33 Hoxie, Parading Through History, 88.
34 D’Azevedo, “Shoshone,” 517.
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Section 8 page 51
Shoshone leader, received advance warning of the attack and led his people out of harm's way. He
subsequently sued for peace and agreed to relocate his people to the newly-established reservation
along the Snake River.35 The Lemhi Shoshone, who lost their reservation in 1907, live alongside the
Shoshone-Bannock at Fort Hall, while continuing to fight for official federal recognition.
From a Euro-American perspective, the Gallatin Valley was initially part of the immense French and
Spanish colony of Louisiana, acquired by the United States with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. In 1812,
the United States reorganized the territorial West, and included the area within the Territory of Missouri,
and in 1861 it became part of Dakota Territory. Later, when gold was discovered, what would become
Gallatin County was included within the limits of Idaho Territory. In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln
signed a bill creating Montana Territory, which included Gallatin County.36
The first known Euro-American explorers to enter the region were the Corps of Discovery led by Captains
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, who arrived at the Three Forks of the Missouri in August 1805. It
was here that Lewis named the three rivers creating the Missouri in honor of then President Thomas
Jefferson, Vice-President James Madison and Secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin. Clark passed
the Bozeman area again on their return journey in 1806. For the following several decades, the area was
important to the fur traders seeking beaver pelts, but generally remained outside the path of immigrant
travel. Famed road builder, Captain John Mullan, for example, only skirted the Madison area during his
extensive travels in the region during the 1850s.
That pattern changed in 1863, when John Bozeman and his partner John M. Jacobs scouted a route off
the Oregon Trail, diverging from the Platte River Road and terminating at Virginia City, Montana. The trail
cut a path at the north end of the Gallatin Valley, and carried miners and those who hoped profits off the
burgeoning mining communities. These groups included farmers, who saw the potential in the valley’s
rich volcanic soil. Though the trail closed in 1866 because it illegally crossed tribal lands, non-Indians
continued to pour into the area and soon established the communities of Gallatin City and Bozeman.
After John Bozeman’s murder in 1867, non-Indians feared tribal attacks, and the United States
established Fort Ellis just east of Bozeman city. The fort and its soldiers had an immediate effect on the
Bozeman economy, offering economic stability to the young town by providing a critical market for
Gallatin Valley farmers and merchants. The fort’s several hundred men and horses needed constant
supplies. The Crow Agency, then located at Fort Parker on the Yellowstone River to the east provided
another market of significant size.
During Bozeman's formative years in the 1870s, the Northern Pacific inched its way across the Plains
toward the emerging town. The anxiously anticipated arrival of the railroad in Bozeman promised a
tangible link to the area east of the young town. Based on almost daily coverage in Bozeman’s Avant
Courier, the progression and eventual completion of the railroad appeared to be a major fixation of the
townspeople even as many news stories offered an overly optimistic estimate of its arrival. While the
pending arrival of the railroad may have been happy news to the townspeople of Bozeman, it certainly did
not have the same effect on Native Americans in the area. In June of 1872, a number of Indians gathered
to impede the railroad’s progress and this event, closely followed by the attack on a military survey escort
from Fort Ellis in July, resulted in further calls of action.37 In spite of such events, Bozeman’s Main Street
of the 1870s reflected the town’s anticipated permanence and success. As the town grew, so did its civic
and architectural sophistication. Bozeman established schools soon after the first non-Indian families
crossed Bozeman Pass in the 1860s. A local tax established funding for public education in 1868, and
soon after resident William Beall constructed the first frame schoolhouse. Beall went on to construct the
35 D’Azevedo, “Shoshone,” 518.
36 Work Projects Administration. Inventory of the County Archives of Montana: No. 28. Madison County. (Bozeman,
MT: The Inventory of Public Archives, Historical Records Survey, 1940.) 5.
37 Matthew Cohen, Historic Resources of Bozeman, Montana National Register nomination. On file at the Montana
State Historic Preservation Office, June 1986.
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Section 8 page 52
area’s first brick schoolhouse, called the West Side School, in 1877. The East Side School was built in
1883. The town opted for a new West Side School in 1892.
Despite the town’s growing wealth, it could not escape the effects of nationwide depression. The Panic of
1873 witnessed the collapse of railroad and banking interests across the country. Banks failed, including
Bozeman’s original First National Bank, which closed its doors in 1878. In Bozeman, as in the rest of the
country, growth slowed to a standstill. In an effort to combat the depression, Bozeman’s civic leaders
undertook a project to improve the Yellowstone Road that led to their community. Called the “Yellowstone
Expedition,” their efforts did improve the road, which ran through tribal territories. Hostilities between
settlers and the Indian nations culminated in the Great Sioux War of 1876-77. Despite tribal victories at
Rosebud Creek and the Little Big Horn, the U.S. Army eventually defeated the Lakota Sioux and Northern
Cheyenne. With this defeat, warfare on Montana’s open plains effectively came to an end.
By 1880, the economy of Bozeman began to improve dramatically, despite the continued delay of the
railroad. Buildings constructed of brick replaced wood frame buildings and by 1883, the Avant Courier
forecast that the building effort would soon double in the small town. Early 1882 witnessed a financially-
resurgent Northern Pacific resume its march west. After an aggressive campaign to woo railroad officials
through Bozeman, the first train arrived on March 21, 1883, sparking another building boom in the small
community. The arrival of the train firmly established Bozeman as a city with a future, further indicated by
its incorporation the same year. Montana's shift from a territory to a state in 1889 stimulated another
surge of expansion.
National Register Criterion A (Area of Significance: Education)
Montana’s Land Grant University (1893-1904)
The establishment of Montana’s higher education system stemmed from a national college-building boom
following the Civil War. More than 100 post-secondary institutions and ten state-supported colleges—
including what would become Montana State University in Bozeman—were established in the last two
decades of the 19th century alone.38 This widespread popularization of higher education largely resulted
from a series of Federal programs intentionally designed to promote the rapid "civilization" of the
American West, while simultaneously facilitating the continued economic growth and development of an
increasingly industrialized nation. In the midst of the Civil War, a Republican-dominated Congress
infatuated with industrialization and national expansion passed the Morrill Act of 1862.39 Known as the
Land Grant Act, this important legislation publicly granted 30,000 acres of federal land per senator and
representative to each state willing to establish "at least one college…where the leading object shall be,
without excluding other scientific or classical studies, to teach such branches of learning as are related to
agricultural and mechanic arts, as the legislatures of the states may respectfully prescribe, in order to
promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and
professions of life."40 Throughout the remainder of the 19th century, a series of Republican legislative
actions firmly anchored Morrill’s plan for land grant colleges to the nation's cultural topography.
Recommendations for a system of higher education in Montana were voiced as early as 1868 by the
Territorial Superintendent of Schools, but the state’s low tax base and transitory population made such an
undertaking risky in the 1860s and 1870s. Further impetus appeared in 1881 when a Congressional Act
granted 72 sections of public land to each state or territory for the funding of a university. Discussions and
recommendations continued through the next decade, but insufficient state support and political haggling
delayed any action. Division of political power prevented the establishment of a state legislature until
1889 and continued afterward as an obstacle to locating the state capital. Bozeman vied with five other
38 Lawrence A. Cremin, American Education: The Metropolitan Experience. 1876-1980, New York, Harper and Row,
1988, 555-565.
39 Rydell, 2.
40 Information about the Land Grant Act is from Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges,
Centennial Office, The Land Grant Fact Book (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1962), 2.
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cities for the coveted capital location, and in an effort to improve their chances, "extended [the town's]
boundaries and platted farm land to make the city appear larger than its actual size."41 A Capitol Hill
Addition was platted with 8th Avenue extending as a boulevard from Main Street up to the proposed
capitol site. When the legislature decided to place the capital in Helena, Bozeman’s “Capitol Hill” quickly
became an obvious site for one of Montana’s other state institutions.
The embittered fight for the capital and the process of selecting sites for all four of Montana’s institutions
of higher learning postponed establishment of the “Agricultural College of the State of Montana” at
Bozeman until February 16, 1893, four years after statehood.42 The 8,000 acre Gallatin Valley, of which
Bozeman sits at the eastern edge, is a former lake bed of rich agricultural soil that receives 18.05" of
rainfall annually with approximately 115 frost free days a year.43 As such, the Gallatin Valley was already
widely recognized as the most fertile region in the state, and its leading city, Bozeman, a natural choice
for the location of Montana’s agricultural college. Bozeman banker, Peter Koch, and Senator C.W.
Hoffman guided the bill through the legislature. For one day, prior to the official creation of the three other
university units, Montana's land-grant college represented the entire university system for the state.44
Questions of financing, location and classroom space proved the immediate concern following the
founding of the Agricultural College. The law governing the State Board of Education, created on March
1, 1893, required selection of a college site within 90 days. The potential loss of $33,000 in federal
funding if the school was not in operation by the beginning of July exacerbated the need for expediency.
To guide the new college, Montana Governor J. E. Rickards created a Local Executive Board consisting
of Walter Cooper, Lester S. Willson, Peter Koch, E. H. Talcott and George Kinkel, Jr., with the State
Board of Education adding Nelson Story, H. J. Haskell and R. G. Young.45 This contrasted with the local
board of the University of Montana at Missoula, appointed entirely by the State Board of Education, “thus
giving the state board much more control over the Missoula campus than it ever had over the Bozeman
school.”46 In any case, the College’s Local Executive Board faced steep challenges. The 1862 and 1890
Morrill Acts placed the burden of acquiring land and financing construction on the state, and the 1893 act
creating the university system provided $15,000 for buildings, but nothing for operating costs. The Panic
of 1893, a national economic crisis, caused the State Board of Examiners to reject any building
appropriations and further compounded financial difficulties.47
Fortunately for the new college, Bozeman remained a progressive city, even in the midst of its failed bid
for the state capital. In what served as the first act in creating a close bond between community and
campus, Gallatin County donated half of their 160 acre poor farm toward a campus, and Bozeman
citizens purchased the other half.48 Funds for a 40-acre parcel containing the abandoned state capital
41 Cortland L. Freeman, “The Growing-up Years: The First 100 Years of Bozeman as an Incorporated City from 1883
to 1893,” Bozeman, MT: Gallatin Valley Historical Society, 1988, 2.
42 The Agricultural College of the State of Montana was called “MAC” for short, but the school’s next name, Montana
State College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts (MSC) was in use as early as 1911. Montana State College (MSC),
Montana State University (MSU) and “Montana State” are used somewhat interchangeably in this document.
43 James Bruce Putman, “The Evolution of a Frontier Town: Bozeman, Montana and Its Search for Economic
Stability, 1864-1877,” Bozeman, MT: Gallatin Valley Historical Society, 1988, 1.
44 Burlingame, 1.
45 Burlingame, 8-10.
46 Rydell, 24. The University of Montana in Missoula, Montana was named the University of Montana—Missoula
(1893-1913), the State University of Montana (1913-1935), Montana State University (1935-1965) and the University
of Montana (1965-present). Within this nomination, however, the Missoula-based school is called the University of
Montana at Missoula to avoid confusion. Montana State University at Bozeman is typically called MSC, MSU or
Montana State.
47 Burlingame, 10.
48 Ibid.
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site, a "low hill on the southwest edge of the city, a sightly place," to the east materialized more slowly,
but the State eventually purchased the lands at ten dollars per acre thanks to a $1,500 donation from
Nelson Story.49 The site that would become Montana State’s campus was ready, but the College still
lacked students and buildings. With the clock ticking on federal funding, the Local Executive Board
decided the best course of action required co-opting an existing school. The Presbyterian Church, of
which Peter Koch and Lester S. Willson conveniently belonged, operated an “academy” in a former roller
skating rink on the southeast corner of Main Street and Third Avenue, and on April 11th the College
instigated a friendly takeover. Six days later, the first session of the Agricultural College of the State of
Montana was underway with instruction in agriculture, business and college preparatory work. Thomas H.
Mckee, one of eight students (five men and three women) who participated in the transformation, later
recalled:
It was only an idea, a disembodied one, without house to dwell in, without teacher or student, and
worst of all, without a dollar. To get its ensuing appropriations it had to be a going concern. It
needed money to get started and couldn't get money until it did start…Why was this impertinent
immigrant thus shouldering its way into our hitherto happy home? If it were going to teach the
same subjects why should we change our loyalties…For several days the arguments went on,
with the upshot being the signing of eight of us (as I remember it) under the new banner…In this
unorthodox manner the new institution launched itself into a puny but flying start.50
Although the young college's land-grant status enabled it funding through the sale or leasing of its
federally-granted land, its association with the Experiment Station proved integral to early growth. The
1887 Hatch Act appropriated $15,000 annually for each state that supported an experiment station. The
affiliation with a program intended to conduct agricultural experiments stood as a logical choice for the
agricultural college. It also provided badly needed construction money when the school moved to its
south Bozeman location in 1894. The first buildings for both college and station consisted of an
assortment of structures from the former poor farm and a few log cabins and small out buildings. In the
first Montana Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin (1894), station director, S. M. Emery, noted that the
poor quality buildings on the agricultural farm were "unsuitable for the purposes of an experiment
station."51 The construction of the stone-clad Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall) in 1894 signaled
the first period of campus development at Montana State, and firmly established the close relationship the
college and station subsequently enjoyed throughout their history. Design of the building, which combined
elements of the Queen Anne and Italianate styles with a rural vernacular form, is attributed to prominent
Helena, Montana architect Charles S. Haire. While the building was technically for Experiment Station
use only, the college always intended on sharing its space and classes were held there until the
Agricultural Extension Service began their long occupation of the building in 1922.52
Campus development continued rapidly in the following three years. A large Italianate style Chemistry
building replete with a central square tower on its north façade was constructed east of the Experiment
Station Building followed by "Old Main" (now Montana Hall) in 1896. Helena architect, J. C. Paulsen sited
the elaborate brick building, designed in the Collegiate Gothic style, atop the planned “Capitol Hill”; the
building immediately became the physical and symbolic heart of the campus. Besides classrooms and
offices, Montana Hall contained the campus library and provided the backdrop to many school activities.
The frame Drill Hall to the west of the Chemistry Building, a stone Veterinary Building (later used as an
electrical engineering laboratory, mathematics building and service shops) to the south, and a pair of
small heating plants rounded out the original campus.53
49 Ibid.
50 Ibid., 12-13.
51 Montana Experiment Station, “Bulletin No. 1, no. 9,” Bozeman, MT: n.p., 1894.
52 Dena Sanford, “Experiment Station Building / Taylor Hall,” Montana Historic Property Record Form, 1990. Edited
by Jessie Nunn, 2012.
53 Franklin U. Keene, “Map of College Campus,” 1/26/1907.” University Records.
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Montana State’s first students originated from the Presbyterian Academy in Bozeman, and the Local
Executive Board looked to another Presbyterian school, the College of Montana in Deer Lodge, to fill its
faculty and administrative positions. Augustus M. Ryon, a professor of mining, was named MSU’s first
president, and Frank M. Traphagen and Kate Calvin were brought in to teach chemistry and music,
respectively. One year later, the College of Montana’s President, Rev. James Reid, moved to Bozeman to
assume the presidency of Montana State from his former colleague in Deer Lodge, who stepped down to
resume teaching. William M. Cobleigh, who had just graduated with a degree in mining engineering from
the College of Montana, followed Reid.54 Ryon, Reid, Traphagen and Cobleigh tipped the balance at the
new school toward engineering, but the land grant status of the College required a strong agricultural
bent, and S. M. Emery arrived as Director of the Experiment Station. Emery was later replaced by Samuel
Fortier, an irrigation expert who left for California in 1904. Frederic B. Linfield, who came to MSU in 1902
as a professor of agriculture, took over as Director after Fortier’s resignation, a post he held until 1937.
Linfield also served as Dean of Agriculture beginning in 1913, and from his posts “had an effective hand
in every major agricultural advance in the state for 40 years.”55 Luther Foster (agriculture, botany), the
previous director of the Presbyterian Academy, Lila A. Harkins (home science), Fredrica E. Marshall (art)
William F. Brewer (English), Robert Cooley (biology) and W. D. Tallman (mathematics) rounded out the
early staff.56
During the Reid Administration, enrollment fluctuated between an all-time low of 36 in 1897 and a high of
77 in 1900.57 Slow growth resulted from “thin population and vast distances, where the major
occupational groups of agriculture, mining and forestry felt no insistent urge to send the children to
college.”58 Of the 46 students enrolled in the fall of 1893, 15 majored in agriculture, 14 in household
economy, 5 in applied sciences and 12 remained undeclared.59 An additional 51 students enrolled in the
business course, with another 38 students in the preparatory program. By 1901, students chose from a
small, but relatively diverse group of four-year degree programs including botany, zoology, physics,
mathematics, modern languages, history and English, alongside agriculture, household economy and
applied science.60 The balanced curriculum reflected President Reid’s liberal arts background, resulting in
a broad range of degrees conferred during his tenure. Of the 44 students to graduate between 1895 and
1904, 21 received degrees in MSC’s traditional fields (4 in agriculture, 3 in domestic science and 14 in
engineering), while the remainder came from the arts and sciences (5 in chemistry, 2 in zoology, 1 each
in history and mathematics and 14 in “applied science.”61 During the next administration, however,
education at MSC became increasingly specialized.
“The MIT of the West,” (1904-1919)
James M. Hamilton arrived in Montana in 1889, first serving as superintendent of schools in Missoula.
Named to the newly-created State Board of Education in 1893, he resigned in 1902 to become a member
of the University of Montana at Missoula faculty in history and economics.62 Just two years later, he left
for Bozeman to assume the Presidency of MSC, hoping to create, “a high grade technical college,” and,
even more ambitiously, the “MIT of the West.”63 In practice, this meant focusing the curriculum at MSC on
agriculture, engineering and domestic science, with the expansion of the former into four majors
54 Burlingame, 15-16, 19.
55 Ibid, 34.
56 Ibid, in passim, 15-34.
57 Montana State University, “Fall Headcount Enrollment History,” http://www.montana.edu/opa/facts/headhist.html
accessed online, 6/25/2013.
