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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRenne Library (24GA1882) 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 S. Side Centennial Mall Historic Address (if applicable): NA City/Town: Bozeman Site Number: 24GA1882 (An historic district number may also apply.) County: Gallatin Historic Name: Ronald R. Renne Library Original Owner(s): Montana State College of Agriculture & Mechanical Arts Current Ownership Private Public Current Property Name: Ronald R. Renne Library Owner(s): Montana State University--Administration Owner Address: 201 Main Hall / PO Box 172440 Bozeman, MT 59717-2440 Phone: 406-994-2001 Legal Location PM: Montana Township: 2S Range: 5E NE ¼ SW ¼ NE ¼ of Section: 13 Lot(s): Block(s): 38 Addition: Capital Hill Year of Addition: 1890 USGS Quad Name: Bozeman Year: 1987 Historic Use: Library Current Use: Library Construction Date: 1949; 1960 Estimated Actual Original Location Moved Date Moved: UTM Reference www.nris.mt.gov/topofinder2 NAD 27 or NAD 83(preferred ) Zone: 12 Easting: 496204 Northing: 5057014 National Register of Historic Places NRHP Listing Date: Historic District: Montana State University-Bozeman HD NRHP Eligible: Yes No Date of this document: July 1, 2013 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: Kate Hampton Comments: Contributing resource within the MSU-Bozeman HD. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 2 Architectural Description Property Name: Ronald R. Renne Library Site Number: 24GA1882 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Architectural Style: Other: If Other, specify: Renaissance Revival (1949); Modern (1960) Property Type: Education Specific Property Type: Architect: Fred F. Willson / Bozeman, MT (1949) Architectural Firm/City/State: McIver & Hess / Great Falls, MT (1960); CTA (2001 Renovation) Builder/Contractor: Company/City/State: Source of Information: Setting & Location The Ronald R. Renne Library is centrally located within the Montana State University (MSU) campus with Strand Student Union immediately to the east and Montana (Main) Hall to the northwest across Centennial Mall. The eastern half of the original Library, designed in the Renaissance Revival style and completed in 1949, is still visible on the building’s east elevation. Its revival aesthetic compliments the original 1939 Tudor-style portions of the Strand Student Union. The library’s expansive 1960 addition sits to the east of Reid Hall, a multi-purpose classroom building constructed in 1959. These buildings are Modern style gateposts to the large oval-shaped open space that fronts Romney Gymnasium. This 1922 Italian Renaissance Revival building serves as the northern terminus of the north-south axis established by the 1917 George Carsley / Cass Gilbert Campus Plan. Other buildings fronting this open space include A.J.M. Johnson Hall (1954) to the east, Gaines Hall (1961; renovated 2010) to the northwest , and Traphagen Hall (1922) to the west. More open space is located across Centennial Mall between Montana (Main) Hall, Hamilton Hall (1910) and Wilson Hall (1974). Summary 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 is characterized by a rusticated base on its side elevations and elongated windows with stacked lights, which were 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 added 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 addition has a full basement, three main stories and a 108’ x 135’ fourth-story penthouse, which is clad in white corrugated asbestos paneling. The main portion of the addition is clad in red -face d 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. Aside from the curtain wall entrances and a few vertical strips of glass on the façade, the building is devoid of fenestration. Full- height square columns of limestone rise to meet a limestone fascia on the north, west, and south elevations . Paired columns are found at each building corner. This limestone exoskeleton links the addition to the New Formalism of Modern architecture. Original Library, North Elevation Only the eastern half of the 1949 Library remained visible after the completion of the larger 1960 addition. Its symmetrical north façade originally contained a protruding one-and-a-half story, triple-door entrance with a flat , cast concrete cornice engraved with the word, “LIBRARY”. A concrete stringcourse continued off the top of the cornice to serve as a continuous sill for the second story windows. Four windows flanked the entrance at both the basement and first story, with the former having two -light windows and the latter having widows with five stacked lights. Fifteen evenly-spaced widows with four stacked lights stretched across the second story above the entrance. The center lights of the first and second story windows were operational hopper units. Basement and first story windows had cast concrete sills, with the basement sills resting on the building’s poured concrete foundation. A single soldier course of brick served as a stingcourse at each story. The base (first and basement stories) of the façade was rusticated with every fourth brick protruding slightly from the wall face. With the construction of the addition, the western half of the building was covered and the entrance removed and in-filled with brick salvaged from other portions of the building. Three first story windows with five stacked lights were also installed in the former entrance space and eleven second story windows remained exposed. The