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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHamilton Hall (24GA1871) final MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD For the Montana National Register of Historic Places Program and State Antiquities Database Montana State Historic Preservation Office Montana Historical Society PO Box 201202, 1410 8 th Ave Helena, MT 59620-1202 Property Address: Montana State University Campus North Side of Centennial Mall Historic Address (if applicable): NE Corner 8 th Ave. and Clevland St. City/Town: Bozeman Site Number: 24GA1871 (An historic district number may also apply.) County: Gallatin Historic Name: Hamilton Hall Original Owner(s): Montana State College of Agriculture & Mechanic Arts Current Ownership Private Public Current Property Name: Hamilton Hall Owner(s): Montana State Unversity - Adminstration Owner Address: 201 Main Hall / PO Box 172440 Bozeman, MT 59717-2400 Phone: 406-994-2001 Legal Location PM: Montana Township: 2S Range: 5E SE ¼ NW ¼ NE ¼ of Section: 13 Lot(s): Block(s): Addition: Capitol Hill Year of Addition: USGS Quad Name: Bozeman Year: 1987 Historic Use: Women's Dormitory Current Use: Office Space (Gallatin College / ROTC) Construction Date: 1910 Estimated Actual Original Location Moved Date Moved: UTM Reference www.nris.mt.gov/topofinder2 NAD 27 or NAD 83(preferred ) Zone: 12 Easting: 496270 Northing: 5057112 National Register of Historic Places NRHP Listing Date: Historic District: Montana State University-Bozeman HD NRHP Eligible: Yes No Date of this document: October 15, 2012 Form Prepared by: Jessie Nunn / Consultant Address: 600 Meadowlark Lane, Livingston, MT 59047 Daytime Phone: 406-208-8727 MT SHPO USE ONLY Eligible for NRHP: x yes no Criteria: x A B x C D Date: October 2013 Evaluator: K. Hampton Comments: MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 2 Architectural Description Property Name: Hamilton Hall Site Number: 24GA1871 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Architectural Style: Mission-Spanish Revival If Other, specify: Property Type: Education Specific Property Type: Architect: Fred F. Willson Architectural Firm/City/State: Fred F. Wison / Bozeman, MT Builder/Contractor: Company/City/State: Felsheim and Laveque / Bozeman, MT Source of Information: University Archives Built in 1910, this reinforced concrete building with smooth red brick veneer is designed in the Arts and Crafts Style with some Spanish Mission style components including curvilinear parapets on the gable ends, and battered walls. It is four and one-half stories tall with an attic and full daylight basement, and measures 116’ x 58’. The north/south cross gables are located at the east and west ends, creating an “H”-shaped footprint and floor plan. There is little external detailing, typical of the style. Windows were replaced in 2009 with nine-over-nine double hung units in wood frames that closely match the originals. Sills are rowlock bricks constitute the sills and flat arches created with vouissors serves as lintels. A brick belt course above the ground floor widows encircles the building. In the center of the east-west section of the north- facing façade is a central curvilinear parapet. The center section 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. On each pier is a globe sconce light. The porch was renovated in about 2009 to bring the entrance close to its original appearance, after a 1925 earthquake cause the porch to be replaced. Widows flank the porch. Above the porch, the second story second story contains a tripartite widow, identical to those found in the wings, flanked by paired nine-over-nine windows. This pattern is mimicked on the third story, 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 widows. 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 are located in the battered basement story of each wing. The east and west elevations are nearly identical, with first through third story fenestration consisting of a small ten-light horizontal window in the northernmost bay and nine-over-nine light windows flanking double doors exiting onto a steel fire escape. These doors are typically the original nine-light over wood panel units below six-light transoms; however, some have been replaced with various other configurations. At the attic level, the double doors are newer metal units and enter into shingle-clad, gable-roofed dormers. The east elevation has a gabled frame hood supported by knee-braces over the basement level entrance, which contains its original wood door with two lights over two wood panels and multi-light sidelights and transom. On the west elevation, however, the basement entrance has been altered significantly with an aluminum-framed glass unit and sidelight under a modern low-pitched metal roof supported by slender wood posts. The south elevation has the same fenestration on the projecting gables as is found on the north façade. On the main east/west wall, windows symmetrically flank a large, exterior chimney. Basement level windows on each side of the chimney are (moving outward) paired six-over-six units and single six-over-six double hung units. Tripartite units like those found on the façade flanked by individual nine-over-nine light windows light the first story. Upper stories contain two individual windows on each side of the chimney. The interior of Hamilton Hall was originally finished and furnished in the Mission style. Although most of the rooms have been altered, the south entrance remains nearly intact, with original wood trim and framing. The sitting room directly across from the entrance retains its pressed brick fireplace with flat arch opening. A tennis court once sat to the east of Hamilton Hall in an area now paved for a parking lot. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 3 History of Property Property Name: Hamilton Hall Site Number: 24GA1871 HISTORY OF PROPERTY Introduction Prior to the construction of Hamilton Hall in 1910, accommodations for both male and female students were largely found off campus in apartments or with Bozeman families. Many families sending their daughters off to school, however, were not comfortable with the existing situation, or the distance between the town and the school. The College tried renting a large home, but this proved unsuccessful. According to historian Merrill Burlingame, some women even canceled their registration once their parents discovered suitable housing was unavailable. (57-58) President James Hamilton was aware of the housing discrepancy between his institution and the University of Montana and the State Normal College, which both had women’s dormitories. He applied for and received appropriates from the state legislature for $50,000 for the construction of the dormitory that would later bear his name. Hamilton Hall was designed to accommodate not only the existing number of female students enrolled Montana State, but projected increases in the future. Fred F. Willson, Architect The college contracted with Bozeman architect Fred F. Willson to design the new engineering building. Born in 1877, he was the only son of General L. S. Willson, Civil War veteran, territorial legislator, and Bozeman pioneer. After attending the Bozeman Academy, Willson completed his junior year at Montana State then enrolled at Columbia University. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1902. Willson then 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 studying at the Ecole des Beau Arts and traveled, before returning to the United States in 1906. Willson lived briefly in New York City, where he was 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. He designed and built his own residence at 509 Tracy Avenue in 1914. Willson designed numerous buildings in the Bozeman area and across Montana, and was competent in a number of architectural styles including Craftsman, Mission and Renaissance Revival, Jacobethan and International. In addition to Hamilton Hall, his designs on campus include the Engineering Building, the Engineering Shop (Ryon Labs) and its addition, the Heating Plant, the Chemistry Building (Traphagen Hall), Herrick Hall, the original section of the 1939-1940 Strand Union Building, and the 1935 Quadrangle. His design of Bozeman’s Jacobethan Emerson School won praise from educational groups across the United States. Willson also expanded his business interests into areas other than architecture. He owned 640 acres in the Powder River area, was president of the Bozeman Investment Company and a director and stockholder of the Willson Company, the latter of which was established by his father in the 1870s. (Stout, 319-320) Hamilton Hall The Bozeman construction firm of Felsheim and Laveque offered a bid of $49,258, forcing the College to revise plans to reduce the amount of interior construction and allow sufficient funding to finish the building. The revised bid totaled $43,000. Construction was scheduled to begin in June 1910; however, the process was somewhat delayed due to a change in siting based on plans for a new engineering building (which would not be constructed until 1922 at a different location). Even so, the building was still completed by January 1, 1911. The dormitory was designed to house between 90 and 100 women, although it would not reach capacity until the 1930s. Thirty-five single sleeping rooms and eight suites of three rooms each flanked a central study area. The first floor featured a reception hall furnished in the Mission style and rooms for staff. The full daylight basement housed the service areas of the building, with a kitchen, pantry, dining hall and laundry facilities. In addition, Willson’s unique design provided for the individual student’s tastes and desires. He planned for a number of areas to be left unfinished, to be completed later by “student improvement.” Willson also suggested that the women provide window boxes in order to create, “a sense of belonging, and be much more comfortable.” Each room was plastered and painted, trimmed with Oregon fir and floored with maple. Most rooms were furnished in Mission style, although some had brass beds. An interesting technique for identifying rooms began with the first occupants, who named the rooms after themselves (or each other) instead of using numbers. (Hammond, 10) MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 4 History of Property Property Name: Hamilton Hall Site Number: 24GA1871 Una B. Herrick, the Dean of Women, served as the dormitory’s first house director, from 1911 to 1931. Along with students and other faculty members, Herrick decided to name the dormitory Hamilton Hall in honor of the late wife of the college president. Mildred Leigh, a Home Economics teacher, replaced Dean Herrick as house director in1931. She left that position in 1940 to direct the newly-completed Student Union Building. (Ibid) The normal routine of dormitory life began at 6:40, followed by a quick breakfast, and ended with a weekday curfew of 10:30 or 11:00 pm. “Lights out” was extended until 1:00 am on Friday and Saturday nights. A good-natured punishment for breaking curfew required the offender to be “campused” on the next late night, and her escort to provide the dormitory with a five pound box of candy. The women could receive male visitors at any time during the day for a period of ten minutes. Telephone calls were also freely allowed, except for during the study period between 7:30 and 9:30 pm. (Ibid) The persistent demands for increased space as the college expanded resulted in the 1967 remodeling of the dormitory into office and administration space and women students moved to newer dorms on campus. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 5 Information Sources/Bibliography Property Name: Hamilton Hall Site Number: 24GA1871 INFORMATION SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY Building Master List. Physical Plant Records, Montana State University. Burlingame, Merrill. A History: Montana State University, Boeman Montana. Bozeman, MT: Office of Information Publication, Feburary 1968. Hammond, Mike. “Hamilton Hall: Once a Girls Dorm,” The Exponent , 18 January 1974. “Location Listings, Construction Files, Specifications, Blueprints, O/M’s [Master List],” Montana State University Facilities, c. 1900 – 2004. “The New Dormitory is a Homelike Place,” The Weekly Exponent , 18 November 1910. Photos: PA6.1HAM/H Folder 9, no. 4; PA6.1HH/NW Foder 2, no. 1; Pat.1 Hamilton Hall Reception Room Folder 5, no. 1. Montana State University Archives. Stout, Tom. Montana: Its Story and Biography . Vol. 2 Chicago: The American Historical Society, 1921. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 6 Statement of Significance Property Name: Hamilton Hall Site Number: 24GA1871 NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES NRHP Listing Date: NRHP Eligibility: Yes No Individually Contributing to Historic District Noncontributing to Historic District NRHP Criteria: A B C D Area of Significance: Education, Architecture Period of Significance: 1910-1964 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Hamilton Hall is a contributing resource to the potential Montana State University Historic District, which is eligible for listing in the National Register under Criteria A and C. Under Criterion A, the building is significant for its association with the University’s first phase of construction (1893-1918) and for its role in the integration of female students into the campus community. Architecturally, the building is a significant local example of the Mission Revival style and represents the work of local master architect, Fred F. Willson. Hamilton Hall represents the growth of Montana State University in the early 20 th century, as well as the increased freedom of women across the state to obtain a secondary education. The building was the first women’s dormitory on campus. It was designed to fill a need for suitable housing for the increased number of women enrolling at the school, while providing a comfortable home away from home in a new environment. Upon completion, the building was considered the most modern and well-equipped dormitory in the state. The hot and cold water in each room, and two toilets rooms and a general bathroom on each floor, were beyond anything else found on campus. ( Exponent , 18 Nov. 1910, 1; 18 Jan. 1974, 10) According to a 1974 Exponent article, because few other buildings on campus were capable of entertaining large groups, the building was the primary location of campus social activities for both faculty and students for many years. The campus traditions of Thursday afternoon tea parties, dance parties and monthly parties, as well as several curfew regulations began with this building. The popularity of the building prompted the 1912 Montanan to humorously report, “the directors are contemplating the building of a high brick wall around the ‘dorm’…as to keep the fair buds inside, and to give the boosters [the fraternal orders] the valuable exercise of boosting higher to get over it.” ( Exponent , 18 Jan. 1974, p. 10) Hamilton Hall is the only Mission Revival style building on campus. The style first gained popularity in the 1890s, and its associations with the relaxed, carefree vernacular architecture of southern California and Mexico were appropriate for a residential structure. The interior furnishings further contributed to this effect. Hamilton Hall is the last substantial building erected on campus during the school’s first major period of construction, and represents the transition of the college’s campus plan. Erected in 1910, it followed the original plan of placing buildings on an axis with Montana Hall (Main Hall) and the Experiment Station (Taylor Hall), but stylistically, it bore no resemblance to earlier buildings. Later buildings would shift to the south, following the master plan of New York landscape architect Cass Gilbert, and would be designed in a style evocative of the Italian Renaissance and not the Spanish American Southwest. Fred F. Willson was Bozeman’s most successful architect in the early and mid-20 th century. Willson is responsible for nearly every significant structure in Bozeman’s Main Street business district as well as over 40 residences. The appearance of Montana State University is also based to a large extent on Willson. Nearly all of the buildings on campus constructed between 1910 and 1940, as well as some later buildings, were designed by Willson. The architect’s work was described by a contemporary in the 1920s as “noted for originality of design…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.” (Stout, 320) MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 7 Integrity Property Name: Hamilton Hall Site Number: 24GA1871 INTEGRITY (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association) Hamilton Hall is in good condition, and retains most of its original exterior detailing and massing. A 2009 renovation replaced the original windows with historically sympathetic units and returned the main entrance porch to its original appearance. Extensive alterations to the interior, however, have removed most evidence of the building’s original use as Montana State’s first women’s dormitory. Despite extensive interior alterations, Hamilton Hall still readily conveys its associational and architectural significance. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 8 Photographs Property Name: Hamilton Hall Site Number: 24GA1871 Hamilton Hall North Façade, Facing: S Montana State University Jessie Nunn October 6, 2012 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 9 Photographs Property Name: Hamilton Hall Site Number: 24GA1871 Hamilton Hall West Elevation, Facing: NE Montana State University Jessie Nunn October 6, 2012 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 10 Photographs Property Name: Hamilton Hall Site Number: 24GA1871 Hamilton Hall South (Rear) Elevation, Facing: NW Montana State University Jessie Nunn October 6, 2012 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 11 Photographs Property Name: Hamilton Hall Site Number: 24GA1871 Hamilton Hall East Elevation, Facing: NW Montana State University Jessie Nunn October 6, 2012 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 12 Site Map Property Name: Hamilton Hall Site Number: 24GA1871 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 13 Topographic Map Property Name: Hamilton Hall Site Number: 24GA1871