58 Burlingame, 35.
59 Ibid, 19.
60 Ibid., 20.
61 Ibid., 35.
62 Rydell, 22.
63 Ibid., 27.; Burlingame, 44.
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(agronomy, animal industry, dairy and horticulture) in 1906. A more troubling side, at least for some, of
Hamilton’s new curriculum was its effect on the humanities and sciences at MSC. The new curriculum
combined history and literature into one program, and physics and mathematics into another, while
completely cutting the business program. Because the focused curriculum avoided potential costly
duplication with Montana’s other colleges, the State Legislature and Board of Education largely shared
Hamilton’s views, taking them to even further extremes as evidenced by the organization of the entire
university system under a centralized Helena-based Chancellorship in 1913. The new organization
forbade the University of Montana at Missoula from teaching engineering, while at MSC the field
expanded to chemical, architectural and irrigation engineering. In contrast, MSC’s pharmacy program
transferred to the University and its recently combined programs in the humanities (history-literature) and
sciences (physics-mathematics) were dropped entirely.64
Hamilton outlined his philosophy in MSC’s 1911 Catalog. “Education for Efficiency—for practical
usefulness—is the purpose of the College,” the 37-page booklet began, following with, “An education that
will allow young men and young women to take hold somewhere—that will give them the knowledge and
skill that will fit them for a definite kind of task.”65 Service to community was a secondary theme, with one
of the final pages imploring, “If you are able to render good service to the state, but fail to do your best
because you are not trained to your highest efficiency, you have fallen short in your duty to your
community.”66 The College was, of course, created in service to the State, and the “New Montana”
needed men and women to develop systems of agriculture and engineering, build and maintain homes
and schools and introduce, “manufactures and arts,” and not, necessarily, hold their own during critical
discussions of literature and philosophy.67 Illustrations echoed the text’s emphasis on “doing,” with
students hovering over technical equipment—whether a loom, test tube or generator—or engaged in
livestock and grain judging. Others depicted the College’s facilities, with an emphasis on building
exteriors, laboratory interiors and facilities for women, especially the newly-completed dormitory, Hamilton
Hall. Just as significantly, reading students and lecturing professors were completely absent. In essence,
the catalog effectively conveyed what MSC was (a technical school) and what it was not (a liberal arts
school). Even so, the college continued to offer coursework in a wide variety of subjects. A survey of just
those subjects starting with “A” represents the breath of instruction available: agriculture, agronomy,
algebra, alternating currents, American history, analytical geometry, anatomy, animal industry, animal
types, art, assaying and astronomy. Moreover, the humanities and social sciences officially reemerge in
1920 with the return of a Bachelor of Science in “applied science.”68
While historians like Robert Rydell later criticize Hamilton for falling into the “cult of efficiency” at the
expense of the academic experience, his attempts to focus the curriculum could also be seen as a move
to avoid consolidation of Montana’s colleges, always a very real danger during the early 20th century.69
Movements for both physical and administrative consolidation crept up continually during Hamilton’s
presidency, and in almost every scheme MSC stood to lose out to the University of Montana at Missoula.
Hamilton, however, adeptly fought consolidation and his counterpart in Missoula, Edwin B. Craighead. In
addition to ensuring MSC’s unique and specialized curriculum, he also resigned in the middle of the
debate, garnering great sympathy across the state and forcing the termination of his rival.70 The
Chancellorship, established in 1913, served as a compromise between institutional independence and
consolidation. While successes occurred under its first chancellor, Edwin C. Elliot, the Chancellorship
64 Burlingame, 51-52.
65 Montana State College, “Education for Efficiency: Montana State College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts,” May
1911, 3.
66 Ibid., 35.
67 Ibid., 5.
68 Burlingame, 30.
69 Rydell, 26.
70 Rydell, 27.
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proved ineffective during the economic turmoil of the 1920s and funding for the position was abandoned
in 1933.71
During his presidency, Hamilton also worked to improve facilities for students and those academic fields
he felt belonged at the MSC, which by World War I included the College of Agriculture, the College of
Engineering, the College of Science (botany/bacteriology, entomology/zoology, chemistry and industrial
chemistry) and the College of Household and Industrial Arts (home economics, applied art and secretarial
work). The organization of the latter reflected Hamilton’s earnest desire to include female students in the
MSC community. His first priority was a new building for the College of Agriculture, currently housed in
the lower stories of the 1894 Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall). “No increase in agricultural
students can be expected and it is wrong to encourage young people to register for agricultural courses
with our present facilities,” he wrote in his 1907 President’s Report, continuing “It is impossible to hold
students until graduation [when] there is nothing for them to work with in the advanced grades.”72 The
Legislature allocated $800,000 toward the building during its 1907 session, and the College selected
Montana’s leading architectural firm, Link & Haire of Helena—Charles S. Haire designed the 1894
Experiment Station Building—to design the building. The resulting 1909 Neoclassical Revival style
building, constructed immediately across S. 11th Avenue from the college farm, effectively conveyed the
important place of agricultural at MSC, as well as the college’s increasing maturity and sophistication.
A second major building constructed during the Hamilton era was a residence hall for women. Off-
campus apartments or accommodations with Bozeman families often served the lodging needs of both
male and female students prior to the building's completion in 1910. Realizing the poor lodging situation,
the families of many prospective female students reluctantly sent their daughters to the school; however,
their continuing discomfort with the situation, in addition to the distance between the town and the school,
resulted in registration cancellations.73 Attempts to ameliorate the situation included the College's attempt
to rent a large home, which proved unsuccessful. Hamilton recognized the housing discrepancy between
his institution and the University of Montana at Missoula and the State Normal College at Dillon, which
already provided women’s dormitories (probably as a result of their curriculums in education and the
humanities). The state legislature provided $50,000 for the construction of the dormitory in 1909 and the
college retained local architect Fred F. Willson to design the building. It would be the first of many
commissions at Montana State for the talented and prolific Willson. Upon completion, the Mission Revival
/ Arts and Crafts-style dormitory housed and fed between 90 and 100 women and served as the only
dormitory on campus until the 1934 construction of the Quadrangle. The new Agricultural Building (now
Linfield Hall) and the college’s first dormitory, named Hamilton Hall in honor of President Hamilton’s wife,
Emma, marked the end of Montana State’s informal campus development. The next campus buildings,
constructed during the 1920s, would be sited and designed in accordance with a highly formalized
campus plan.
The onset of World War I yielded a dramatic effect on MSC and its campus. Male students and faculty
members drilled and women participated in Red Cross activities. Many faculty members left temporarily to
fill war time positions, including future MSC president, Alfred Atkinson, who became Montana’s State
Food Administrator. In the summer and fall of 1918, approximately 450 military students were on campus,
staying in Hamilton Hall and “hastily assembled barracks” at the northwest corner of campus. 74 They
received training in blacksmithing, automobile practice and wireless communication, while their civilian
counterparts took classes in signal corps and aviation. The horrific influenza epidemic of 1919 practically
closed all campuses at the end of the Great War, but by the fall of 1920 enrollment at MAC reached 607,
just over a 100% increase from 1915.75
71 Burlingame, 74.
72 Ibid., 57.
73 Ibid,57-58.
74 Burlingame, 66.
75 Montana State University, “Fall Headcount Enrollment History,” accessed online 6/25/2013.
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Montana State College Between the Wars, (1919-1942)
President Hamilton resigned in 1919 to become Dean of Men, allowing him to witness the increasing
sophistication of campus and curriculum at Montana State between World War I and World War II. His
replacement, Alfred Atkinson, had been a professor of agronomy and agronomist for the Experiment
Station prior to World War I, when he left to serve as Montana’s State Food Administrator. Despite an
inherently conservative nature, Atkinson oversaw the greatest period of expansion to date at Montana
State College, both in enrollment and in the physical campus. During his long tenure, which lasted until
1937, enrollment rose from 519 to 1,243 and included the addition of seven major buildings to the
campus.76 Refinement of the curriculum also took place under Atkinson, with a continued emphasis on
the practical application of academic pursuits. “We have come a long way from the three ‘R’s,” Atkinson
claimed in his inaugural address, explaining, “We have substituted them with the three ‘H’s—the head,
the heart and the hand—with a rather marked emphasis on the hand.”77 The emphasis on agriculture,
engineering and the domestic sciences (women still had a place at Montana’s “technical school” under
Atkinson) reflected the new name given to the school in 1920, Montana State College of Agriculture and
Mechanical Arts (MSC), and in the new academic buildings that would be constructed on campus during
the 1920s.
With enrollments expected to rise after World War I, the Montana State Board of Education and
Chancellor Elliot braced for expansion at all four of the state’s institutions of higher learning. In 1917 they
tapped State Architect, C. H. Carsley, to draw up comprehensive plans for the University in Missoula and
the State College in Bozeman, which would be forwarded to Cass Gilbert, a prominent New York
architect, for final approval.78 Renowned for his designs of state capitols, world's fairs, courthouses,
libraries and skyscrapers, Gilbert previously prepared campus plans for the University of Texas and
University of Minnesota. The resultant 1917 Carsley / Gilbert Campus Plan for MSC re-oriented the
campus, creating a classical axial arrangement with the 1896 Montana Hall at its center, and expanded
the property to the south and east. Engineering buildings and agricultural / biology buildings flanked the
north/south campus core to the east and west, respectively. South 8th and S. 10th Avenues were designed
to curve and meet in front (north of) Montana Hall, with a “physics group” and “chemistry group” flanking a
heavily-landscaped rectangular court to the south. The plan included housing the college’s auditorium
and library at the southern terminus of the plan’s north/south axis, with the athletic field, grandstands,
gymnasium and drill hall immediately to the south. Plans also included the construction of two dormitories
for the north end of campus between Cleveland and Harrison Streets. While never fully realized, and
largely abandoned in the haste of World War II, the 1917 Carsley / Gilbert Campus Plan guided the
construction of seven Italian Renaissance Revival style buildings during the 1920s and continued to
influence development through the 1950s.79 It also marked the demise of Horticulturalist Roy Fisher’s
earlier informal plan, resulting in the removal of many cottonwoods and shrubs planted under his
direction.80
Implementing the 1917 Carsley / Gilbert Campus Plan, depended of course, on funding. Fortunately,
Montanans, still in the midst of the postwar economic boom, felt secure enough to fund a $5 million bond
for construction on their college campuses and commit to a 2.5 mill levy on property taxes toward higher
education in 1920.81 In addition to its share of the bond, MSC also accessed $60,000 in state funds
76 Ibid.
77 Rydell, 34.
78 Burlingame, 70.
79 George H. Carsley and Cass Gilbert, “The University of Montana State College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts,”
c. 1917, University Records. This paragraph is adapted in part from: Sanford, Dena. “Montana State University
Campus,” Draft National Register Nomination, 1990 and Strahn, Derek. “Historic and Architectural Resources of
Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana,” Draft MPD National Register Nomination, 1995.
80 Burlingame, 70.
81 Ibid.
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allocated earlier for an Engineering Building and $50,000 for a new Chemistry Building. The latter money
came in part from an insurance claim for the accidental fire that claimed the original Chemistry Building in
October of 1916.82 With funding in place, MSC set forth an ambitious plan for the construction of new
buildings for engineering (Roberts Hall), chemistry (Traphagen Hall), biology (Lewis Hall) and the
“women’s departments,” (Herrick Hall) along with engineering shops (Ryon Laboratories, non-extant), a
new gymnasium (Romney Gymnasium) and heating plant. All buildings would be designed in the Italian
Renaissance Revival style, which evoked images of Europe’s 16th century intellectual rebirth and
optimism in mankind's future.83 The State hired Carsley to design the first building (Chemistry II /
Traphagen Hall), with local assistance from Fred F. Willson. Shanley & Baker of Great Falls, Montana,
designed the Biology Building and Gymnasium, while Fred F. Willson was responsible for the remaining
buildings. Despite delays caused by a shortage of bricks and skilled labor during the postwar building
boom, all but the Women’s Building (Herrick Hall, 1926) were finished by 1923. The result was an
ordered, refined campus indicative of the MSC’s status as one of the state's leading academic
institutions.84
Stagnation during the depressed economic climate of the late 1920s and 1930s followed the
unprecedented growth following World War I at MSC. While enrollment held steady and later increased—
young people found higher education an attractive alternative to unemployment—the College could hardly
support its newly-expanded campus, much less consider major expansion. Moreover, the State lacked
any ability to offer financial assistance. As land values dropped and taxes became delinquent, the value
of the 2.5 mill levy for higher education deflated, and even a vote by Montanans in 1930 to increase the
levy to 4 mills provided little help.85 However, the availability of Federal funds during President
Roosevelt's New Deal proved too alluring for even the conservative Atkinson to avoid when it became
clear MSC needed further housing for its rising number of female students. With a $214,000 loan from the
Public Works Administration, MSC constructed a dormitory complex in 1934 on a newly-acquired block at
the northeast corner of campus. Designed by MSC’s favorite architect of the era, Fred F. Willson, the
Quadrangle (now Atkinson Quadrangle) consisted of three Jacobethan Revival style buildings facing an
interior courtyard. Designed as living space, the Quadrangle did not require the strict academic
associations of Willson’s earlier Italian Renaissance Revival buildings. Yet MSC still turned to an
architectural language based in European architecture and the resulting Jacobethan Revival style, also
used for the 1939 Student Union, evoked the feeling of a medieval English countryside estate. The
Exponent, MSC’s school newspaper, proudly claimed the buildings as "the only ones of their kind in the
United States. Northwestern and a few other educational institutions possess similar facilities for group
housing but no other dormitories boast the added convenience of central kitchen service."86 Although
Atkinson’s compromise of political convictions to build the Quadrangle was commendable, his refusal to
pursue additional federal assistance significantly delayed MSC’s dormitory program, creating a desperate
housing situation during World War II and the immediate postwar era.
While major campus development slowed during the second half of Atkinson’s presidency, smaller
projects completed by MSC faculty, staff and students multiplied. In 1930 for instance, MSC’s school
newspaper, the Exponent, reported, “during the summer months the Horticultural Department of Montana
State College has spent a great deal of time in improving the campus,” with projects including further
work on the Iris Garden south of Herrick Hall, the removal of “old board curbing,” throughout campus,
construction of a cinder parking lot behind the Engineering Building and improvements to the Gatton
82 Ibid., 60.; Rydell, 35.
83 Sanford, Draft National Register Nomination, 1990.
84 Ibid.
85 Burlingame, 72.
86 Dena Sanford, “Atkinson Quadrangle,” Montana Historic Property Record Form, 1990. Edited by Jessie Nunn,
2012.
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Athletic Field.87 Financing through a fundraising drive by the Associated Women Students (A.W.S.)
funded the Iris Garden, located south of Herrick Hall and designed by MSC architectural professor, H. C.
Cheever. The circular plaza was paved with fieldstone and designed around a small sculpted sundial
donated by the Class of 1920. Gatton Field, named in honor of Cyrus J. Gatton, a MSC football standout
and World War I fighter pilot killed during a mission in France, was completed in about 1929 immediately
north of Romney Gymnasium in accordance with the 1917 Carsley / Gilbert Campus plan. Gatton's
mother provided funding for the Gatton Memorial Gate in 1930. The gate, designed by MSC Supervising
Architect, William R. Plew, originally sat east of Gatton Field and served as a formal entrance to its grass
parking lot.88 Such small-scale projects were important in lifting campus morale during the early years of
the Great Depression and the survival and recent revitalization of the Iris Garden and Gatton Field Gate
are a testament to the significance of symbolic gestures within the campus landscape.
Near the close of President Atkinson’s tenure in 1936, the College grew to include 1,268 students, 125 of
which graduated that spring. The Class of 1936 continued to reflect Hamilton’s vision of a “high grade
technical college.” Forty-three students received degrees in engineering, 15 in agriculture, 32 in home
economics / secretarial, 20 in the sciences, 7 in applied art and 8 in applied sciences (humanities / social
sciences). The curriculum also continued to be divided largely along gender lines, with woman comprising
only 34% of the Class of 1936. All engineering and agriculture graduates were men, and all but four home
economics / secretarial students were women. The “applied” arts and sciences also displayed
segregation, with one man and one woman in each, respectively. Only the sciences (botany/bacteriology,
chemistry, zoology, entomology) could be considered truly co-educational, with 12 men and 8 women.
While race is a self-defined classification, few could argue that the Class of 1936 overwhelming reflected
students of Euro-American decent after reviewing that year’s Montanan (MSC’s Yearbook). This mirrored
Montana’s population for the most part—and remarkably Montanans comprised all but 3 graduates—but
a significant number of minorities, especially Native Americans, who made up 3% of the State’s
population, remained unrepresented within the MSC community.89
A. L. Strand replaced Atkinson in the summer of 1937. An alumnus of MSC with an undergraduate
degree in entomology, Strand returned in 1931 to take over that department after completing graduate
work and serving as an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota. Strand largely continued the
tradition of Hamilton and Atkinson, stating in his inaugural address, “We must maintain and continue our
good record as a scientific and technical school. Our future to no small extent is bound up with the Great
Plains problems and wholesome prosperity can come only through its successful solution.”90 Strand
moved quickly to meet one of the College’s most pressing needs, a Student Union. The State Legislature
approved the construction of student unions at all of Montana’s colleges in 1933, but MSC’s application
for funding through the New Deal’s Public Works Administration was rejected on two separate occasions
during the mid-1930s. By 1938, however, Strand moved forward with construction of the building, with or
without federal assistance. MSC initiated a $5 per quarter student building fee to fund the building and
hired Fred F. Willson to draw up plans and specifications. The resulting Jacobethan in style Student
Union Building bore a close similarity to the 1934 Quadrangle. The new building immediately became the
“living room” of campus and included a lounge, game room, card tables, soda machine, ping pong, radio
and piano.91 After seven successful years, Strand left Bozeman to become President of Oregon State
University. He left MSC in the hands of long-time engineering professor William Cobleigh, who, as Acting
President, faced an immediate challenge in World War II.