remaining north elevation was altered again in 2001 with a renovation by CTA that created a reading room on the previously un-fenestrated attic story (or third story). A three-story stair tower with corner windows at each story except the basement now sits where the original MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 3 Architectural Description Property Name: Ronald R. Renne Library Site Number: 24GA1882 entrance once stood. Tower widows have 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. Original Library, East Elevation The decorative motifs and fenestration found on the original library’s north facade continue around to the long east elevation. This elevation was undisturbed by the 1960 addition, but altered during the 2001 renovation with the addition of two approximately 40’ wide hipped-roofed wall dormers and the slight reconfiguration of its southern entrance. The elevation contains two elevated first story entrances, the north accessed by a series of concrete stairs, and the south served by a concrete loading dock. Metal safety railings have been installed at both entrances. A flat-roofed canopy clad with a soldier course of brick protects the north entrance, which consists of a recent single metal door with a long rectangular light and transom of two stacked lights, as well as two first-story windows immediately to the north. Two first- story windows and two basement windows are found further to the north. A similar flat-roofed canopy protects over the southern service entrance, a single pedestrian door with a transom of two stacked lights, and three first-story windows. Originally, four first-story windows occurred south of this entrance; however, the northernmost of these was converted into an entrance, reached by an elevated concrete walkway that extends from the north side of the loading dock. The new (2001) entrance contains a metal door with an upper light and a single-light transom. There are two basement windows to the south of the loading dock. The space between the entrances contains three basement windows and four first-story windows. Twenty-one evenly-spaced windows with four stacked lights originally punctured the second story immediately under the roofline. When two third-story wall dormers were added in 2001, the third second-story window from the south was removed and filled with brick. Each of the wall dormers contains six widows with five stacked lights. Dormer windows have individual concrete sills and a continuous soldier course brick stringcourse. Original Library, Rear (North) and West Elevations The simplified rear elevation lacks the rusticated base and concrete stringcourse found of the other elevations, although the brick stringcourses are present. The 1960 addition extends approximately 16’ farther east on its northern façade. This means that while the addition covers almost 30% of the original building’s north façade, it covers only about 5% its rear elevation. Originally this elevation contained six centered windows with individual rowlock brick sills on the first and second stories and no other fenestration. These six windows were retained with the construction of the 1960 addition; however, two more bays of windows have been added to the west in 2001 along with a below grade basement level entrance at the northeast corner. This entrance, which contains a single metal door with an upper light, provides access to the Information Technology Center. An arched metal canopy protects the entrance which is reached by concrete steps. The west elevation is completely obscured by the 1960 addition. Originally, a single-door entrance providing access to the building’s western interior staircase was located approximately 50’ south of the north façade. A two -light window and two four -light windows lit the staircase. Six first- and second-story windows and four basement windows were found to the west of the entrance/staircase bay. The rusticated base and concrete stringcourse ended at the northernmost of these windows before picking up again south of the entrance. Eleven first- and second-story windows, along with six basement windows were found west of the entrance/staircase bay. 1960 Addition, North Façade The north façade of the 1960 Addition is broken into six 27’ wide bays by full-length, squared limestone 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 first-story main entrance is located in the third bay from the east. It consists of two double aluminum glass door entrances flanked by glass panels. A ribbon of six aluminum-framed lights is located 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 with abstract raised, ceramic brownish-red figures representing technology, social science and the humanities are located in the western corners of bays one, five and six, respectively. The setback fourth story penthouse, which is clad in white asbestos paneling, is visible above the façade and on the other elevations. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 4 Architectural Description Property Name: Ronald R. Renne Library Site Number: 24GA1882 1960 Addition, West Elevation The west elevation contains eight 27’ wide bays defined by limestone columns, with the building’s west entrance in the fourth bay from the north. Here , the curtain wall above the entrance contains five columns of lights with insulated glass at both upper stories (2-3) flanked horizontally by three rows of spandrel light. The entrance, which is protected by a flat concrete canopy, consists of three aluminum-framed glass doors flanked by large glass panels. A ribbon of five glass lights is found above the entrance. Each remaining bay contains a centered 17’ wide raised brick panel, which extends from the limestone fascia to about 2.5’ above grade. (These panels are also found in bays 1, 5 , and 6 of the façade, but are difficult to see due to the flanking columns of glass.) Continuous brick screens flank the raised panel in bay 5. 