87 “Make Campus Improvements,” Weekly Exponent, c. September, 1930, in “The Rise of the Iris Gardens: MSU
Danforth Park Revisited, 1929-2009.” University Records, A-470a.
88 Dena Sanford, “Gatton Field Gate,” Montana Historic Property Record Form, 1990.
89 1936 Montanan, 27-32.
90 Burlingame, 83.
91 Dena Sanford, “Strand Student Union,” Montana Historic Property Record Form, 1990. Edited by Jessie Nunn,
2013.
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World War II and Post-War Expansion (1942-1964)
Like World War I, the Second World War continued to impact Montana State long after the end of
hostilities in 1945. In the short-term, however, MSC again became a military training ground with 500
soldiers from the Army Air Force Training Command arriving on campus in March of 1943. Enrolment
dropped by 16.7 percent, although thanks to MSC’s status as a technical school it fared better than
Montana’s other colleges, and, for the first time, surpassed the University in Missoula.92 The war also
impacted the curriculum. An even greater emphasis was placed on engineering with the Engineering,
Science, and Management Defense Training Program (ESMDT), a federal program which sought to,
“supply the armed forces and the nation’s industries with trained personnel,” and increase industrial
production by as much as 3,000 percent.93 Courses in flight navigation and meteorology, auto mechanics,
and welding were also added, and, somewhat surprisingly, the humanities and sciences saw an uptick in
enrollment as military trainees were required to take survey courses in physics, mathematics, history,
geography and English.94 The nursing, agriculture and home economics departments were also put into
greater service during the war effort. No matter how severe the impact of the War on MSC—in both the
loss of students and changes to its curriculum and campus—it could not match what followed. With the
passage of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (the G.I. Bill) in June of 1944, which provided tuition for
World War II veterans, all of the nation’s colleges experienced a period of exponential growth that only
continued with the maturation of the “Baby Boom” generation in the 1960s. An increase in the percentage
of young people attending college, due to more favorable economic and social conditions after World War
II, also lay at the heart of MSC’s unprecedented growth.95 While enrollment fell briefly from its all-time
high of 3,165 in 1947, it never again reached prewar levels and by 1960 stood at almost 4,000.96
Montana State selected an ambitious young President in the fall of 1943 as its guide through the end of
World War II and the expansion that followed.97 In contrast to his predecessors, 37-year old Ronald R.
Renne, then head of MSC’s agricultural economics department, was an unabashed liberal. Completing
his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin in 1930, Renne adhered to the progressive “Wisconsin
philosophy” on public education that developed there and at other Midwestern land-grant universities
during the early 20th century. Just like Hamilton’s “Education for Efficiency,” Renne’s philosophy called
heavily upon the idea of service, but in place of specialization it called for breadth. In his book, The
Transformation of the School: Progressivism in American Education, 1876-1957, historian, Lawrence A.
Cremlin, notes the Wisconsin philosophy required the public university to “remain hospitable to every form
of creative endeavor in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the practical arts,” and to reach “as
large a segment of the population as possible.”98 Renne echoed this sentiment in his inaugural address,
stating it was time for “a more realistic appreciation of the values of the humanistic-social science subjects
and the improvement of all our services in the interests of serving the general welfare.”99 To achieve his
goal of a broader curriculum and to meet the needs of a growing student population, Renne recognized
the necessity of an expansion of the faculty and the campus. Between 1945 and 1950, the faculty grew
from 132 to 257, with a vast majority of new-hires coming from land-grant institutions, especially MSC
and, reflecting Renne’s background, Midwestern schools like the Universities of Wisconsin, Minnesota,
Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois.100 In 1945, the new President developed a wish list of buildings, which
92 Burlingame, 87-88.
93 Rydell, 56.
94 Burlingame, 88-89.
95 “MSC Looks Ahead: Increasing Birth Rates, Population Growth and Greater Demands for Higher Education Create
Problems” The Montana Collegian, Jan. 1954, 3.
96 Montana State University Website, “Enrollment History.”
97 Burlingame, 182 and 184. Renne became Acting President on September 1, 1943 and was installed as President
on April 10, 1945.
98 Rydell, 60.
99 Burlingame, 184.
100 Rydel, 64.
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included men’s and women’s residence halls, an addition to the 1922 Chemistry Building (Traphagen
Hall), a Science and Mathematics Building, a new service shop, a health center and a library. It is a
tribute to his perseverance that all of the new construction he proposed in 1945, and more, occurred by
the time he left office in 1964 to run for the Montana governorship.101
While pressing housing and classroom issues at MSC followed World War II, there was at least some
space available thanks to a bevy of trailers and prefabricated buildings brought to campus with monies
earned for hosting military training activities during the war.102 What MSC really needed was a library.
Perhaps due to the longstanding insistence that it was a “technical school,” MSC lagged behind
comparable institutions in library development, including the University of Montana at Missoula and the
University of Wyoming. Both Universities constructed library buildings during their post-World War I
expansion, but MSC continued to house its main collection on the second floor of Montana Hall through
World War II. Fortunately, Montana finally found itself in a favorable financial position after World War II,
with a surplus of building funds to put toward the first state-funded permanent construction at MSC since
the 1920s. The MCS Library Committee called for a T-shaped building described as “complete functional
simplicity, no waste[d] space, no ornate materials or decorations,” in keeping with their idea that “modern
libraries are to facilitate the use of books and other library materials in quiet, restful surroundings.” They
received a $400,000 three-story, brick-clad building with a full basement, designed in a simplified
Renaissance Revival style by Fred F. Willson. Disappointingly, construction of the second wing never
occurred due to lack of funds.103
Despite the proliferation of temporary buildings on campus, a great need for classroom, laboratory and
research space existed. Luckily, Montanans—many of whom were experiencing their own postwar
boom—increased their investment in higher education in 1948. That year they voted to increase the mill
levy for higher education from 3.5 mills to 6 mills and to fund a $5 million bond issue for buildings on all of
Montana’s campuses.104 An argument over which college deserved what amount of money, however,
ensued and by the time funds were finally allocated in 1952, MSC’s $1.55 million failed to stretch nearly
as far as anticipated due to inflation. Still, the College moved forward with six construction projects: two
greenhouses, an addition to the 1922 Engineering Shops (Ryon Labs), an addition to the 1909
Agricultural Building (Linfield Hall), a Veterinary Research Building (McCall Hall), a new Service Shop
(Plew Building), and a Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall).105 The Veterinary Research Building
(1952), addition to Linfield Hall (1953) and the Math-Physics Building (1954) represent the first large-
scale examples of Modern architecture on the MSC campus.106 The style remained popular through the
MSU Historic District’s period of significance, after which Late Modern stylistic movements gained
momentum. Of the buildings constructed with the 1948 Bond Issue, the Math-Physics Building and
Service Shops (1952) yielded the greatest impact on campus. Prior to their completion, the stone 1896
Veterinary Building (Engineering Laboratory / Mathematics Building) housed the Math Department and
the Physics Department sat in the basement of the Montana Hall Annex, a frame building moved to
campus from a nearby mine in 1947. A frame building immediately west of the Mathematics Building
housed the Service Shops. The new buildings allowed for the removal of their predecessors, while also
opening sites for future construction.107
In early 1954, President Renne told the Montana Collegian, “the greatest single need at MSC right now is
dormitory space,” and, “enrollment at MSC is even now below what it should be because of insufficient
101 Burlingame, 200.
102 Rydell, 63.
103 Dena Sanford, “Renne Library,” Montana Historic Property Record Form, 1990. Edited by Jessie Nunn, 2013.
104 Burlingame, 186.
105 Ibid., 189-190.
106 The small 1952 Danforth Chapel was MSC’s first (and one of its best) examples of Modern architecture. (See
“Criterion C” section for further discussion).
107 Jessie Nunn, “A.J.M. Johnson Hall,” and “Plew Building,” Montana Historic Property Records Forms, 2013.
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dormitory space.”108 The State, however, remained unwilling to fund the construction of dormitories,
viewed as income-producing properties.109 The colleges sought other public and private funding for
dormitories. As MSU historian, Merrill G. Burlingame explains, President Renne called for an “open end”
financing plan, in which “all revenue producing buildings, including dormitories and the student union, as
well as student building fees were grouped together, with all bonds sharing the same revenue. This made
the bonds more attractive to buyers and larger amounts could be borrowed at lower interest rates.”110
Under this financing program, MSC constructed a series of Modern style low-rise dormitories at the north
end of campus, including Lewis and Clark Hall (1955), Hannon Hall (1955), Hapner Hall (1959) and
Langford Hall (1960). Lewis and Clark Hall (now the Johnstone Center) served as MSC’s first permanent
men’s dormitory, and housed up to 600 students and fed even more with its full kitchen and two dining
halls. Langford Hall, a 408 student men’s dormitory constructed immediately to the west just five years
later, shared its dining facilities. Even though two women’s dormitories (Hamilton Hall and the Atkinson
Quadrangle) already existed, many female students still lived in substandard postwar Quonset huts
during the early 1950s. Hannon Hall and Hapner Hall, both constructed in the women’s cluster at the
northeast corner of campus, relieved this situation by providing housing and dining services for 608
women. While these dormitories greatly improved living conditions at MSC, enrollment increased so
quickly that more campus housing was necessary by the mid-1960s.111
At the beginning of his presidency, Renne also included a new basketball fieldhouse on his facilities wish
list. Montana State’s basketball program had achieved impressive success beginning with the “Golden
Bobcats” of the 1920s. Under Coach Otto Romney, MSC was one of a handful of teams to pioneer
“racehorse basketball,” which featured the “fastbreak,” and the Bobcats were declared national
champions by the Helms Foundation during the 1928-1929 season. By the 1950s, Romney Gymnasium
could no longer accommodate the successful program and Renne saw an opportunity to create
something special at MSC. With the successful sale of revenue bonds in 1953, Renne could move
forward with his vision, which Bozeman architects O. Berg Jr. and Fred F. Willson brought to life in their
1956 design. The size and modernity of the new fieldhouse, however, stretched the imaginations—or, in
some opinions, credulity—of many Montanans. When its design was revealed to the public in January of
1957, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported, “architect Ozzie Berg has planned a building as new as the
day after tomorrow.” Upon completion in 1958, the fieldhouse represented Bozeman’s first (and possibly
only) architectural wonder: its 90’ tall and 300’ round arena was, at the time, the largest wooden dome
structure in the world. With a seating capacity listed at 8,400, the fieldhouse was intended to be more
than just a basketball venue. Now known as the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, the impressive structure has
hosted a wide variety of events including the 1960 world middleweight boxing championship (Fullmer vs.
Giardello), the National College Rodeo Finals, high school basketball and volleyball tournaments, track
meets and countless other concerts, shows and events.112
Completion of the fieldhouse was a major victory, but MSC faced a steep challenge in the ultra-
conservative policies of Governor Nutter (1960-1962), who already had an antagonistic relationship with
Renne. With support from a conservative House of Representatives, Nutter pushed through cuts to higher
education, in addition to a number of other social programs, resulting in overall cuts of 2.8%. Steep as
108 “MSU Looks Ahead,” The Montana Collegian, Jan. 1954, 4.
109 Burlingame, 186, 189-190.
110 Burlingame, 190.
111 Jessie Nunn, “Lewis and Clark Hall,” “Hannon Hall,” “Hapner Hall,” Montana Historic Property Record Forms,
2012; Diana J. Painter, “Langford Hall,” Montana Property Record Form, 2010.
112 Montana State University, “Bobcat Athletic Traditions,” (compiled from Rydell), Website accessed online
10/10/2013; Setterberg, “Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, 50 Years and Going Strong,” in Mountain & Minds: The Montana
State University Magazine, Spring 2007, Accessed online, 10/10/2013. The Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (25GA1795)
currently lies outside the southern boundary of the MSU Historic District, due to a decline in the concentration of
historic resources south of Grant Street. It may, however, contribute to an expanded district in the future.
Unfortunately, the structure has previously been determined individually ineligible for National Register listing
because of integrity issues. For more contact the Montana State Historic Preservation Office.
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these overall cuts appeared, they paled in comparison to the 34% and 51% cuts levied against the
Experiment Station and Extension Service, respectively.113 The tragic death of Governor Nutter in a 1962
airplane crash spared the University system further deep cuts, but the 1960s remained a difficult period
from a funding standpoint.114 Even so, new building construction during the early 1960s continued,
including a massive addition to the Library and a new Chemistry Building (Gaines Hall). Following a
financing plan initiated with Reid Hall (Classroom Building) in 1959, shells for each building were
constructed in anticipation of later funding. The initial construction of these “shells” largely bypassed the
State, and depended on monies raised though a fundraising campaign administered by the Alumni
Foundation and the Endowment and Research Foundation.115 Completion of Gaines Hall eventually
occurred in 1967 through research grants, and state funds completed the Library Addition. Renne also
turned to the federal government for construction financing during this period. Erection of the 1960
Medical Sciences Research Building (Cooley Laboratories) occurred with a grant from the Department of
Health, Education and Welfare’s National Institutes of Health.116 The building’s construction represented a
rise in the volume and prominence of grant-funded research activities at MSC.
While more students enrolled at MSC in the 1950s, their demographic makeup changed little since the
1930s, although enrollment in the “sciences” made significant inroads. The Class of 1959 included 514
graduates: 64 from the School Agriculture (all men), 58 from the School of Architecture and Applied Arts
(28 women); 72 from the School of Education (38 women); 179 from the School of Engineering (1
woman) and 141 from the School of Science (65 women). Somewhat surprisingly, the percentage of
women in the Class of 1959 represented only 20%, a 14% drop from the class of 1936. Signs of the
social changes brought about by World War II, however, were visible. Harriett Winfrey received a degree
in Engineering and Hind L. Chaney, Jr., an African-American graduate in Education, was selected as a
“Senior Personality.”117 By the 1960s, the social upheaval spreading across the nation impacted MSC
students as well, although not to the extent witnessed at more liberal schools, including the University of
Montana in Missoula.118 In the earlier part of the decade this included student support of literary critic
Leslie Fielder when denied a speaking engagement at MSC, political engagement during the budgetary
debates of 1961, and throwing off the outdated social rules still governing campus behavior (freshmen
hazing, required military training, dress codes, etc.).119 Campus unrest, however, continued to escalate
throughout the decade with tension surrounding the Vietnam War at the forefront. Despite the unrest,
conservative President Leon H. Johnson, who replaced Renne in 1964, remained optimistic about the
nation’s youth. “If students are concerned about war and peace, about the state of our cities, about racial
injustice, about education and opportunity,” he wrote in his 1968 President’s report, “we are indeed
fortunate, because they represent a bright hope for the future.”120
Montana State University, (1965 – Present)
The award of its first “bachelor of arts” degrees in History and English in 1963 provided a symbolic boost
to Montana State’s evolution from college to university, a change Renne pushed for during his
administration. Within the next five years, four more Bachelor of Arts degrees in Modern Languages,
Music, Government and Philosophy were added, along with three “social” Bachelor of Science degrees in
Sociology, Economics and Psychology.121 Enrollment also continued to grow alongside the curriculum
113 Burlingame, 194.
114 Rydell, 87.
115 Burlingame, 192.
116 Jessie Nunn, “Cooley Laboratories,” Montana Historic Property Records Form, 2013.
117 Montana State College. 1959 Montanan, in-passim.
118 Rydell, 101.
119 Rydell, 102.
120 Leon Johnson, “Montana State University...Ideals Toward a New Tomorrow: The President’s Report. Montana
State University, Bozeman, MT, 1968, 10.
121 Ibid., 197.
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and the “low-rise” dormitories at the north end of campus quickly proved insufficient. Between 1958 and
1964, enrollment increased by 1,381 students and the College estimated an increase of an additional 891
students in the next two years. With only 102 residential vacancies on campus in 1963, the need for
student housing was immediate and MSC moved forward with an ambitious plan to house and feed 1,200
students with two high-rise dormitories and a central food service hall.122 The massive scale—the
proposed dormitories would be the state’s tallest buildings—and modern design of the new residential
complex came to represent the transition of campus from Montana State College to Montana State
University (MSU), a name change approved by the State Legislature in 1965.123 The front cover of the
1968 President’s Report, which celebrated the diamond anniversary of Montana State University,
featured the Hedges Complex (1964-1967), along with the nearby Roskie Hall (1967).
Reflecting on the tremendous change at Montana State during the postwar period, President Leon H.
Johnson wrote in his 1968 Report, “Montana State University…Ideas Toward a New Tomorrow”:
People who have been away from Montana State University for a while say they scarcely recognize
the place…Obviously, the appearance of campus has changed in this age of high-rise construction.