1960 Addition, Rear (North) and East Elevations The rear (north) elevation of the 1960 Addition has five 27’ wide bays identical to those found on the west elevation and one slender bay without a raised brick panel on its east end. There are two single metal door entrances on this elevation: one in the west end of westernmost bay and the other in the smaller east bay. The east elevation of the addition was fitted around the western portion of the original building. It extends approximately 30’ farther south than the original building’s south wall. The exposed south end contains a single raised brick panel, but no mid-wall limestone column. Its brick wall continues above the hipped wall of the original building. Originally, the exposed north end of this elevation was similar to the south end, but with a slimmer raised brick panel and a column of lights immediately south of the limestone corner column. However, only about 10’ of this end remains exposed after the construction of the stair tower in 2001. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 5 History of Property Property Name: Ronald R. Renne Library Site Number: 24GA1882 HISTORY OF PROPERTY Development of Montana State University Campus Montana State University was founded on February 16, 1893 (four years after statehood) as Montana’s land grant college under the Morrill Act of 1862. It has the distinction of being Montana’s first legislatively-created public university, with the University of Montana in Missoula being created the following day. Initially called the Agricultural College of the State of Montana, the new college was situated on a 200-acre site, part of which had been platted as the Capital Hill Addition in a (failed) bid for the State Capital. Bozeman citizens raised funds to purchase half the land, and Gallatin County donated the other half, which included the County poor farm. The first purpose-built building on campus was the Agricultural Experiment Station (Taylor Hall) constructed in 1894. Main Hall (or Montana Hall), the centerpiece of the campus, was completed in 1898. The construction of the Neo-classical Revival style Agricultural Building (Linfield Hall) in 1909 further illustrated the primary role of agriculture at Montana State. In 1913, the college was renamed the Montana State College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts (MSC). The college anticipated a period of expansion after World War I, and contracted with Montana architect, George Carsley, and nationally-known landscape architect, Cass Gilbert, to develop a campus plan, now known as the “1917 George Carsley / Cass Gilbert Plan.” This plan, which exhibited a formal Beaux-Arts symmetry, was adopted by the Montana State Board of Education in 1920 and guided campus development until the outbreak of World War II. Its implementation was assisted by a $5 million bond to fund building development programs on all of Montana’s campuses. At MSC this resulted in the construction of several Italian Renaissance Revival buildings, including Roberts Hall, Traphagen Hall, Lewis Hall, Harrick Hall, Romney Gymnasium and the Heating Plant. MSC continued to grow and evolve during the Great Depression and Word War II. This was spurred in part by the growth of the Extension Service under the New Deal’s Agricultural Adjustment Administration, an increase in unemployed students who enrolled in the years from 1932 to 1939 and expanded military training (including a flight school) during World War II. The 1935 “Quads,” a women’s dormitory financed through the Works Progress Administration, and the oldest portion of the Student Union, completed in 1940, were the era’s most significant additions to campus. Both were designed by Bozeman architect, Fred F. Willson, in the Tudor Revival style. Slight deviations from the 1917 George Carsley / Cass Gilbert Plan during the mid-1940s resulted from a desire for new buildings alongside a need to curb paving and heating costs by reducing the space between buildings. Along with colleges and universities across the nation, MSC expanded to accommodate students attending college under the “GI Bill” after World War II. The square footage of campus buildings doubled in the following decades. At this time, further departures were also made from the 1917 George Carsley / Cass Gilbert Plan as growth demanded expansion beyond its boundaries and within its open spaces. The Renne Library (1949) and the small Danforth Chapel (1952), MSC’s first Modern style building, were the era’s earliest additions to campus but several others followed during the 1950s and early 1960s. Four Mid-Century Modern dormitories were added to the northern end of campus and new academic buildings, including Reid Hall and the Math-Physics Building (AJM Johnson Hall), were erected in open spaces south of Garfield Street. Several older buildings also received significant Modern style additions, including Renne Library and Linfield and Lewis Halls. The result was a campus showcasing a dynamic blend of revivalist and modernist styles. The college was re-named Montana