But more than the skyline has been altered at MSU. A closer look reveals a change in the flavor, even
the nature of this institution as it enters its 75th year. For in the space of little more than a decade, the
school has gone from a small land-grant college, emphasizing agriculture and engineering, to a full-
spectrum university enrolling some 7,000 students.124
Johnson also outlined more changes on the horizon for MSU in 1968, for both the curriculum and the
campus. To stay “relevant,” (which replaced “efficiency” as the school’s philosophy), many departments
shifted direction, or at least changed names. Horticulture, for instance, became Recreation Area
Management and the College of Sciences was now the College of Letters and Science, indicating the
recent rise of the humanities and social sciences at MSU. The addition to the curriculum of new fields,
such as Computer Science and Community Planning, also occurred. At the end of the MSU Historic
District’s period of historical significance in 1967, the small agricultural school founded seventy-four years
earlier had, indeed, become a full-fledged University with 34 degree programs organized under five
Colleges (Engineering, Agriculture, Education, Letters and Science and Professional Schools).125
To support MSU’s evolving educational mission, Johnson also announced an ambitious building
campaign to create a permanent and walkable campus. While Johnson, who died in 1969, never lived to
see the completion of his plan, the following buildings were completed by 1975: married student housing
(Peter Koch and Nelson Story Towers, 1968), located off the main campus, Engineering Science Building
(Cobleigh Hall, 1970), Nursing Building (Sherrick Hall, 1973), Life Sciences Building (Leon H. Johnson
Hall, 1973), Classroom-Office Building (Wilson Hall, 1974) and the Creative Arts Complex (Cheever,
Hayes and Howard Halls, 1974), located across S. 11th Avenue from the MSU Historic District on the site
of the original college farm. The 1968-1974 Building Campaign also brought an end to MSU’s remaining
temporary buildings and led to the eventual abandonment of most city streets bisecting campus. While
the campaign resulted in some lamentable losses, most notably in open space associated with the 1917
Carsley / Gilbert Campus Plan, it undeniably brought Montana State University into the modern era. Since
that time (1974), only three major buildings have been added to the core area of campus: the Visual
Communications Building and its Black Box Theater Addition (1983, 2007), the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Building (EPS Building 1997), which replaced the Engineering Shops (Ryon Laboratories), and
the Chemistry and Biochemistry Building (2007). All of the buildings constructed after the MSU’s period of
historical significance are—just like their predecessors—excellent examples of their styles, which include
Late Modern movements such as Brutalism and Postmodernism and more contemporary late 20th and
122 Jessie Nunn, “Hedges Complex,” Montana Historic Property Record Form, 2013.
123 Burlingame, 203 and 208.
124 Leon Johnson, “President’s Report,” 1968, 4.
125 Ibid., 6-7.
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early 21st century styles, as well as being importantly associated with significant trends in the continued
development of the University.
The 2012-2013 school year witnessed an enrollment of 14,660 students pursuing bachelor’s degrees in
60 fields, master’s degrees in 45 fields and doctoral degrees in 20 fields. The College of Letters and
Sciences leads enrollment with 3,549 students, followed by the College of Engineering (2,768), College of
Education and HHD (1,802), College of Arts and Architecture (1,348), University College (1,331), Jake
Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship (1,197) College of Agriculture (1,007), College of Nursing
(967), Graduate School (280), and Gallatin College (228), with another 183 students enrolled in “other”
programs. Women and ethnic minorities now comprise 47% and 15% of the student population,
respectively. Sixty-one percent of students hale from Montana, 36% come from out-of-state, and 3% are
international students. Fifty-eight administrators, including MSU’s first woman president, Dr. Waded
Cruzado, 1,154 faculty member and 1,900 staff members serve the student population. In 1994,
Montana’s colleges consolidated into two “umbrella” units represented by Montana State University in
Bozeman and the University of Montana in Missoula. Montana State University—Billings and City
College, Montana State University—Northern at Havre and Great Falls College—MSU are currently
affiliated with MSU. While the humanities and social sciences continue to grow at MSU, it still excels in
the sciences and engineering. In 2006, MSU received a “top-tier” ranking in scientific and engineering
research from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, placing it on par with several
Ivy League schools and leading public institutions, and ahead of most schools in the Mountain West
region.126
Postscript: Alumni
“Alumni: Ultimate proof of the University’s worth” declared President Johnson in his 1968 report, and truly,
it is through their contributions to society that MSU achieves its historical significance in the area of
education. While too numerous to discuss here (MSU awarded 105,519 degrees between 1895 and
2012), it is worth noting that a list of alumni was included in many MSU publications over the years
including President Hamilton’s 1911 Catalog, “Education for Efficiency” and the aforementioned 1968
President’s report.127 Early alumni worked as engineers, agricultural specialists, college and high school
instructors and managers. Not surprisingly, many stayed in Montana after earning degrees. Examples
include Ruth Flagler (1911) who taught sewing at Butte High School and Bert Hind (1906), superintendent
of the Madison River Power Company’s Norris Power Plant. A surprising number, however, moved away
after graduation. Ralph Benton and Ermine Potter, both 1906 graduates in agriculture, went on to teach
agriculture at the University of California and Oregon State, respectively, and Edna Vreeland (1909) went
on to manage the cafeteria at the Spokane Y.W.C.A. By 1968, MSU was more selective in recognizing its
alumni, but made sure to note, “There are many others who could and should be cited, if space would
allow.” Those that merited mention included Lysle A. Wood (Vice-President, Boeing Company), C. L.
Hogan (Vice-President, Motorola, Inc.), Dr. Robert Shennum (satellite design director at Bell Telephone
Laboratories), Dr. Carl L. Larson (research in Tuberculosis vaccine), Dr. Herman J. Almquist (co-discover
of Vitamin K), Dr. Maurice Hilleman (research in German Measles vaccine), Coit A. Suneson (Agronomist,
research in plant breeding), Dr. A. L. Strand (President, Montana State University and Oregon State
University) and Peter Voulkos (sculptor and ceramics artist). The report also proudly reported that 55% of
MSU graduates (some 22,000 individuals) stayed in Montana, “contributing their talents to the betterment
of this state.”
126 Evelyn Boswell, “MSU Rises to Top Tier of Research Universities,” MSU News Service, 3/17/2006. Accessed
online 7/8/2013.
127 Montana State University. “Quick Facts, Degrees Awarded,” Website accessed online, 7/8/2013; MSU. 1968
President’s Report, 22; MSU. 1911 Catalog, 13.
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National Register Criterion A (Area of Significance: Agriculture)
The Agricultural Experiment Station and Extension Service128
The expansion of Montana State University’s influence throughout the State is intimately associated with
its role in the evolution of Montana’s agricultural industry. As historian Merrill G. Burlingame explains in
his 1968 history of MSU:
When Montana State opened in 1893, the teaching mission was only one of its interests. Another
was that of agricultural research, and the Experiment Station began operations at the same time.
The desire of people to share in the results of the research grew quickly. The influence of the
nationwide Farmer’s Institutes soon led the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, which established the
Extension Service, and the land-grant educational pattern was complete.129
Montana’s Agricultural Experiment Station quickly began disseminating information to the public through
the publication of a series of “press bulletins,” and participation in Farmers’ Institutes. Early bulletins
provided information on a wide variety of subjects, including smuts of wheat, the use of summer fallow
practices to control weeds, pig feeding, horse ailments, irrigation and orchard development.130 Early
results of field experiments at the College farm led to great optimism among Experiment Station staff.
Director Samuel Fortier, for instance, reported in 1900, “This state has been one of the last to develop its
agricultural resources, but having now made a good start in this direction we believe that few states in the
Union will be able to keep pace with it.”131 His prediction soon came to fruition, until the agricultural boom
turned to a bust after World War I.
The passage of two significant pieces of federal legislation—the Enlarged Homestead Act of 1909, which
increased the size of homestead plots from 160 to 320 acres, and the Three Year Act of 1912, which
decreased the number of years required to prove up on a homestead claim—served as a catalyst for a
homesteading boom on the arid plains of eastern and northern Montana. In the dozen years between
1910 and 1922, homesteaders settled 42%, or 93 million acres, of the entire area of the state. And,
although more than 80% of that area was unfit for crop agriculture, Montana's total wheat acreage
increased from 258,000 acres in 1909 to 3,417,000 acres in 1919.132 Appropriately timed, the Smith-Lever
Cooperative Extension Act of 1914 opened the way for funneling federal appropriations through land
grant colleges, under joint supervision and control of the Department of Agriculture and the institutions
themselves. The purpose of the Extension Service was "to aid in diffusing among the people of the United
States useful and practical information on the subjects of agriculture and home economics, and
encourage the application of the same."133 Underlying this practical advice lay the philosophy of
"progressivism," which maintained that farmers who streamlined farm management through the utilization
of scientific methods, such as mechanization, efficiency and capital-intensive production, were most
capable and deserving of attaining financial success. Together, the Experiment Station and Extensive
Service were poised to offer pertinent advice on numerous progressive-era agricultural policies at the
very moment such advice was needed. Combined, these policies radically altered the character of
agriculture in Montana and, in the process, significantly altered the state's history.134
128 This section is adapted from the 1995 Draft Multiple Property National Register Nomination for “Historical and
Architectural Resources of Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana,” by Derek Strahn of the Bozeman Historic
Preservation Office.
129 Burlingame, 128.
130 Ibid, 130-131.
131 Ibid, 131.
132 Joseph Kinsey Howard, Montana: High, Wide and Handsome, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1943, 169,
133 Burlingame, 161.
134 James R. McDonald, et. al. “Bozeman Historic Resource Survey,” for the Bozeman City-County Planning Board,
n.p. August 1984, 93-94; Burlingame, 165-66.
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Thus, although Bozeman's Agricultural College did little to initiate Montana's early-20th century homestead
boom, it played a pivotal role in its promotion and sustainability—at least while it lasted. As homesteaders
began to settle in eastern and northern Montana at the turn of the century, Huntley (1910), Fort
Assiniboine (1913), Miles City (1924) and various other locations throughout the state established branch
experiment stations.135 These branch stations offered onsite technical advice and relayed current
information through public lectures and demonstration picnics. Through these and other means the
branch stations gradually spread the gospel of scientific farm management across Montana's semi-arid
plains. As the railroads stood to profit from increased settlement and agricultural activity in rural Montana,
they developed a powerful alliance with MSC, which provided another method of distributing information.
The Northern Pacific Railroad, for instance, gave the Experiment Station $2,500 to "test the methods of
cultivation and the kinds of crops that would give the largest returns on the bench lands of the state
without irrigation.”136 In 1912, the Northern Pacific initiated a more direct approach, running a nine-car
train from Wibaux to Plains, Montana from which 18 Bozeman instructors disseminated information to
more than 28,000 farmers on dryland cultivation, crop supplements, stockraising, irrigation and other
techniques. Soon the Great Northern and Milwaukee Road followed suit, and by 1913 the Extension
Service reported that 272 sessions of various types had been held in eastern and northern Montana.137
The Extension Service formed the same year that World War I broke out in Europe, and it proved a useful
organization in Montana during the war years. The immediate demand for increased food production
motivated the Department of Agriculture to secure a $4,348,000 appropriation from Congress toward
further development of the Extension Service "in cooperation with the agricultural colleges of the several
states,"—a development which enabled MSC to expand its extension staff and services even further.138
The Extension Service's wartime agenda focused on three major areas: agricultural instruction aimed at
increasing crop production, conservation of food and development of an understanding of Allied aims and
the inoculation of loyalty and national pride. The increase in activity was incredible. In 1916, 107 meetings
attracted 17,971 people, but just one year later the number of meetings jumped to 443 with a total
attendance of 98,538.139 Together, Montana's homestead boom and the war effort dramatically expanded
the power and influence of MSC throughout Montana. Conversely, their relative success could, in large
measure, be attributed to the state's leading agricultural institution.
Of course, on the Great Plains a bust follows each boom. In 1919, plummeting postwar wheat prices and
an extreme drought resulted in the abandonment of 1,391,000 acres of land. By 1925, almost half of the
farms in Montana were lost to mortgage foreclosure, causing another two million more acres to fall out of
production and an estimated 60,000 people to leave Montana.140 In response to these depressed
conditions, the Experiment Station, under the direction of M. L. Wilson, advocated specialization in one or
two crops, the use of summer fallow, increased mechanization and organized land units. Throughout the
1920s, the statewide influence of the institution waned slightly and only seven new Extension agents
were hired.141 With the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, however, Montana State’s influence
rebounded. As the administrative agency for the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), the
College became Montana's principle actor in Roosevelt's New Deal farm policy. As "the largest civilian
government effort in the history of the world," the AAA served thousands of Montana farmers and
ranchers, many of whom participated as part-time administrators of the program in conjunction with the
College's representative, the county agent.142 The presence of an extension agent in each county, and
135 Burlingame, 152-157.
136 Burlingame, 130-131.
137 Ibid., 159-160.
138 Ibid., 157.
139 Ibid., 158.
140 Ibid., 133.
141 Ibid., 140.
142 William D. Rowley, M. L. Wilson and the Campaign for the Domestic Allotment, Lincoln: University of Nebraska
Press, 1970, 15-25.
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MSC’s ability to offer technical solutions to agricultural problems, underscored its role as "de facto capital"
of rural Montana."143
During and after World War II, the Experiment Station and Extension Service continued to build upon the
roles they defined over the previous three decades. Popular wartime programs in intensive crop
production, agricultural mechanization and food conservation became part and parcel of the patriotic
mood of the day. Following the war, Branch Experiment Stations opened in Creston and Sidney and
research at Bozeman continued to address agricultural problems across the State.144 For instance,
Experiment Station staff developed four new varieties of livestock forage in the 1960s, and disease
control studies through the Extension Service during the 1950s resulted in Montana receiving “modified
certified” status for bovine brucellosis in 1963 and “hog cholera-free” status in 1966.145 Both programs
also continued to provide social services with rural health and education initiatives, including the
administration of Montana’s 4-H program, which engaged 14,701 young people by 1967.146
National Register Criterion A (Area of Significance: Community Planning & Development)
Campus, City and Countryside147
Although the establishment of Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley occurred prior to the creation of Montana
State University, the growth and development of one directly related to the others after 1893. The
founding of MSU served in many respects, as the fulfillment of an ongoing, feverish process of
community-building that characterized Bozeman since its less-than-flamboyant founding more than three
decades earlier.148 Thus, aside from being the largest employer in the Gallatin Valley and the most
significant source of economic revenues, the University played a profoundly important role in the
community's historic identity throughout its steady evolution. Conversely, the growth and popularization of
Bozeman directly impacted University enrollments and funding. For these reasons, the development of
the campus, city and countryside cannot be viewed separately.
Montana's attainment of statehood in 1889, and the city’s subsequent four-year bid with five other cities
for the coveted capital location served as the main stimulus behind Bozeman's rapid metamorphosis into
a cosmopolitan environment, which ultimately resulted in the establishment of Montana State
University.149 Although a great deal of time and money went into the capital bid, when Helena finally
received the coveted designation, Bozeman's economic and political elite displayed little discouragement.
The Bozeman Weekly Chronicle positively asserted, "The capital contest has been the means of
attracting favorable attention to Bozeman and the money spent is by no means wasted," and that if the
city received a public institution, it "lost nothing by its capital aspirations."150 The Chronicle's hopeful
proclamations soon came to fruition. Almost overnight, the city's economic and political elite shifted their
sights to the land grant college as an alternative means of establishing their place in the nation's cultural
landscape. With the founding of the Agricultural College of the State of Montana on February 16, 1893,
Bozeman certainly raised its profile within the state, if not the nation.
The founding of MSU coincided with the Panic of 1893, and like most communities in Montana, it
dramatically impacted Bozeman by the depression that followed. The community's oldest newspaper, The
Avant Courier, for example, discontinued its long lists of "town improvements" and noted that real estate
143 McDonald, 111-112.
144 Burlingame, 156.
145 Ibid., 143 and 173.
146 Ibid., 143 and 165.
147 This section is adapted from the 1995 Draft Multiple Property National Register Nomination for “Historical and
Architectural Resources of Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana,” by Derek Strahn of the Bozeman Historic
Preservation Office.
148 Rydell, 4.
149 McDonald, 53-89.
150 "Bozeman's Bid for the Capital," Heritage Preservation News 1:20 (Summer/Fall 1994): 2.
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developments were "few and far between."151 However, once the depression subsided, Bozeman entered
a period of renewed prosperity and local transformation, both reflected in and facilitated by the growth of
its College. Although the young institution's land-grant status enabled it to raise funding through the sale
or leasing of its federally-granted land, the school's association with the Agricultural Experiment Station
was integral to early growth. The 1887 Hatch Act appropriated $15,000 annually for each state that
supported a station. It also provided badly needed construction money when the school moved to its
south Bozeman location in 1894. The advent of dryland farming techniques promoted by the Agriculture
Experiment Station, coupled with a localized homesteading boom in the Gallatin Valley, prompted an
increase in Bozeman's population from 3,450 in 1900 to 8,000 in 1910.152
Locally, the volume of agricultural activity in the Gallatin Valley continued to intensify between 1913 and
1929 thanks in large measure to the growth of Montana State’s Experiment Station—which encouraged
dry land farming techniques, crop diversification and the application of "industrial principles to agricultural
expansion."153 Dry land farming on the benches of the Bridger range, utilized as early as 1890, flourished
in the early 20th century due to the influence and expertise of Bozeman's Agricultural College. By 1907, a
surplus of hard milling Gallatin Valley wheat was, for the first time, available for shipments to markets
outside of Montana and over the next thirteen years grain storage capacity in the Bozeman area
increased by 1,400,000 bushels.154 In advocating the scientific management of farming, the Experiment
Station also promoted crop diversification locally, guiding changes in agricultural practices which favored
increased production of hay and the accompanying raising of livestock in the Gallatin Valley.155
Another significant local development encouraged by MSC, which ultimately transformed the social and
economic complexion of the Bozeman area, was the rapid evolution of a local pea industry. As early as
1906, Experiment Station Director and Dean of the College of Agriculture, F. B. Linfield, advocated the
cultivation of legumes in the Gallatin Valley, noting that the crop could be used for a grain as well as a
fodder and serve as an effective soil enricher.156 The idea made such practical sense that, following 1911
soil tests, 17,000 acres of peas were planted in the Valley. The obvious success of the experiment
influenced the establishment of numerous local seed pea companies and ultimately stimulated the
incorporation of the Bozeman Canning Company on North Rouse Avenue. Soon the Gallatin Valley
produced 75% of the seed peas raised in the United States and Bozeman was commonly referred to as
the "Sweet Pea Capital of the Nation."157 The industry thrived in the Gallatin Valley until the mid-1950s,
employing hundreds of local residents, especially women.158
The Great Depression, World War II, and the associated economic recovery irrevocably transformed the
character of many Montana communities. While certainly no exception, Bozeman survived this
tumultuous era better than most communities.159 Farming and ranching in the Gallatin Valley continued to
flourish during the Depression years largely because of the scientific farm management practices
promoted by Montana State and its Extension Service. Because the Bozeman area was graced by
numerous sources of water, its crops fared better than most and drought-stricken cattle were brought in
from other areas. Unemployed students flocked to Bozeman throughout the Depression and campus
enrollments jumped from 1,056 to 1,801 students—a nearly 60% increase—between 1932 and 1939. As
151 McDonald, 58.
152 Ibid., 126-127.
153 E. L. Courier, "Farm Management in the Gallatin Valley," Agriculture Experiment Bulletin 97, Bozeman, Montana:
Montana Agricultural Experiment Station, 1914, 119.