State University (MSU) in 1965, and the high-rise dormitories (Hedges and Roskie Halls) that would symbolize the modern era were completed by 1967. More buildings were added in the 1970s as MSU replaced all of its temporary frame buildings with permanent structures. Growth slowed during the 1980s through the beginning of the 21 st century in the core campus area, although a few new buildings (Visual Communications, the EPS Building and the Chemistry & Biochemistry Building) were added. Many older buildings have also undergone significant alterations in recent decades. Perhaps the greatest addition to campus during the contemporary period was Centennial Mall along what was once Garfield Street. In providing a strong east-west linear focus, the well-landscaped pedestrian mall was actually a return to the axial arrangement of 1917 George Carsley / Cass Gilbert Plan. Today the MSU campus represents a blend of early formal planning, post-war expansion and contemporary buildings that respond to current needs. It offers an excellent example of the evolution of campus planning in Montana. (Burlingame, in passim; Painter, Montana Property Record Form for Langford Hall.) MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 6 History of Property Property Name: Ronald R. Renne Library Site Number: 24GA1882 Ronald R. Renne Library A library would seemingly be one of the first buildings constructed on a college campus, but many universities, including Montana State College (MSC) and the University of Wyoming, housed this important institution in “Old Main” for an extended period of time. At the University of Montana in Missoula, the library was not located on site not even on campus until 1908, when it moved from a nearby school into the newly-constructed Jeannette Rankin Hall. By the mid-1920s, however, MSC was the only one of these three institutions without a library building. The University of Montana added its library (now the Social Sciences Building) in 1921 and the University of Wyoming constructing a library and law school (the Aven Nelson Memorial Building) in 1923. (UM—Missoula & UW Websites). Charged with offering instruction in Agriculture, “the Mechanical Arts,” and the sciences, MSC had other priorities in the post-World War I era. With its share of the $5 million bond issued by the State in 1920 for campus expansion at its four institutions, MSC built an Engineering Building and Shops, buildings for Chemistry, Biology and Home Economics, a gymnasium and a new heating plant. The library would have to wait until after World War II for its own building, by which time the situation had become somewhat desperate. According to newly-appointed President Ronald R. Renne, in 1945 the college’s library collection, recently appraised at $243,251.53, was scattered across campus in six different buildings, many of which were considered fire hazards. (Library for Montana State College, 1945). Moreover, the designated library space in Main Hall was entirely insufficient. Workrooms and reading areas were overcrowded and heavy boxes had to be carried up a long flight of stairs, a problem that would soon resolve itself as the second floor, where the library had been housed since 1927, could bear no more weight. Worst of all, the inadequacy of the library facilities hindered MSC’s ability to reach out to the public or keep pace with current academic trends. In short, a library building was long overdue. Fortunately, Montana found itself in a favorable financial position at the close of World War II, with a surplus of building funds to put toward the first state-funded permanent construction at MSC since the 1920s. ( Exponent , 9/30/1948). The MCS Library Committee called for a T- shaped building that would allow for future expansion and could house a large reading room, art exhibit and/or museum space , and a soundproof theater, in addition to the required book stacks and library administration and work spaces. The y also recommended, “complete functional simplicity, no waste 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.” (Library for Montana State College, 1945). The subsequent project was a $400,000 three-story brick-clad building with a full basement, designed in a simplified Renaissance Revival by Bozeman architect, Fred F. Willson. Disappointingly, the second wing was abandoned due to lack of funds. Groundbreaking occurred on September 14, 1948 for the new building, which was sited just west of the Student Union and had its short façade facing north toward Garfield Street. ( Exponent , 9/30/1948; Burlingame, 185). The building was completed in late 1949 and the MSC library moved into its new home over Christmas break. The 1949 Library was short-lived. Only a decade after its construction, the library was already, “as unable to provide for student needs as the [1922 Romney] gymnasium had been for basketball games.” (Burlingame, 192). The need for more space resulted from an increase in enrolment , from 2,315 in 1950 to 4,320 in 1961 , and the exponential growth of library volumes, which more than doubled between 1948 and 1968. (MSU Website, Enrollment History; Exponent , 9/30/1948; 1968 President’s Report). The State, however, was less inclined to fund campus building projects, and MSC turned to private donors. The College’s Alumni Association, alongside the Endowment and Research Foundation, initiated a fundraising campaign for a library addition and a new Chemistry building in an effort to raise enough money for the completion of “large