154 Francis Yager, "Cooperative County Elevators in Montana," United States Department of Agriculture Report #64,
Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1959, 1-21.
155 McDonald, 90.
156 F. B. Linfield, "The Egypt of America," The Montana Homeseeker, 1:1 (June 15, 1906), 3.
157 "Gallatin County is the Center," Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 6/27/1912, 7.
158 Anthony Gafke and Lewis Uhlrich, Interview by Derek Strahn, 7/7/1993. Bozeman, Montana.
159 McDonald, 108-111.
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housing became an even greater concern than usual, local students resourcefully arranged for the group
purchase of local residences. In 1936, female students purchased the Kenyon home at 201 South Third
Avenue, and two years later, a men's group purchased the Fisher residence at 712 South Willson
Avenue.160 Thus, more than simply furnishing employment for local residents, the college helped support
the rest of the community by generating student rental income and needed business.
The significant expansion of research, instruction and extension activities at MSC during the Great
Depression, coupled with increasing enrollments, justified new construction on campus (Gatton Field,
Atkinson Quadrangle) which, in turn, stimulated the local economy. Finally, as MSC began its
unprecedented growth after World War II—enrollment increased from 1,709 to 8,187 between 1940 and
1970—Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley grew alongside their University. Both the city and county more
than doubled in population over the same period, with Bozeman’s population reaching 18,670 in 1970
and Gallatin County’s 32,505.161
Montana State also significantly impacted the physical development of its host city’s southern edge.
South 9th Avenue between Cleveland and Garfield Streets closed in 1894, which allowed for the
construction of Montana Hall at the heart of campus two years later. Following acceptance of the 1917
Carsley / Gilbert Campus Plan, S. 8th and S. 10th Avenues curved to create Park Drive, which ran in front
of Montana Hall. This drive later closed in about 1950 and changed to a curved walk. East / west
circulation routes through the campus also closed between S. 7th and S. 11th Avenues during the period of
historical significance, including Hayes Street (c. 1905) and Arthur Street (c. 1950).162 Beginning in 1892,
the Gallatin Light, Power & Railway Company also operated a streetcar system in Bozeman, which
provided an invaluable connection between campus and community during MSC’s earliest years. “The
advent of the electric streetcar, with its even-tempered and helpful operator, Larry O’Brien,” historian
Merrill G. Burlingame explains, “was of major importance. Larry waited at street corners until laggard
students ran the last block.” According to Burlingame, “President Reid’s customary signal for the end of
each [social] affair was to remark, ‘Young people, Larry is waiting at the foot of the hill.”163 Finally, the
Montana State campus expanded beyond its original 200 acres over the course of its historical
significance, taking up city blocks and agricultural lands that might otherwise have become residential
neighborhoods. Between 1905 and 1945, MSC purchased, or otherwise obtained title to, fourteen city
blocks and portions of two others in the Capital Hill addition as it expanded to the north and east.164
National Register Criterion C (Area of Significance: Architecture)
In addition to its historical significance under Criterion A, the MSU Historic District is also eligible for listing
in the National Register under Criterion C as a collection of freestanding, high-style buildings representing
a variety of architectural styles. Contributing buildings within the historic district range in age from the
1894 Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall), which exhibits a combination of Victorian and rural
vernacular characteristics, to the Exaggerated Modern style Roskie Hall, completed in 1967. Buildings
designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, dictated by the 1917 Carsley / Gilbert Campus Plan,
and various interpretations of Modern architecture represent the most common styles on campus. Their
proliferation is indicative of the increased prosperity and building activity that followed both of the 20th
century’s World Wars. Less numerous, but of equal importance, are Collegiate Gothic, used for MSU’s
most iconic building, Montana Hall, and other forms of revivalism, including Neoclassical Revival, Spanish
160 Ibid., 114.
161 Montana State University Website, “Fall Headcount Enrollment History.”; City of Bozeman, Department of
Planning and Community Development, “Year 2001 Annual Report,” accessed online 7/6/2013.
162 Street information compiled from “Transcript Proceedings, Vacation of Streets and Alleys, Mont. State College of
Campus, City of Bozeman,” on file in MSU University Records and aerial photos and maps from 1933, 1948-1949
and 1954.
163 Burlingame, 37.
164 Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, “Land, MSU-Central Campus,” Excel Spreadsheet.
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Mission Revival and Jacobethan Revival. A discussion of each stylistic era (which generally coincides
with periods of development at MSU) and its execution on campus follows.
Late Victorian (1894 – 1904)
Encompassing the MSU Historic District’s first period of construction, surviving Victorian era architecture
on campus is limited to the Collegiate Gothic Montana Hall (Main Hall, 1896-1898) and the district’s
oldest building, Taylor Hall (Experiment Station Building, 1894). Its low occurrence, however, is not
indicative of its significance. Montana Hall, constructed on the highest point of campus, has served as the
heart of MSU since its completion in 1898.
While the early post-Civil War Victorian era was dominated by the more opulent styles of the Gilded Age,
such as Second Empire (Baroque) and High Victorian Gothic, the architecture mellowed somewhat during
the economic turmoil of the 1870s. The Gothic style, in revival since the 1820s, however, remained
popular.165 Its association with European religious structures made it a natural choice for education
facilities that, especially prior to the Civil War, were often private ecclesiastical institutions. In fact, by the
1890s, a “Collegiate Gothic” style emerged, as evidenced by its adoption at prestigious eastern colleges
including Yale, Princeton and Duke. Ralph Adams Cram, a major proponent of Gothic architecture,
explained the style’s appeal while serving as University Architect at Princeton during the early 20th
century, writing that with its use a school "was committed to the retention for all time of that collegiate
style of architecture which alone is absolutely expressive of the civilization we hold in common with
England and the ideals of liberal education.”166 Other architectural styles that either emerged or endured
during the Victorian era include Italianate, a style transported from Italy via England in the 1830s, and the
exuberant Queen Anne, used primarily for residences.
At the time of MSU’s founding in February 1893, American architecture found itself at a crossroads. The
eclectic and picturesque architecture of the post-Civil War Victorian Era remained popular, but the highly-
influential World’s Columbian Exposition opened to the public in May of 1893, re-introducing Americans to
the value of classical architecture and Beaux Arts formal planning.167 At MSU, however, formalism would
have to wait and the College’s first buildings were designed in Victorian styles. Like at many colleges
founded in 1880s and 1890s, including the Universities of Montana and Wyoming, Montana State choose
the Collegiate Gothic style for its Main Hall (Montana Hall). The style, with its religious underpinnings, was
especially appropriate for a school with heavy connections to earlier Presbyterian educational institutions
in Montana, including Bozeman’s Presbyterian Academy and the College of Montana in Deer Lodge.
Montana Hall exhibits many of the character-defining features of the style, including masonry
construction, a vertical emphasis created with steeply pitched cross-gables, dormers and a cupola,
arched window and door openings and intricate decorative brickwork and bas relief at its entrances.
For the 1894 Experiment Station and the 1896 Chemistry Building, the new college turned to other
Victorian era styles for inspiration. The Italianate style selected for the masonry Chemistry Building
emerged in the 1850s as a picturesque counterpart to the Gothic Revival style and it remained
exceedingly popular through the 1880s. With its symmetrical façade dominated by a square tower, the
Chemistry Building (destroyed by fire in 1916) served as a good example of the more restrained end of
the style. The Experiment Station Building is more difficult to classify, as it combines elements of several
Victorian styles with a more vernacular form. While sometimes placed in the Queen Anne style due to its
varied cladding materials and fenestration ornamentation, the building clearly lacks the asymmetrical
façade and undulating massing typically associated with a style reveling in the freedom of balloon
framing. In its symmetrical massing, use of dormers and half-hipped roof shape (or jerkin head), the
building is more typically associated with European and colonial architecture, particularly with Danish and
165 Mark Gelernter, A History of American Architecture: Buildings in their Cultural and Technological Context, Hanover
and London: University of New England Press, 1999, 170 and 175.
166 “The Origins of the Collegiate Gothic Style,” in “Princeton Campus: An Interactive Campus History, 1746-1996.
Website accessed online 7/7/2012 at http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/text_gothicroots.html.
167 Gelernter, 202.
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German variants. Finally, in its second story flattened arch window hoods, the Experiment Station
Building also nods to the Italianate style. Overall, the Experiment Station Building conveys a vaguely rural
feeling, as well as a feeling of substance, both appropriate to a new agricultural school.
Revivalist Styles and Academic Eclecticism (1905 – 1949)
As the favored style of the 1917 Carsley / Gilbert Campus Plan, Italian Renaissance Revival dominated
campus construction during the building boom of the 1920s. Six Revivalist Style buildings (approximately
43% of historic buildings within the MSU Historic District) remain on campus today. Prior to World War I,
MSU displayed a more eclectic approach to architectural revivalism with Neoclassical Revival and
Spanish Mission Revival buildings constructed in 1909 and 1910. After the 1920s, the domination of
Jacobethan Revival style campus architecture is evidenced by the 1934 Atkinson Quadrangle and 1939-
1940 Strand Student Union.
Academic eclecticism emerged at the end of the 19th century in response to the opulence and
“irrationality” of Victorian architecture and remained popular through the 1920s.168 Popularized at the
1893 World’s Columbian Exhibition in Chicago, Illinois, academic eclecticism was founded on the
rationalist ideas of the French École des Beaux-Arts. Architects attempted to “adapt these traditions
sensitively and creatively to the new conditions they faced…avoiding copyism at one extreme and
personal expression at the other.”169 Romantic revival styles (Tudor, Jacobethan, French Cottage,
Spanish Mission and Colonial) were considered appropriate for domestic buildings, classical revival styles
(Neoclassical, Italian Renaissance) for public buildings, and “exotic” or opulent revival styles (Egyptian
Revival or Baroque Theaters) for theatres.170
The requisite Italian Renaissance Revival style of the 1917 Carsley / Gilbert Campus Plan constrained
the MSU campus architects to a somewhat limited architectural canvas. Prior to the Carsley / Gilbert
Campus Plan, the architects employed a more diverse design approach. For example, the 1909
Neoclassical Revival Agricultural Hall (Linfield Hall) and 1910 Spanish Mission Revival Hamilton Hall
skillfully display the formalism of ancient Greece and the warmth of the American Southwest. Both
excellent examples of their styles, the buildings appropriately represent their pubic and domestic
functions. Linfield Hall exhibits the character-defining symmetrical façade, pedimented central entrance
bay, engaged pilasters, egg-and-dart molding and denticulated cornice of the Neoclassical style. Hamilton
Hall, which was also influenced heavily by the Arts & Crafts movement, readily conveys the Spanish
Mission Revival style, with the distinctive curvilinear parapets of its cross-gables. Linfield Hall and
Hamilton Hall represent the only prewar eclectic revivalist style period buildings in the MSU Historic
District. Between World War I and World War II, new academic buildings were designed in the Italian
Renaissance Revival style and “domestic” buildings in the Jacobethan Revival style.
The movement to establish the Italian Renaissance Revival style as the favored classical style of
academic eclecticism was evident as early as 1844. Boston architect, Arthur Gilman, described the
Greek Revival style as “offspring of a remote age, and antagonistic religion, an obsolete form of
government, and a widely different state of society than our own.” He suggested architecture based on
the rebirth of classical knowledge from a Christian vantage would better suit Americans.171 By the time the
nation’s leading architectural firm, McKim, Mead and White, selected the Italian Renaissance Revival
style for the Boston Public Library in the mid-1880s, it far surpassed Greek Revival style in popularity.
Many considered Italian Renaissance Revival style superior for both its flexibility and its inherent
beauty.172 As “the architecture of power, of self-assurance, of good and urbane taste,” the style, according
168 Ibid, 196 and 233.
169 Ibid, 197.
170 Leland M. Roth, American Architecture: A History, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2001, 352 and 358-359;
Gelernter, 202.
171 Roth, 186.
172 Ibid., 290.
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to architectural historian Mark Gelernter, “offered rationality and clarity in composition.”173 Its association
with the great thinkers and knowledge of the Italian Renaissance made it particularly appropriate for
academic buildings. As such, George Carsley and Cass Gilbert naturally chose the Italian Renaissance
Revival style to complement their formal campus plans for Montana State and the University of Montana
in Missoula. In accordance with the plan, Carsley designed the first Italian Renaissance Revival building
at MSC (Traphagen Hall). Six more Italian Renaissance Revival buildings designed by Bozeman architect
Fred F. Willson and the Great Falls firm, Shanley & Baker, followed in the 1920s. All but one (the 1922
Engineering Shops / Ryon Laboratories) still stand within the MSU Historic District.
True to the principles of academic eclecticism, Montana State’s Italian Renaissance Revival buildings
share the style's character-defining features, yet each displays its own distinctive character. All feature a
horizontal emphasis, symmetrical façade with a centered formal entrance, red tile roof, polychrome rug
face brick veneer and elaborate terracotta detailing. Features that set each building apart include
Roberts Hall’s (Engineering Building, 1922) detailed terra cotta and polished granite entrance, the
Chemistry Building’s (Traphagen Hall, 1919) recessed entrance with wrought iron tracery and colorful
terracotta tiles, the Heating Plant’s (1922) enormous windows, and Herrick Hall’s (1926) reserved, yet
distinctive, full-story arched entrance bay. Although vastly different in use and massing, Shanley &
Baker’s buildings also share common elements. Lewis Hall (Biology Building, 1922) and Romney
Gymnasium (1922) are situated on an east/west axis with green ceramic roof tiles and pilasters featuring
terra cotta capitals. Notably, the Gymnasium's distinctive decorative detailing on the north elevation
features a barrel arch entrance bay and unique terra cotta spandrels decorated with sporting equipment.
The 1934 Atkinson Quadrangle and the 1939-1940 Strand Student Union Building represent the limited
residential and “student services” construction at Montana State between World War I and II. For these
“domestic” type buildings—the Student Union was dubbed the “living room” of campus—Willson selected
the Jacobethan Revival style. Although additions somewhat impact its integrity, both the Student Union
and the Atkinson Quadrangle remain excellent examples of the style. Character defining-features include
steep gabled roofs, multi-light double-hung windows, stylized dormers and balconies, and a variegated-
color English bond brick veneer accented with cast stone.
Modern Architecture (1945 – 1968)
Mid-Century Modernism dominated new construction at Montana State between 1950 and 1968.
Although residence Halls (Lewis and Clark / Johnstone Center (1955), Hannon (1954), Hapner (1959),
Langford (1960), Roskie Halls (1967), and the Hedges Complex, 1964-67) make up the bulk of Modern
style buildings, Modernist academic buildings include A.J.M. Johnson Hall (Math-Physics Building, 1954),
Reid Hall (Classroom Building, 1959) and McCall Hall (Veterinary Research Building, 1952).174 Significant
additions to the Student Union, Linfield Hall and Renne Library also display Modern style design. Included
in the Modern Architecture period are the transitional “modernist” buildings, such as the Craftsman style
Wool Laboratory (1947), the “Industrial style” Plew Building (Service Shops, 1952), as well and the
original portion of the Renne Library (1949), which exhibits both revivalist and modernist characteristics.
In total, Modernist style buildings account for 50% of the MSU Historic District’s 30 contributing buildings,
a number that illustrates Montana State’s unprecedented growth after World War II.
In the 1930s, Architects Walter Gropius and Miles van der Rohe, original members of the Bauhaus group
who fled Nazi Germany, Le Corbusier’s treatise, Toward a New Architecture, and Phillip Johnson and
Henry-Russell Hitchcock’s “The International Style” exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art introduced
Modernism to America. Around the same time, American architects, such as Louis Sullivan, Frank
Furness, Bertram Goodhue and Frank Lloyd Wright experimented with form and ornamentation to create
exciting new works. Decorative movements and responses (both negative and positive) to
173 Gelernter, 202.
174 Gaines Hall and Cooley Laboratories were also designed in the Modern Style, but underwent extensive
renovations in 2010 and 2012, respectively. They no longer exhibit characteristics of the style and are considered
noncontributing.
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industrialization inspired other earlier “modernist” styles such as Craftsman, Art Deco and Art Moderne.
By the 1950s, international and nativist architectural trends joined to create a Modern style largely
stripped of its originality and philosophical connotations. Defining characteristics became the box form
and lack of ornamentation. Instead of shape and ornament, Mid-century Modernism depended on
patterns of building materials to create unique designs.175 As architectural historian, Mark Gelernter,
explains, “the austere, ahistorical forms,” of modernism, “represented a number of ideals which many in
the post-war generation admired,” including a break from the horrors of the recent past, an emphasis on
technology, rationality and new materials, and, finally, an aesthetic reflective of an emerging superpower,
“rational, efficient, the confident possessors of immense power and wealth, and yet not flashy or desirous
of individual expression.”176
Montana State largely avoided transitional “modernist” styles. Modern architecture seemingly arrived fully-
formed in 1952 with the small, but exceedingly well-executed, Danforth Chapel. Designed by Emanuel
Milstein, a senior in architecture at MSC, and funded through private donations, the non-denominational
chapel serves as an excellent example of the residential “Miesian box.”177 Its glass façade and protruding
stone wall, which tie it to the surrounding “natural” environment of Danforth Park, are hallmarks of the
style. Upon closer inspection, however, it appears the modernist aesthetic arrived at MSC as early as
1930. Gatton Field Gate (1930) exhibits characteristics of Stripped Classicalism (or Art Deco) in the
setbacks crowning its three piers, and the Strand Union Building’s Leigh Lounge displays a combination
of Art Deco and Arts & Crafts decorative motifs.178 The frame Wool Laboratory (1947), which dates from a
period of postwar scarcity, exemplifies the vernacular Craftsman style with exposed rafter tails and knee
braces under a gable roof. Even the original portion of Renne Library (1949), classified as a late example
of Italian Renaissance Revival, includes influences of the Prairie style. Its un-bracketed overhanging
eaves, rectilinear fenestration and windows with stacked lights deviate from the Renaissance Revival in
favor of something more “modern.” Montana State failed to embrace the full-fledged 1930s and 1940s Art
Deco or Art Moderne associated with New Deal architecture (sometimes called PWA Moderne). President
Atkinson’s deep conservatism likely rendered such associations unwelcome—even when MSU received
federal aid—and the more exuberant interpretations of these styles were probably deemed inappropriate
for the academic setting.
A more generic form of Modernism followed the high-style Danforth Chapel. Two campus buildings and
an addition constructed through the 1948 Bond Issue announced the Mid-Century Modern Period at
MSU: the Veterinary Research Building (McCall Hall, 1952), the addition to Linfield Hall (Linfield South,
1953) and the Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall, 1954). Of these, the rectangular A.J.M.
Johnson Hall best achieves the quintessential Mid-Century Modern aesthetic. The asymmetrical west
façade features three cubes broken into repetitive geometric bands of aluminum windows and pink
Cemestro spandrel panels (or lights in the curtain wall middle bay), set between thin, protruding red brick
piers. This pattern of bays defined by brick piers repeats in several variations at MSU. Hapner Hall
(Women’s Dormitory, 1959) includes bays of single aluminum windows and brick spandrel panels
between brick-clad piers. Langford Hall (Men’s Dormitory, 1960) offers a slight variation with bays of
paired aluminum windows and green, glazed brick spandrel panels. A reversed pattern occurs for Reid
Hall (Classroom Building, 1959) and the 1960 Addition to Renne Library, with light-colored piers
(travertine and limestone, respectively) against a red brick background. The extensive use of brick for
Modern style buildings at MSU links them to their Victorian and revivalist predecessors and maintains the
academic feeling of campus.
Only Lewis and Clark Hall (Men’s Dormitory, 1955) and the Student Health Center Addition to the Strand
Union Building (1957) lack brick as a cladding material. With its smooth concrete walls and horizontal
175 This context is developed from Roth and the architectural context from Diane J. Painter’s “Montana Post-World
War II Architectural Survey and Inventory, Historical Context and Survey Report,” 2010.
176 Gelernter,263.
177 Roth, 430.
178 Gelernter, 241.
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emphasis—broken only by vertical panels of glass block and cement paneling at the side entrances of the
dormitory wings—Lewis and Clark Hall more closely aligns with the International style than its Modern
style neighbors. Another example of the International style, the two-story Student Health Center Addition
utilizes stacked bands of windows and board and batten siding broken by solid brick walls, as well as an
elevator penthouse and the flyloft of the 1957 Theater Addition to the Strand Union Building (by the same
architect) as design elements.179 In addition to the International style, several other Modern subtypes are
represented on campus, including New Formalism, Curtain Wall Construction and Exaggerated Modern.
Characteristics of New Formalism, which transposes classical motifs onto the Modern “box,” show in the
limestone exoskeleton of the 1960 Library Addition and in the portico entrance to the 1967 Student Union
Addition.180 The white fiberglass fascia paneling with stylized medallions explicitly link the Student Union
Addition to classical architecture. Many of the Historic District’s Modern style buildings employ curtain wall
construction. The entrances of the 1960 Renne Library and Reid Hall are particularly noteworthy for their
size and significance to overall design. On a larger scale, the twin 11-story residence halls of the Hedges
Complex (Hedges North and Hedges South, 1964-1967) contain massive curtain walls of precast
concrete panels and aluminum windows that appear to float above a glass first story, supported only by
thin concrete pilotis. The Historic District’s sole example of Exaggerated Modern, Roskie Hall features a
unique and futuristic form of three 11-story, nine-sided columns (or enneagons) situated around a 12-
story central column of the same shape.
Roskie Hall is not the only Modern style building that deviates from the classic “box” within the Historic
District. Residence Halls, in particular, maximize the number of dormitory rooms with complex forms that
create separate public and private spaces. Hannon Hall (Women’s Dormitory, 1955), for instance, has a
four-story trapezoidal main body with an inner courtyard. Its southern half is wrapped in one-story public /
service section (kitchen, dining hall and lounge) distinguished by its dark brick cladding and long window
wall on its south façade. Hapner Hall’s “H”-shaped footprint displays a square central communal wing
connected to flaking rectangular dormitory wings by small hyphens. Lewis and Clark Hall exhibits a long
and low public south façade with four rectangular dormitory wings rising behind it. Segmented plans also
appear on Modern style academic buildings. Reid Hall and the Linfield Hall Addition exhibit an “L”-shape
plan and McCall Hall a “U”-shape plan. Reid Hall, in particular, uses its shape to add visual interest. In
contrast its outer ells, strips of vertical glass add visual interest to the brick mass of its exterior (northeast)
corner.
In the mid-1960s, the MSU Historic District reached skyward with the construction of high-rise dormitories
at the southwest corner of campus. Bozeman architects, O. Berg Jr. and William E. Grabow designed the
Hedges Complex, which consists of two slab-shaped 11-story dormitories and the round Food Service
Building (Miller Dining Hall), and Roskie Hall. The modern materials and forms of these buildings reflect
Le Corbusier’s vision of high-rise urbanism. Developed in the 1920s, Le Corbusier’s proposed tower city
or “villa radieuse” highly influenced urban renewal and public housing in the United States during the
1960s.181 Although removed from the social implications of those efforts, the Hedges Complex and the
11-story Roskie Hall (part of an unrealized three dormitory complex), readily show Le Corbusier’s
influence. MSU’s high-rise neighborhood also displays a variety of building materials commonly used in
Modern architecture, these include Mo-Sai precast concrete panels, aluminum windows, Cofar steel
decking, Glasweld asbestos panels (Roskie Hall), Cemesto panels (Hedges Complex) and Glulam beams
(Food Service Building).
Late Modern and Contemporary Styles (1970 – Present)
Eight Late Modern and contemporary buildings account for 72% of the MSU Historic District’s 11
noncontributing buildings, meaning only three buildings are ineligible for inclusion due to a loss of integrity
179 John C. Poppeliers and S. Allen Chambers, Jr., What Style Is It? A Guide to American Architecture, [Revised
Edition] Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 203, 128.
180 Gelernter, 269.
181 Roth, 462.
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(Cooley Laboratory and Gaines Hall) or a lack of significance (the Chemistry Modular Building). The rise
of Brutalism and Heroic Expressionism heavily influenced public buildings of the 1970s. Similar to the
generic Mid-century Modern buildings of the 1950s and 1960s, the more idealistic or creative works of
leading architects such as Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, Paul Randolph and Kallman, McKinnell and
Knowles influenced these styles. While the works of these individuals varied greatly, they all shared a
common thread of “expressionism” through their rough concrete (béton brut) finishes, consideration of the
environment (sunshades or brises-soleils) and monumental massing. Such features found their way into
the mainstream by the 1970s, as architectural historian William J. R. Curtis notes in his seminal work
Modern Architecture Since 1900. “Just as the seminal works of the 1920s were frequently devalued and
turned into clichés,” he writes, “so the late works are often imitated for their surface effects without due
attention to the underlying principles: brises-soeil and rough concrete finishes could become a sort of
façade cosmeticism just as easily as strip windows, thin pilotis, and glass and steel curtain walls.”182
Late Modern buildings within the MSU Historic District exhibit their Brutalist and Heroic Expressionist
characteristics in various ways. Cobleigh Hall (1970) and Sherrick Hall (1972) have precast concrete
sunshades, while Leon Johnson Hall (1973) and Wilson Hall (1974) display deeply recessed windows to
create shading. Leon Johnson Hall, Wilson Hall, Tietz Hall (1985) and the Visual Communications
Building (1983) all utilize multiple blocks to create their complex forms. The latter also includes another
character-defining feature of Late Modernism, blocks of dark reflective glass.183 Just as with the district’s
Modern style buildings, architects used brick cladding instead of materials more in keeping with the Late
Modern aesthetic (concrete, reflective glass) to aesthetically link these late modern buildings to earlier
buildings.
The broad, excessive arch accenting the main entrance to the 1983 Visual Communications Building
announces the arrival of Postmodern architecture. As Gelernter explains, “While Late Modernists adapted
the Modernist style…other architects became disillusioned with the style altogether. No longer convinced
of the philosophical ideas which lay behind it, and bored with its abstract forms…they found their new
direction in the traditional styles which the modernists had long banned from use.”184 While the Visual
Communications Building only includes one reference to the past, later buildings including the EPS
Building (1997) and Chemistry and Biochemistry Building (2007), as well as recent full-fledged
renovations of Gaines Hall (2010) and Cooley Laboratory (2012), reference their older neighbors more
explicitly. Cooley Laboratory and the Chemistry and Biochemistry Building both sport gable roofs
supported by massive brackets, evocative of the district’s Italian Renaissance Revival buildings, while the
EPS Building incorporates pilasters and small white tiles (a return of ornamentation) into its design. With
their cubist forms and curtain wall elements, the Gaines Hall Renovation and the 2008 Black Box Theater
addition to the nearby Visual Communications Building are contemporary interpretations of Modernism,
and represent a postmodern revival of the Modern style (Neo-Modernism).
The Architects of Montana State University
Many of Montana’s leading architects and architectural firms contributed to the architectural significance
of the MSU Historic District. Fred F. Willson and Cushing, Terrell & Associates (CTA) deserve particular
mention for dominating their eras. Willson designed eight buildings at MSU between 1910 and 1950,
while CTA designed seven buildings between 1950 and 2000. The design and construction of Hannon
Hall (1955) – designed by CTA and supervised by Willson – marked the symbolic transfer of the “favored”
architect torch from Willson to CTA. A brief biography and list of each architect’s buildings within the MSU
Historic District appear below.185
182 William J.R. Curtis, Modern Architecture Since 1900, [Third Edition], New York: Phaidon Press, Inc., 1996, 434.
183 Gelernter, 297.
184 Gelernter, 300.
185 Architect information is compiled from previous Draft Nominations for the MSU Historic District (Sanford, 1990;
Strahn, 1995) and Diane J. Painter’s “Montana Post-World War II Architectural Survey and Inventory, Historical
Context and Survey Report,” 2010 unless otherwise specified.
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J. C. Paulsen
Paulsen, born in Germany, received his architectural training in Europe. From his base in Helena,
Montana, Paulsen designed several important brick buildings across Montana in the 19th century. These
include the original Montana Club in Helena, as well as numerous government buildings under the
administration of Governor John E. Rickards. The iconic Collegiate Gothic style Montana Hall (Main Hall,
1896-1898) represents his sole contribution to the MSU Historic District.
Link & Haire
Link & Haire hold the distinction as one of Montana’s most influential architectural firms in the 1890s and
early 20th century, with offices in Butte, Billings, Miles City, Lewistown and Missoula by 1910. Born in
Hamilton County Ohio in 1857, Charles S. Haire taught for three years while studying architecture, which
led to later work as a draftsman for the Union Pacific Railroad. He moved to Butte with the Great Northern
Railroad in 1887, and by 1888 became associated with the realty firm of Wallace and Thornburg. Later,
Haire worked exclusively as an architect and moved to Helena in 1893, where he served as the State
Superintendent of Buildings. His status as State Superintendent doubtlessly influenced the School’s
choice of architects. In January of 1906 he formed a partnership with John G. Link, creating Link & Haire.
Numerous young Montana architects, including Fred F. Willson, received their training in the firm's many
offices.
J. G. Link was born in Bavaria in about 1863, and studied architecture at the Royal Academy in Landau.
He immigrated to the United States in 1887 and worked until 1890 for Frank Kidder, author of The
Architect’s Handbook, a standard text on building construction. He then joined an architectural firm in
Denver before moving to Butte in 1896. There he formed partnerships with W. E. Donavan, and later with
Joseph T. Carter until relocating to Helena in 1905, where he joined Charles S. Haire.
Within the MSU Historic District, Link & Haire designed the 1894 Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall)
and the 1909 Agricultural Building (1909). Much later, after dissolving his partnership with Haire, J. G.
Link designed the 1954 Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall) as a principle in the Billings,
Montana firm, J. G. Link & Associates. His son, Elmer, and grandson, John, designed many of MSU’s
laboratory buildings under the names J.G. Link & Company or E.F. Link & Associates. Examples include
the 1961 Marsh Laboratory (located off campus) and the 1985 Central Laboratory Animal Facility (Tietz
Hall). The firm closed in 1985.
Fred F. Willson
Born in 1877, Willson was the only son of General L. S. Willson, Civil War veteran, territorial legislator,
Bozeman pioneer and member of MSU’s founding Local Executive Board. After attending the Bozeman
Academy, Willson completed his junior year at Montana State College then enrolled at Columbia
University. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1902. Willson returned to Montana,
where he spent two years in the Helena office of prominent architect, Charles S. Haire. Next, he went to
Europe, where he studied at the École des Beau Arts and traveled, before returning to the United States
in 1906. Willson briefly lived in New York City, where he associated with architects Theodore C. Visscher
and James Burley. Later that year, Willson returned to Montana to oversee the Butte office of his mentor,
who now headed the firm of Link & Haire.
Willson returned permanently to Bozeman in 1910 and opened his own office in the Commercial National
Bank Building. Willson designed numerous buildings in the Bozeman area and across Montana. His
designs utilized a number of architectural styles, which included Craftsman, Mission and Renaissance
Revival, Jacobethan Revival and International. He is responsible for nearly every significant structure in
Bozeman's Main Street business district as well as over 40 residences. His design of Bozeman’s
Jacobethan Revival Emerson School won praise from educational groups across the United States. A
contemporary described Willson’s work in the 1920s as "noted for originality of design…[and] tempered
by the broad and thorough knowledge he has of architecture as exemplified in the best creations of all the
centuries and in the greatest centers of art in the civilized world."
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Within the MSU Historic District, Willson’s designs include Hamilton Hall (1910), Chemistry Building
(Traphagen Hall, 1919), Engineering Building (Roberts Hall, 1922), Engineering Shops (Ryon
Laboratories, 1922), Heating Plant (1922), the Women’s Building (Herrick Hall, 1926) and the original
portion of Renne Library (1949). In partnership with G. G. Cottier, he designed the Atkinson Quadrangle
(1934) and the Strand Union Building (1939-1940). Outside of the historic district, Willson designed the
impressive Modern style Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (1958) in partnership with O. Berg Jr.
George H. Carsley
George Hollis Carsley was born in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin on April 7, 1870. In 1880, his family
moved to St. Paul, Minnesota and seven years later to Helena, Montana. Carsley returned to Minnesota
for schooling and earned a degree in architecture from the University of Minnesota in 1896. Shortly
thereafter, he worked for Cass Gilbert in his St. Paul office on Beaux Arts style projects. In 1898, Carsley
lost his job with Gilbert due to a slowdown in commissions and moved back to Helena, Montana where he
worked as a draftsman. Gilbert rehired him, and in 1904 entrusted him with his operations in St. Paul. By
1911, Carsley returned to Helena, Montana and established his own architectural firm. He subsequently
collaborated with Gilbert on campus plans for Montana State and The University of Montana in 1917. He
also designed MSU’s first Italian Renaissance Revival style building, Traphagen Hall, and many
handsome buildings at Montana Tech in Butte. He died July 4, 1933.186
Cass Gilbert
Cass Gilbert was born in Zanesville, Ohio on November 24, 1859. Nine years later, his family moved to
St. Paul, Minnesota. He attended Macalester College, and in 1878 enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology to study architecture; he completed just one year of the program. On January 3, 1880, he
left for his “grand tour” of Europe. He returned to New York in September of that year to work for the
architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White, which specialized in revival and Beaux Arts style
architecture. In 1882, Gilbert returned to St. Paul as a representative of the firm until he opened his own
practice in 1885. In 1895, he won the prestigious commission for the new state capital in St. Paul. In
1899, Gilbert opened an office in New York City and began working on designs for the U.S. Customs
House there that same year. In 1913, he completed the celebrated Woolworth building, the world’s tallest
building for over a decade. By the mid-1910’s, as an acknowledged leader in the Beaux Arts tradition,
Gilbert’s neo-classical designs were celebrated nationwide.
In Montana, Gilbert was active in the cities of Butte, Helena and Missoula. In 1917, he consulted with
colleague George H. Carsley on campus plans for Montana State and the University of Montana. In
addition, Gilbert also designed a plan for the University of Minnesota, St. Paul in 1908, and served as the
campus architect for the University of Texas, Austin from 1910-1922. He died May 17, 1934.187
George H. Shanley
George H. Shanley, perhaps Great Falls most prominent architect, was born in 1875 in Burlington,
Vermont and attended the University of Vermont. After graduation, he worked for various architects in
Duluth, Minnesota. In 1898, he came west to help his father build St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fargo, North
Dakota and a barn near Glacier Park. During his early years in Montana, Shanley worked in Kalispell in
the firm of Gibson and Shanley. In 1900, he moved to Butte, where he associated with the firm of
Shanley, Wilson and Hugenin. Although he formed his own firm in Great Falls in 1907, he continued to
collaborate with others. In 1915, he worked with the renowned Spokane architectural firm of Cutter &
Malmgren on a country house in West Glacier for Mrs. John G. Morony. For his MSU buildings, Shanley
worked with Great Falls architect Charles H. Baker. Between World War II and his death in 1960, Shanley
transitioned into the Modern style and formed the partnership of Shanley & Shanley with his son, Frank B.
Shanley. Representative examples of his work include: First National Bank Building, Federal Reserve
186 Adapted from Hipólito Rafael Chacón and Carlie McGill, “The University of Montana Historic District Addendum
and Boundary Increase,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination, 2010, 33-34.