shells” for each building in 1960 and 1961, respectively. The library addition, which enveloped the west half of the 1949 building and quadrupled the total available space, was designed in 1960 by the Great Falls architectural firm, McIver and Hess. The upper stories of the Modern style building were finished in the late 1960s with state funding. (Burlingame, 192.) Montana State was not alone in its need for expanded library space during the mid-20 th century. The University of Wyoming built a new library in 1957, which it expanded in 1977 and 2007, and the University of Montana began construction of its five-story Mansfield Library in 1970. The Library was later named the Ronald R. Renne Library in honor of the MSU President from 1943 to 1964. It continues to serve it original purpose and underwent a major renovation in 2001, which created a well-lit reading room in the third- story (attic) of the original building. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 7 History of Property Property Name: Ronald R. Renne Library Site Number: 24GA1882 Fred F. Willson, Architect The college contracted with Bozeman architect Fred F. Willson to design the 1949 Library. Born in 1877, Willson 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 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. He went to Europe to study and enrolled at the Ecole des Beau Arts in Paris, France, where he broadened his architectural education and, through travel, gained exposure to the architecture of Europe. Upon returning to the United States in 1906, Willson briefly lived in New York City, where he became 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 to Bozeman permanently 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 other 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 Herrick Hall, his designs on campus include Hamilton Hall, the Engineering Building (Roberts Hall), the Engineering Shops (Ryon Labs) and its addition, the Heating Plant, the Chemistry Building (Traphagen 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). McIver, Hess & Haugsjaa Angus Vaughn McIver, born in Great Falls, Montana on April 29, 1892, studied civil engineering at the University of Michigan, where he earned a bachelor’s degree. McIver practiced with several other architects over his career, including Chandler Cohagen (1915-1926), William Hess, and Knute Haugsjaa, and undertook a range of commissions, including institutional and educational work. Among McIver’s best known works are the Veteran’s Hospital in Miles City; the Montana Veterans & Pioneers Memorial Building in Helena; Air Force Housing at Malmstrom Air Force Base; the Lewis & Clark School, a number of elementary schools, the Russell Art Gallery and the Scottish Rite Temple in Great Falls. He was honored as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1949. He died in 1974. William James Hess was born in Teton County, Montana on October 21, 1914. He attended Montana State College, from which he graduated in 1937 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture. His first professional job was as a draftsman for Chandler C. Cohagen (1937-1939). He then went to work for A. V. McIver, working as an employee until 1953, when he became a partner in McIver, Hess & Haugsjaa. 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. Some of their well-known works include the Great Falls Public Library (1967); the Scottish Rite Cathedral at Great Falls (1968); and the Fort Benton School Building (1968). Knute S. Haugsjaa was born on December 29, 1915 in Pekin, North Dakota, and attended North Dakota State College, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture in 1939. 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. He became a partner in McIver, Hess & Haugsjaa in 1953. At Montana State University, McIver, Hess & Haugsjaa (under various names and partnerships) designed Langford Hall (1960), the 1960 Renne Library Addition, the Nelson Story and Peter Koch Towers (1968) and Julia Martin Court (1968- 1971). (Adapted from Painter, 52). MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 8 Information Sources/Bibliography Property Name: Ronald R. Renne Library Site Number: 24GA1882 INFORMATION SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY Building Master List. Physical Plant Records, Montana State University. Burlingame, Merrill. A History: Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana. Bozeman, MT: Office of Information Publication, February 1968. “Ground is Broken for New Library Building at MSC,” Montana Exponent, 30 September 1948. McIver & Hess. “Specifications: A Library, Montana State College,” July 1960. University Records, 60-0004. McIver & Hess. “Library Building, Montana State College,” Architectural Drawings, 6 June 1960. University Records 60-0004. Montana State University. “Fall Head Count Enrollment History, 1893 to Present,” Website accessed online at http://www.montana.edu/opa/facts/headhist.html . Montana State University. “Ideas Toward a New Tomorrow: The President’s Report,” 1968. Renne, Ronald R. “Library for Montana State College,” 1945. Painter, Diane J. Montana Post-World War II Architectural Survey and Inventory: Historic Context and Survey Report , December 2010. Painter, Diane J. “Langford Hall, Montana Property Record Form,” July 18, 2010. Montana State Preservation Office. Stout, Tom. Montana: Its Story and Biography. Vol. 2. Chicago: The American Historical Society, 1921. University of Montana. “History of the Mansfield Library,” Website accessed online at http://www.lib.umt.edu/history-of-the-mansfield-library . University of Wyoming. “History of Coe Library,” Website accessed online at http://www-lib.uwyo.edu/about/pdf/HistoryofCoeLibrary.pdf . Willson, Fred F. “Library Building, Montana State College, Information for Bidder, General Conditions, Specifications,” July 1948. University Records, 48-0001. Willson, Fred R. “Library Building, Montana State University,” Architectural Drawings, 18 July 1948. University Records, 48-0001. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 9 Statement of Significance Property Name: Ronald R. Renne Library Site Number: 24GA1882 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: 1949-1968 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE The Ronald R. Renne Library, completed in 1949, is a contributing building within the proposed Montana State University Historic District, which is eligible for listing under Criteria A and C. The library is importantly associated with the growth of the University after World War II, both in enrollment and in library materials. Its massive 1960 Addition only further reflects this association. Its construction also illustrates academic trends during the period, which places a greater emphasis on the centralization and use of library resources. Under Criterion C, the Library’s 1960 Addition, which falls within the period of significance, is an excellent example of the Modern style. Its curtain wall façade is one of the style’s most distinguishing features, while its limestone exoskeleton of thin piers supporting a continuous fascia (or frieze) is a hallmark of the New Formalist branch of Modernism. The Addition is also a significant example of the work of Great Falls, Montana firm, McIver & Hess at the MSU. Unfortunately, the original 1949 Library has been largely obscured by its larger addition and its remaining elevations have been somewhat altered during a recent (2001) renovation. As such, it no longer retains a sufficient level of integrity to be eligible under Criterion C as a rather late example of the Renaissance Revival style or as a representative work of Bozeman, Montana architect, Fred F. Willson. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 10 Integrity Property Name: Ronald R. Renne Library Site Number: 24GA1882 INTEGRITY (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association) The original Renaissance Revival Library building (1949) has undergone extensive alterations, the most significant of which is a massive Modern-style addition constructed over its western half in 1960. More recently, in 2001, dormers were added to the roof of the exposed east elevation and a square tower was constructed at north elevation’s juncture with the 1960 Addition. Its original windows were also replaced with historically-sensitive units in 2003. In contrast, the 1960 Addition (a significant alteration in itself) retains excellent historical integrity of design, materials and workmanship. It has undergone only minor alterations, such as the 2012 replacement of the north and south entrance canopy roofs. In its entirety, the Renne Library also retains excellent integrity of location and setting within the campus core. Along with the Student Union to the east and Montana Hall to the north across Centennial Mall, the Renne Library creates a cluster of administrative and student-service buildings. With Reid Hall (1959) immediately to west, the 1960 Addition also serves as one side of a Modern style portal to the oval-shaped Romney Field. Overall, the Renne Library retains sufficient integrity to convey its associational significance with the growth of MSU after World War II and its architectural significance as an example of the curtain wall and New Formalist branches of the Modern architecture. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 11 Photographs Property Name: Ronald R. Renne Library Site Number: 24GA1882 Renne Library North Façade (1960 Building), Facing: SW Montana State University Jessie Nunn, November 3, 2012 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 12 Photographs Property Name: Ronald R. Renne Library Site Number: 24GA1882 Renne Library North Elevation (1949 Building), Facing: S Montana State University Jessie Nunn, November 3, 2012 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 13 Photographs Property Name: Ronald R. Renne Library Site Number: 24GA1882 Renne Library East Elevation (1949 Building), Facing: SW Montana State University Jessie Nunn, November 3, 2012 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 14 Photographs Property Name: Ronald R. Renne Library Site Number: 24GA1882 Renne Library South Elevation (1949 Building), Facing: N Montana State University Jessie Nunn, November 3, 2012 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 15 Photographs Property Name: Ronald R. Renne Library Site Number: 24GA1882 Renne Library South Elevation (1960 Building), Facing: NE Montana State University Jessie Nunn, November 3, 2012 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 16 Photographs Property Name: Ronald R. Renne Library Site Number: 24GA1882 Renne Library West Elevation (1960 Building), Facing: SE Montana State University Jessie Nunn, November 3, 2012 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 17 Site Map Property Name: Ronald R. Renne Library Site Number: 24GA1882 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 18 Topographic Map Property Name: Ronald R. Renne Library Site Number: 24GA1882