187 Ibid., 34-35.
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Bank Building and the State Highway Department Building in Helena; Finlen Hotel, Immaculate
Conception School and Convent and the main pavilion at Columbia Gardens in Butte; the Baxter Hotel in
Bozeman; the Army Winter Training Camp at Yellowstone National Park; numerous commercial buildings
in the Great Falls Commercial District, the Montana State Fair Grounds, and, with Spokane engineer
Ralph Adams, the 10th Street Bridge in Great Falls. He also designed several Catholic churches, many
schools and numerous banks.
Within the MSU Historic District, Shanley designed Lewis Hall (Biology Building, 1923) and Romney
Gymnasium (1922), both in partnership with Charles H. Baker.
Cushing, Terrell & Associates (CTA)
The Billings firm of Cushing & Terrell, also known as Cushing, Terrell and Associates, and renamed CTA
in 1969, was founded in 1938, when partners Ralph Cushing and Everett Terrell joined forces. Born in
Dillon, Montana on January 16, 1903, Ralph Henry Cushing received a Bachelor of Science degree in
architecture from Montana State College in 1927. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in
architectural engineering from the University of Michigan in 1932. He worked for others, as an apprentice
in architecture and engineering, before establishing the firm of Cushing, Terrell and Associates in 1938.
Cushing’s partner, Edwin O. Terrell, was born in Billings, Montana on February 11, 1908. He received his
education at the University of Washington, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in architecture in 1931.
His first listed architectural employment occurred with Cushing, Terrell and Associates.
CTA earned their established reputation in Montana, based on extensive work in the areas of education
(schools and university buildings) and healthcare (hospitals and related structures). They also designed
numerous buildings for state and local governments. Additional building types undertaken by the firm
include commercial structures and resort developments. When faced with a downturn in the education
market in 1966, the firm re-organized and expanded. Today, CTA is a multi-disciplinary firm with sixteen
offices throughout Montana and six other western states.
Their office, constructed in 1958, sat across N. 27th Street from the Eastern Montana College (now
Montana State University—Billings) campus, just south of the Physical Education Building. Notable
buildings designed by the firm include several buildings on the Montana State University—Billings
campus; buildings for the Midland Empire Fairgrounds in Billings; Highland Elementary School and Shrine
Auditorium in Billings; the hospital in Red Lodge; the Dude Rancher Lodge in Billings; the Veteran’s
Hospital in Miles City; Deaconess Hospital in Billings; and the Montana Crippled Children’s Association
Rehabilitation Center in Missoula, among many others.
Hannon Hall (1955) holds the honor of the first building designed by CTA within the MSU Historic District.
Over the next several decades they designed a number of other buildings including Hapner Hall (1959),
Reid Hall (1959), Leon Johnson Hall (1973), Wilson Hall (1974) and the Visual Communications Building
(1983). More recently, CTA undertook the renovation of the Brick Breeden Field House (1998) and Renne
Library (2003). They also performed the masonry restorations of Linfield, Traphagen, Lewis, and Montana
Halls in 2010 and designed Alumni Plaza.
Edwin G. Osness
Osness was born in Montana to Norwegian immigrants on August 28, 1896. After graduating from college
he worked as a draftsman for McIver and Cohagen in Billings, Montana until he moved to Idaho around
1930 as an independent architect. By 1935 he returned to Billings and worked from his residence at 2714
10th Avenue North. During the late 1930s, he designed a number of schools in eastern Montana and
northern Wyoming including buildings in Savage, Worden, Fairview, Lovell (WY) and Deaver (WY). By
1965 he retired in Billings, passing away 10 years later.188
188 Information on Osness was compiled from census records, city directories, and newspaper articles available on
Ancestry.com.
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Within the MSU Historic District, Osness designed McCall Hall (Veterinary Research Building, 1952) and
the 1953 addition to Linfield Hall.
Sigvald L. Berg
Sigvald L. Berg, who was of Norwegian heritage, spent most of his career in Helena, although he also
gained architectural experience in Berkeley, California. Born in 1895, he graduated from Montana State
College with a Bachelor of Science degree in architectural engineering in 1921. During his career, he
worked throughout Montana on a wide range of industrial, commercial and institutional buildings. The
home of Barclay Craighead, who served as secretary to Senator Burton K. Wheeler and director of the
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in Helena, stands as one of his best known residential
commissions. During the Depression, Berg worked as the supervising architect for the FHA for the State
of Montana and the local liaison for the state’s Depression-era “Better Homes” program. His California
experience proved invaluable after the 1935 Helena earthquake, when he inspected damaged buildings
and re-wrote the local building code for seismic safety. His attendance at a three-day Richard Neutra
symposium in 1948 highlights his interest in modern architecture. He joined forces with Lorren O.
Bradford in 1950, another graduate from MSU. Berg died in 1985.
With Bradford, Berg designed the 1955 Lewis and Clark Residence Hall (now the Johnstone Center) and
original Cooley Laboratory (Medical Science Research Building,1960) within the MSU Historic District.
McIver, Hess & Haugsjaa
Born on April 29, 1892 in Great Falls, Montana, Angus Vaughn McIver earned a bachelor’s degree in civil
engineering at the University of Michigan. McIver practiced with several architects over his career
including Chandler Cohagen (1915-1926), William Hess, and Knute Haugsjaa. Some of McIver’s best
known works include the Veteran’s Hospital in Miles City; the Montana Veterans and Pioneers Memorial
Building in Helena; Air Force Housing at Malmstrom Air Force Base; the Lewis and Clark School, a
number of elementary schools, the Russell Art Gallery and the Scottish Rite Temple in Great Falls.
Honored as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1949, McIver died in 1974.
Another Montana native, William James Hess was born in Teton County on October 21, 1914. He
attended Montana State College, where he graduated in 1937 with a Bachelor of Science degree in
architecture. Chandler C. Cohagen (1937-1939) offered him is first professional job as a draftsman. He
later worked for A. V. McIver and became a partner in McIver, Hess & Haugsjaa in 1953. His partner
Knute Haugsjaa died in 1959, after which the firm became known as McIver & Hess, headquartered in
Great Falls. Hess formed the firm of Hess, Gillis & Vigesaa with Robert A. Gillis and Lawrence W.
Vigesaa in 1969.
Born on December 29, 1915 in Pekin, North Dakota, Knute S. Haugsjaa graduated with a Bachelor of
Science degree in architecture in 1939 from North Dakota State College. He worked for A. V. McIver from
1939 to 1940. During the war, he worked for McNeil Construction Company in Las Vegas and Los
Angeles, and for Boeing Aircraft Company designing factories and hangars. He worked again for A. V.
McIver from 1945 to 1950 and became a partner in McIver, Hess & Haugsjaa in 1953.
Within the MSU Historic District, McIver, Hess and Haugsjaa were responsible for Langford Hall (1960)
and, without Haugsjaa, the 1960 Addition to Renne Library. McIver and Hess also designed Nelson Story
and Peter Koch Towers (1968) outside of the district and Hess, Gillis & Vigesaa designed Julia Martin
Court. (1968-1971).
O. Berg Jr. and William E. Grabow
Oswald Berg Jr. was born into a Lewistown, Montana ranching family on October 8, 1918. He attended
St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota and then Washington State College (now University), where he
received a Bachelor of Science degree in architecture in 1941. He worked for the Civil Service
Commission and the Department of the Navy in Washington D.C. during World War II and attended night
school at George Washington University. After the war, he worked for the college architecture office at
WSU and as an architect for N.W. Fabricators, Inc. before opening his own Bozeman-based firm in 1949.
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Between 1949 and 1983, Berg practiced under the names of Oswald Berg Jr. and Associates, Berg-
Grabow and Partners, BGS Architects, and Berg-Grabow-Schofield.
Berg realized a long and prolific career in Montana, Washington and Oregon. He and his partners
designed churches and chapels, schools and university buildings, banks, libraries, shops, alongside
commercial and residential buildings. In addition to his architectural practice, Berg taught as a visiting
professor at MSU and held an engineering license.
Berg’s longtime partner, William Edmund Grabow was born in Livingston, Montana on September 10,
1924 and attended Montana State College, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in
architecture in 1950. He opened his own firm, where he practiced from 1956 until officially joining Berg in
1968. Grabow also engaged in the Bozeman community, serving as mayor in the early 1970s.
Within the MSU Historic District, O. Berg Jr. and William Grabow designed the Hedges Complex (1964-
1967) and Roskie Hall (1967). Outside of the historic district, the team designed the Health and Physical
Education Building (Marga Hosaeus Fitness Center, 1973) and the Museum of the Rockies (1973) as
Berg—Grabow & Associates, and Grabow designed a number of married student housing projects
(Branagan Court, 1976, and multiple single family houses and duplexes between 1957 and 1966). Finally,
in partnership with Fred F. Willson, Berg was also responsible for the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (1958).
William R. Plew
Educated at Rose Polytechnic Institute, now Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, in Terre Haute,
Indiana, William R. Plew graduated in 1907 with a Bachelor of Science degree. At Montana State College
he taught architecture classes as part of the College of Engineering. When Alfred Atkinson assumed the
presidency of Montana State College, William Plew took a leave of absence to return to Rose Polytechnic
to continue his education in the newly formed discipline of architectural project management. He returned
to Montana State College with a Master of Science degree and created his position as Supervising
Architect in 1913. His worked as project manager, draftsman, designer, coordinator with outside
consultants and director of the Physical Plant. When Plew died in June of 1945, H. C. Cheever of the
College of Architecture assumed the position in addition to his regular duties until Plew's replacement was
hired. In 1947, Walter Baker assumed the position originally held by Plew.189
A well-known perfectionist, Plew’s dedication ensured that the construction of each campus building met
its architect’s specifications. For instance, when asked for a second time to accept granite columns three-
fourths of an inch less in diameter than specified for the Engineering Building’s imposing entrance, Plew
responded “I am still not willing to allow this change…my decision is based on a policy laid down from the
beginning, that is that I am not willing to compromise the building in any way.”190 Not afraid to take on the
State Board of Education and the Chancellor, Plew successfully fought a $2,000 cut in the allocation for
terra cotta work on the new gymnasium in 1922. Most impressively, Plew battled the powerful Anaconda
Copper Company, which controlled Montana politics since the late 19th century, when the gym’s copper
roof failed. Writing to the Anaconda Sales Company on the day after Christmas in 1926, Plew
admonished, “I seriously question if copper is the proper roofing material in this country,” and went on to
suggested it was only used to “give support to the rather strenuous advertising campaign that your people
were putting on.” Eventually, the Company (just like the State Board of Education) saw things Plew’s way,
telling College President Atkinson, “we will send out best man from New York to look into this and see
what can be done to fix it up…[we] should have had a man there when it was put on.”191
The Wool Laboratory remains the only extant building designed by Plew, but he oversaw the construction
of every building added to the MSC campus during his long tenure as Supervising Architect (1913-1945).
189 Jessie Nunn, “Wool Laboratory,” Montana Historic Property Record Form, 2012.
190 Dena Sanford, “Roberts Hall,” Montana Historic Property Record Form, 1990. Edited by Jessie Nunn, 2012.
191 Dena Sanford, “Romney Gymnasium,” Montana Historic Property Record Form, 1990. Edited by Jessie Nunn,
2013.
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As director of the Physical Plant, Plew also served as the general contractor for Herrick Hall (1926) and
may have drawn up final plans for that building.
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__________________________________________________________________________
9. Major Bibliographical References
1958-1959 Campus Planning Committee. Letter to President Renne, “Park Area on Campus,” 2/17/1959.
University Records, University Development Committee, 1953-1959.
Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, Centennial Office. The Land Grant Fact Book.
Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1962.
Boswell, Evelyn. “MSU Rises to Top Tier of Research Universities,” MSU News Service, 3/17/2006.
"Bozeman's Bid for the Capital," Heritage Preservation News 1:20 (Summer/Fall 1994).
“Buildings to Blossom at MSU,” The Exponent, 2/16/1968.
Burlingame, Merrill G. A History: Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana. Office of Information
Publication, Bozeman, MT, 1968.
Carsley, George H. and Cass Gilbert, “The University of Montana State College of Agriculture and
Mechanical Arts,” c. 1917, University Records.
City of Bozeman, Department of Planning and Community Development, “Year 2001 Annual Report,”
accessed online at http://www.bozeman.net/Smarty/files/51/510e9d23-38ca-4895-af3d-
cbbf171ff61c.pdf.
Chacón, Hipólito Rafael and Carlie McGill, “The University of Montana Historic District Addendum and
Boundary Increase,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination, 2010.
Courier, E. L. "Farm Management in the Gallatin Valley," Agriculture Experiment Bulletin 97, Bozeman,
Montana: Montana Agricultural Experiment Station, 1914.
Cremin, Lawrence A. American Education: The Metropolitan Experience. 1876-1980, New York, 1988.
Curtis, William J. R. Modern Architecture Since 1900, [Third Edition], New York: Phaidon Press, Inc.,
1996.
Drummond, Victoria C. “Campus Art Inventory, 2013.”
Freeman, Cortland L. “The Growing-up Years: The First 100 Years of Bozeman as an Incorporated City
from 1883 to 1983,” Bozeman, MT: Gallatin Valley Historical Society, 1988.
Gafke, Anthony and Lewis Uhlrich, Interview by Derek Strahn, 7/7/1993. Bozeman, Montana.
"Gallatin County is the Center," Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 6/27/1912.
Gelernter, Mark. A History of American Architecture: Buildings in their Cultural and Technological Context,
Hanover and London: University of New England Press, 1999.
Hook, E.J. (MSU Environmental Services Manager). Personal Interview, 6/20/2013.
Howard, Joseph Kinsey. Montana: High, Wide and Handsome, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1943.
Keene, Franklin U. “Map of College Campus,” 1/26/1907.” University Records.
Linfield, F. B. "The Egypt of America," The Montana Homeseeker, 1:1, June 15, 1906.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Section 9 page 85
Johnson, Leon. “Montana State University...Ideals Toward a New Tomorrow: The President’s Report.
Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 1968.
“Make Campus Improvements,” Weekly Exponent, c. September, 1930, in “The Rise of the Iris Gardens:
MSU Danforth Park Revisited, 1929-2009.” University Records, A-470a.
McDonald, James R., et. al. “Bozeman Historic Resource Survey,” for the Bozeman City-County Planning
Board, n.p. August 1984.
Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, “Land, MSU-Central Campus,” Excel
Spreadsheet.
Montana Experiment Station, “Bulletin No. 1, no. 9,” Bozeman, MT: n.p., 1894.
Montana State College. The Montanan, 1936 and 1959. Accessed online at http://www.mocavo.com.
Montana State College. “Education for Efficiency: Montana State College of Agriculture and Mechanical
Arts,” May 1911. University Records.
Montana State University. “Fall Headcount Enrollment History,” accessed online at
http://www.montana.edu/opa/facts/headhist.html.
Montana State University, “Long Range Campus Development Plan,” 2008. Accessed online at
http://www.montana.edu/campusplan/.
Montana State University. “MSU Landscaping Map,” May 10, 2013. Accessed online, 18 June 2011.
Montana State University. “Quick Facts,” accessed online at
http://www.montana.edu/opa/quickfactsindex.html.
“MSC Looks Ahead: Increasing Birth Rates, Population Growth and Greater Demands for Higher
Education Create Problems” The Montana Collegian, Jan. 1954.
Nunn, Jessie, “A.J.M. Johnson Hall,” “Cooley Laboratories,” “Hannon Hall,” “Hapner Hall,” “Hedges
Complex,” “Lewis and Clark Hall,” “Plew Building,” “Wool Laboratory,” Montana Historic Property
Records Forms, 2012-2013.
Painter, Diane J. “Danforth Chapel,” “Langford Hall,” “McCall Hall,” “Reid Hall,” Montana Property Record
Forms, 2010.
Painter, Diana J. “Montana Post-World War II Architectural Survey and Inventory, Historical Context and
Survey Report,” 2010.
Poppeliers, John C. and S. Allen Chambers, Jr. What Style Is It? A Guide to American Architecture,
[Revised Edition] Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2003.
Public Records for Edwin G. Osness, accessed online at www.ancestry.com.
Putman, James Bruce. “The Evolution of a Frontier Town: Bozeman, Montana and Its Search for
Economic Stability, 1864-1877,” Bozeman, MT: Gallatin Valley Historical Society, 1988.
Roth, Leland M. American Architecture: A History, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2001.
Rowley, William D. M. L. Wilson and the Campaign for the Domestic Allotment, Lincoln: University of
Nebraska Press, 1970.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Section 9 page 86
Rydell, Robert, Jeffery Safford and Pierce Mullen. In the People’s Interest: A Centennial History of
Montana State University, Bozeman, MT: Montana State University Foundation.
Sanford, Dena. “Atkinson Quadrangle,” “Experiment Station Building / Taylor Hall,” “Renne Library,”
“Roberts Hall,” “Romney Gymnasium,” “Strand Student Union,” Montana Historic Property Record
Forms, 1990. Edited by Jessie Nunn, 2012-2013.
Sanford, Dena. “Gatton Field Gate,” Montana Historic Property Record Form, 1990.
Sanford, Dena. “Montana State University Campus,” Draft National Register Nomination, 1990.
Strahn, Derek. “Historic and Architectural Resources of Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana,”
Draft MPD National Register Nomination, 1995.
“The Origins of the Collegiate Gothic Style,” in “Princeton Campus: An Interactive Campus History, 1746-
1996. Website accessed online at http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/text_gothicroots.html.
“Transcript Proceedings, Vacation of Streets and Alleys, Mont. State College of Campus, City of
Bozeman,” University Records.
U.S. Census Bureau. “Quickfacts: Bozeman (city), Montana.” Website Accessed online at
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/30/3008950.html.
University Records. Miscellaneous Aerial Photographs and Maps, 1933, 1948-1949, 1954, c. 1960.
Yager, Francis. "Cooperative County Elevators in Montana," United States Department of Agriculture
Report #64, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1959.
___________________________________________________________________________
Previous documentation on file (NPS):
____ preliminary determination of individual listing (36 CFR 67) has been requested
____ previously listed in the National Register
____ previously determined eligible by the National Register
____ designated a National Historic Landmark
____ recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey #____________
____ recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # __________
____ recorded by Historic American Landscape Survey # ___________
Primary location of additional data:
_X__ State Historic Preservation Office
____ Other State agency
____ Federal agency
____ Local government
____ University
_X_ Other
Name of repository: _MSU University Records
Historic Resources Survey Number (if assigned): ________________
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Section 10 page 87
____________________________________________________________________________
10. Geographical Data
Acreage of Property _Approximately 91 acres
Use either the UTM system or latitude/longitude coordinates
Latitude/Longitude Coordinates
Datum if other than WGS84:__________ (enter coordinates to 6 decimal places)
A. Latitude: 45.671149 Longitude: -111.051968
B. Latitude: 45.671149 Longitude: -111.048062
C. Latitude: 45.670144 Longitude: -111.048062
D. Latitude: 45.670144 Longitude: -111.045364
E. Latitude: 45.665211 Longitude: -111.045364
F. Latitude: 45.665211 Longitude: -111.044667
G. Latitude: 45.664626 Longitude: -111.044667
H. Latitude: 45.664626 Longitude: -111.044999
I. Latitude: 45.664802 Longitude: -111.044999
J. Latitude: 45.664802 Longitude: -111.045414
K. Latitude: 45.664577 Longitude: -111.045414
L. Latitude: 45.664577 Longitude: -111.046592
M. Latitude: 45.665211 Longitude: -111.046592
N. Latitude: 45.665211 Longitude: -111.049141
O. Latitude: 45.664986 Longitude: -111.049141
P. Latitude: 45.664986 Longitude: -111.049377
Q. Latitude: 45.665211 Longitude: -111.049377
R. Latitude: 45.665211 Longitude: -111.053287
S. Latitude: 45.664840 Longitude: -111.054902
T. Latitude: 45.665331 Longitude: -111.055358
U. Latitude: 45.666167 Longitude: -111.054773
V. Latitude: 45.667044 Longitude: -111.054773
W. Latitude: 45.667130 Longitude: -111.054333
X. Latitude: 45.666028 Longitude: -111.053266
Y. Latitude: 45.666028 Longitude: -111.051968
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Section 10 page 88
Verbal Boundary Description (Describe the boundaries of the property.)
See MSU Historic District Site Map.
Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected.)
The boundary was drawn to include the highest concentration of historic resources within the Montana
State University campus. The north and east boundaries follow the edge of campus with commercial
development on College Street to the north and single family homes and Greek housing to the east of N.
6th and N. 8th Avenues. As such, these boundaries represent “clearly differentiated patterns of historical
development,” as defined by National Register Bulletin 15A. Boundaries on the south and west, on the
other hand, coincide with “visual boundaries” created by a change in building types and in the
concentration of historic resources within the MSU campus. The University’s athletic facilities are located
to the south of Grant Street, while newer buildings dating from the 1970s and later are found to the west
of N. 11th Avenue. In three cases the boundary extends beyond Grant Street and 11th Avenue to include
significant historic resources. The first jog occurs at the southeast corner of the district and includes the
1922 Heating Plant and its associated garage and the 1952 Plew Building. A much smaller southern jog
extends past Grant Street to include the 1930 Gatton Field Gate, which is found in front of (north of) the
Marga Hoseaus Fitness Center. Finally, the boundary jogs west of N. 11th Avenue at the southeast corner
of the district to include the 1960s era high-rise dormitories (the Hedges Complex and Roskie Hall).
__________________________________________________________________________
Additional Documentation
Submit the following items with the completed form:
Maps: A USGS map or equivalent (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's
location.
Sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous
resources.
Additional items: (Check with the SHPO, TPO, or FPO for any additional items.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Section 10 page 89
USGS MAP (NAD83)
N
1 m =
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Sections 10 and 11 page 90
MSU Historic District Sketch Maps
MSU Historic District
and MSU Campus
N
1000 ft. =
1000 ft. =
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Sections 10 and 11 page 91
______________________________________________________________________________
11. Form Prepared By
name/title: Jessie Nunn / Independent Consultant
organization: NA__________________________
street & number: 600 Meadowlark Lane_______
city or town: Livingston state: Montana zip code: 59047
e-mail: jessienunn@gmail.com
telephone: 406-208-8727
date: July 15, 2013
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 92
Photographs
Photo Log
Name of Property: Montana State University Historic District
City or Vicinity: Bozeman
County: Gallatin State: Montana
Photographer: Jessie Nunn
Date Photographed: Varies (See Photograph Descriptions)
Description of Photograph(s) and number, include description of view indicating direction of
camera:
Photo 01 of 55. Montana Hall with Alumni Plaza and “Spirit” in foreground, 11/03/2012, Aspect: S
Photo 02 of 55. Centennial Mall with Hamilton Hall and Montana Hall, 06/20/2013, Aspect: W
Photo 03 of 55. East End of Centennial Mall, 06/20/2013, Aspect: E
Photo 04 of 55. West End of Centennial Mall with Sherrick Hall, 06/20/2013, Aspect: SE
Photo 05 of 55. Alumni Plaza, “Spirit” and Wilson Hall, 06/20/2013, Aspect: SE
Photo 06 of 55. Hannon Field with Hannon Hall, 06/20/2013, Aspect: NE
Photo 07 of 55. Danforth Chapel with Black Elk in foreground, 06/20/2013, Aspect: NW
Photo 08 of 55. Iris Garden with “Four Seasons,” 06/20/2013, Aspect: S
Photo 09 of 55. Danforth Park with Bobcat Lair Wall, 06/20/2013, Aspect: W
Photo 10 of 55. Romney Green from Centennial Mall, 06/20/2013, Aspect: S
Photo 11 of 55. West Side of Romney Green, 06/20/2013, Aspect: S
Photo 12 of 55. Romney Green with Reid Hall (left) and Renne Library (right), 06/20/2013, Aspect: N
Photo 13 of 55. Strand Student Union from Centennial Mall, 06/20/2013, Aspect: SW
Photo 14 of 55. Roberts Hall and Cobleigh Hall from Centennial Mall, 10/06/2012, Aspect: SE
Photo 15 of 55. Grove of Trees North of Leon Johnson Hall, 06/20/2013, Aspect: NW
Photo 16 of 55. Duck Pond in Harrington Park, 06/20/2013, Aspect: S
Photo 17 of 55. Veteran’s Memorial Park, 06/20/2013, Aspect: NW
Photo 18 of 55. Taylor Hall (North Façade and West Elevation), 06/20/2013, Aspect: SE
Photo 19 of 55. Linfield Hall (East Façade), 11/03/2012, Aspect: SW
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 93
Photo 20 of 55. Hamilton Hall (North Façade), 10/06/2012, Aspect: SW
Photo 21 of 55. Roberts Hall Entrance (North Façade), 10/07/2012, Aspect: S
Photo 22 of 55. Traphagen Hall (East Façade), 10/06/2012, Aspect: NW
Photo 23 of 55. Heating Plant (North Façade), 01/05/2013, Aspect: S
Photo 24 of 55. Herrick Hall (West Façade), 06/20/2013, Aspect: E
Photo 25 of 55. Lewis Hall (South Façade), 11/03/2012, Aspect: N
Photo 26 of 55. Romney Gymnasium (North Façade and East Elevation), 11/03/2012, Aspect: SW
Photo 27 of 55. Atkinson Quadrangle (West Façade, Quads A and B) and “Untitled” (Cronkey
Sculpture), 10/07/2012.
Photo 28 of 55. Entrance to Strand Student Union (North Façade), 01/05/2013, Aspect: S
Photo 29 of 55. Wool Laboratory (West Façade and South Elevation), 11/03/2012, Aspect: NE
Photo 30 of 55. Plew Building (West Façade and North Elevation), 01/05/2013, Aspect: SE
Photo 31 of 55. McCall Hall (East Facade), 07/24/2013, Aspect: SW.
Photo 32 of 55. 1953 Addition to Linfield Hall (Linfield South, East Façade), 10/06/2012, Aspect: NW
Photo 33 of 55. A.J.M. Johnson Hall (West Façade), 11/03/2012, Aspect: SE
Photo 34 of 55. 1957 Student Health Center Addition to Student Union (East Façade), 01/05/2013, ‘
Aspect: NW
Photo 35 of 55. Lewis and Clark Field and Johnstone Center (South Façade), 11/03/2012, Aspect: N
Photo 36 of 55. Langford Hall with new entrance (South Façade), 11/03/2012, Aspect: NW
Photo 37 of 55. East Elevation of Hapner Hall’s West Wing with new entrance on south façade in
foreground, 10/07/2012, Aspect: W
Photo 38 of 55. 1960 Renne Library Addition (North Façade), 11/03/2012, Aspect: SW
Photo 39 of 55. Hedges Complex (West Elevation of Food Service Building and South Hedges),
01/05/2013, Aspect: SE
Photo 40 of 55. Hedges Complex (East Façade, South Hedges), 01/08/2013, Aspect: SW
Photo 41 of 55. Hedges Complex (West and South Elevations, North Hedges), 01/05/2013,
Aspect: NE
Photo 42 of 55. Roskie Hall (East Elevation), 01/05/2013, Aspect: NW
Photo 43 of 55. 1967 Addition to Student Union (West Entrance), 01/05/2013, Aspect: E
Photo 44 of 55. Leon Johnson Hall (South Façade), 10/07/2012, Aspect: N
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 94
Photo 45 of 55. Visual Communications Building and Black Box Theater Addition (South Façade),
01/05/2012, Aspect: NE
Photo 46 of 55. Teitz Hall (North Elevation), 11/03/2012, Aspect: SE
Photo 47 of 55. EPS Building (Southwest Façade) and “Wind Arc”, 01/05/2013, Aspect: NE
Photo 48 of 55. Chemistry and Biochemistry Building (Southeast Façade), 11/03/2013, Aspect: NW
Photo 49 of 55. 2008 and 1983 Additions to Strand Student Union (South Elevations), 01/05/2013,
Aspect: NW
Photo 50 of 55. Gaines Hall (South Façade), 01/05/2013, Aspect: NW
Photo 51 of 55. Cooley Laboratories (North Façade), 11/03/2012, Aspect: NW
Photo 52 of 55. Gatton Field Gate, 06/20/2013, Aspect: SE
Photo 53 of 55. Montana Territorial-State Marker, 11/03/2012, Aspect: SW
Photo 54 of 55. “MV I” with Reid Hall in Background, 06/20/2013, Aspect: SE
Photo 55 of 55. “Untitled” (Yellow 4) with A.J.M. Johnson Hall in Background, 06/20/2013, Aspect: E
Photo 01 of 55. Montana Hall with Alumni Plaza and “Spirit” in foreground, 11/03/2012, Aspect: S
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 95
Photo 02 of 55. Centennial Mall with Hamilton Hall and Montana Hall, 06/20/2013, Aspect: W
Photo 03 of 55. East End of Centennial Mall, 06/20/2013, Aspect: E
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 96
Photo 04 of 55. West End of Centennial Mall with Sherrick Hall, 06/20/2013, Aspect: SE
Photo 05 of 55. Alumni Plaza, “Spirit” and Wilson Hall, 06/20/2013, Aspect: SE
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 97
Photo 06 of 55. Hannon Field with Hannon Hall, 06/20/2013, Aspect: NE
Photo 07 of 55. Danforth Chapel with Black Elk in foreground, 06/20/2013, Aspect: NW
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 98
Photo 08 of 55. Iris Garden with “Four Seasons,” 06/20/2013, Aspect: S
Photo 09 of 55. Danforth Park with Bobcat Lair Wall, 06/20/2013, Aspect: W
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 99
Photo 10 of 55. Romney Green from Centennial Mall, 06/20/2013, Aspect: S
Photo 11 of 55. West Side of Romney Green, 06/20/2013, Aspect: S
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 100
Photo 12 of 55. Romney Green with Reid Hall (left) and Renne Library (right), 06/20/2013, Aspect: N
Photo 13 of 55. Strand Student Union from Centennial Mall, 06/20/2013, Aspect: SW
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 101
Photo 14 of 55. Roberts Hall and Cobleigh Hall from Centennial Mall, 10/06/2012, Aspect: SE
Photo 15 of 55. Grove of Trees North of Leon Johnson Hall, 06/20/2013, Aspect: NW
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 102
Photo 16 of 55. Duck Pond in Harrington Park, 06/20/2013, Aspect: S
Photo 17 of 55. Veteran’s Memorial Park, 06/20/2013, Aspect: NW
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 103
Photo 18 of 55. Taylor Hall (North Façade and West Elevation), 06/20/2013, Aspect: SE
Photo 19 of 55. Linfield Hall (East Façade), 11/03/2012, Aspect: SW
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 104
Photo 20 of 55. Hamilton Hall (North Façade), 10/06/2012, Aspect: SW
Photo 21 of 55. Roberts Hall Entrance (North Façade), 10/07/2012, Aspect: S
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 105
Photo 22 of 55. Traphagen Hall (East Façade), 10/06/2012, Aspect: NW
Photo 23 of 55. Heating Plant (North Façade), 01/05/2013, Aspect: S
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 106
Photo 24 of 55. Herrick Hall (West Façade), 06/20/2013, Aspect: E
Photo 25 of 55. Lewis Hall (South Façade), 11/03/2012, Aspect: N
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 107
Photo 26 of 55. Romney Gymnasium (North Façade and East Elevation), 11/03/2012, Aspect: SW
Photo 27 of 55. Atkinson Quadrangle (West Façade, Quads A and B) and “Untitled” (Cronkey
Sculpture), 10/07/2012.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 108
Photo 28 of 55. Entrance to Strand Student Union (North Façade), 01/05/2013, Aspect: S
Photo 29 of 55. Wool Laboratory (West Façade and South Elevation), 11/03/2012, Aspect: NE
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 109
Photo 30 of 55. Plew Building (West Façade and North Elevation), 01/05/2013, Aspect: SE
Photo 31 of 55. McCall Hall (East Facade), 07/24/2013, Aspect: SW.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 110
Photo 32 of 55. 1953 Addition to Linfield Hall (Linfield South, East Façade), 10/06/2012, Aspect: NW
Photo 33 of 55. A.J.M. Johnson Hall (West Façade), 11/03/2012, Aspect: SE
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 111
Photo 34 of 55. 1957 Student Health Center Addition to Student Union (East Façade), 01/05/2013, ‘
Aspect: NW
Photo 35 of 55. Lewis and Clark Field and Johnstone Center (South Façade), 11/03/2012, Aspect: N
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 112
Photo 36 of 55. Langford Hall with new entrance (South Façade), 11/03/2012, Aspect: NW
Photo 37 of 55. East Elevation of Hapner Hall’s West Wing with new entrance on south façade in
foreground, 10/07/2012, Aspect: W
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 113
Photo 38 of 55. 1960 Renne Library Addition (North Façade), 11/03/2012, Aspect: SW
Photo 39 of 55. Hedges Complex (West Elevation of Food Service Building and South Hedges),
01/05/2013, Aspect: SE
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 114
Photo 40 of 55. Hedges Complex (East Façade, South Hedges), 01/08/2013, Aspect: SW
Photo 41 of 55. Hedges Complex (West and South Elevations, North Hedges), 01/05/2013,
Aspect: NE
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 115
Photo 42 of 55. Roskie Hall (East Elevation), 01/05/2013, Aspect: NW
Photo 43 of 55. 1967 Addition to Student Union (West Entrance), 01/05/2013, Aspect: E
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 116
Photo 44 of 55. Leon Johnson Hall (South Façade), 10/07/2012, Aspect: N
Photo 45 of 55. Visual Communications Building and Black Box Theater Addition (South Façade),
01/05/2012, Aspect: NE
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 117
Photo 46 of 55. Teitz Hall (North Elevation), 11/03/2012, Aspect: SE
Photo 47 of 55. EPS Building (Southwest Façade) and “Wind Arc”, 01/05/2013, Aspect: NE
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 118
Photo 48 of 55. Chemistry and Biochemistry Building (Southeast Façade), 11/03/2013, Aspect: NW
Photo 49 of 55. 2008 and 1983 Additions to Strand Student Union (South Elevations), 01/05/2013,
Aspect: NW
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 119
Photo 50 of 55. Gaines Hall (South Façade), 01/05/2013, Aspect: NW
Photo 51 of 55. Cooley Laboratories (North Façade), 11/03/2012, Aspect: NW
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 120
Photo 52 of 55. Gatton Field Gate, 06/20/2013, Aspect: SE
Photo 53 of 55. Montana Territorial-State Marker, 11/03/2012, Aspect: SW
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation - Photographs page 121
Photo 54 of 55. “MV I” with Reid Hall in Background, 06/20/2013, Aspect: SE
Photo 55 of 55. “Untitled” (Yellow 4) with A.J.M. Johnson Hall in Background, 06/20/2013, Aspect: E
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation – Historic Maps and Photographs page 122
APPENDIX A: Historic Maps and Photographs
MSU Campus looking southwest, c. 1911. (From Left to Right: Mathematics Building, Heating Plant
(background), Montana Hall, Chemistry Building, Taylor Hall, Heating Plant, Linfield Hall)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation – Historic Maps and Photographs page 123
1904 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation – Historic Maps and Photographs page 124
1917 Carsley / Gilbert Campus Plan. (North is at bottom of page)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation – Historic Maps and Photographs page 125
1927 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation – Historic Maps and Photographs page 126
MSU Campus, looking east with the college farm in the foreground, 1929.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation – Historic Maps and Photographs page 127
MSU Campus looking north, c. 1937. Gatton Field and Romney Gymnasium are in the foreground. Notice
the original position of Gatton Field Gate at right (along Grant Street between Heating Plant and Romney
Gymnasium).
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation – Historic Maps and Photographs page 128
MSU Campus, looking south, c. 1952.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation – Historic Maps and Photographs page 129
MSU Campus, looking south, 1957. Notice the Fieldhouse under construction at top.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Montana State University Historic District Gallatin, Montana
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation – Historic Maps and Photographs page 130
MSU Campus looking south from the 1968 President’s Report.