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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRoskie Hall (24GA1885) 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 Historic Address (if applicable): NA City/Town: Bozeman Site Number: 24GA1885 (An historic district number may also apply.) County: Gallatin Historic Name: Roskie Hall Original Owner(s): Montana State University Current Ownership Private Public Current Property Name: Roskie Hall 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 SE ¼ SE ¼ NW ¼ of Section: 13 Lot(s): Block(s): Addition: NA Year of Addition: USGS Quad Name: Bozeman Year: 1987 Historic Use: Residence Hall Current Use: Residence Hall Construction Date: 1966 Estimated Actual Original Location Moved Date Moved: UTM Reference www.nris.mt.gov/topofinder2 NAD 27 or NAD 83(preferred ) Zone: 12 Easting: 495755 Northing: 5056850 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: Contributor to MSU-Bozeman HD MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 2 Architectural Description Property Name: Roskie Hall Site Number: 24GA1885 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Architectural Style: Other: If Other, specify: Modern Property Type: Education Specific Property Type: Architect: Architectural Firm/City/State: O. Berg Jr. & Associates & W. E. Grabow / Bozeman, MT Builder/Contractor: Company/City/State: Haggerty-Messmer Company (general) / Bozeman, MT; Frank J. Trunk and Son (mechanical) / Bozeman, MT; Palmquist Electric / Helena, MT; Dover Elevator / Denver, CO Source of Information: Setting & Location Roskie Hall, an eleven-story dormitory constructed in 1966, sits at the western terminus of Grant Street and immediately southwest of South Hedges. Roskie Hall and the Hedges Complex, which includes two eleven-story dormitories flanking the round Food Service Building, were the first major extensions of campus west of South 11 th Street not related to applied agricultural research. Originally part of the County Poor Farm, the western portion of campus was given to Montana State College soon after its creation in 1893 and it continued to serve as a “farm” with frame barns, granaries, the Veterinary Research Laboratory, the brick 1952 McCall Hall and other agricultural buildings. Today, only the 1924 Beef Cattle Barn (S.O.B. Barn) and McCall Hall, which sit west of North Hedges and east of South Hedges respectively, remain of the college’s once extensive farm. The Creative Arts Complex, constructed in 1974 to the north of McCall Hall, replaced many of the farm buildings. In 1997, North Hedges Suites #1 and #2 were added west of North Hedges. A third suite (North Hedges Suite #3) is currently under construction. An extensive parking lot sits to the south of Roskie Hall and the ASMSU Outdoor Recreation Building and a number of soccer fields are found to the west. Summary Roskie Hall is a high-rise dormitory designed in the Exaggerated Modern style by Bozeman, Montana architects, O. Berg , Jr. and William E. Grabow, and completed in 1967. It consists of three eleven-story, nine-sided columns (or enneagons) situated around a 12-story central column of the same shape. The building has a full, unfinished basement and sits upon a poured concrete foundation, which is exposed everywhere except on the south elevation due to the slope of the site form south to north. Each column has a flat roof and white concrete parapet (or cornice) capped by a white railing. Upper stories (2-12) of the core column are clad in brown precast concrete with a “fluted” texture. Its three longer (22’) sides connect to the north, south , and east wing columns and are flanked by 17’ sides. Upper stories (2-11) of the wings have nine exposed bays made up of white pre-cast concrete wall panels and aluminum windows above glasweld panels. Seven of these bays are approximately 19’ long and are centered on corners of the columns, while the remaining two bays are only about 6’ long and situated against the core column. A continuous round concrete canopy , supported by large tapered concrete brackets , divides the “shaft” of the columns from their first-story bases, except for 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. The paved walk leading to the southwest entrance is protected by 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). First story bays, including those containing entrances, typically contain trapezoid-shaped panels filled glass windows or entrances. Upper Stories of Core Column The upper stories (2-12) of the core column lack fenestration with the exception on the northwest elevation, where there are three columns of two-light sliding aluminum windows. These widow columns are found at the center (the junction of two exposed 17’ sides) of the elevation and against the wing columns. From west to east, they light a seminar room, proctoring room, and vestibule for the north wing’s interior stair. The floor plan of the core column is nearly identical on stories 2-11, with corridors leading to each wing from a central elevator lobby. Double elevators are found on the southwest side of each floor along with a linen room to the north and a trash shoot, custodial room , and staircase vestibule to the south. Each floor’s shared bathroom extends across the east side of the interior core and the proctoring room, seminar room, north wing stair vestibule, and a laundry room are found along the northwest side. Upper Stories of Wing Columns The upper stories (2-11) of each wing column are nearly identical with nine exposed bays made up of Mo-Sai precast concrete wall panels with a “trinity white traver-con finish” manufactured by Otto Buechner & Company of Salt Lake City, Utah. Each longer exterior bay contains two panel units, and each unit contains two recessed panels: a two-light sliding aluminum window over a brown glasweld panel and an unadorned rectangular concrete panel. The panel units are arranged so that they mirror each other, with the windows in the center at the column corners. The shorter bays flanking MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 3 Architectural Description Property Name: Roskie Hall Site Number: 24GA1885 the core column either contain a single window panel or a single rectangular concrete panel. On the south wing, the window is against the core column’s southwest elevation, on the north wing it is against the east elevation , and on the west wing it is against the northwest elevation. The fenestration patterns reflect the floor plan of the wing’s upper stories, which have seven double rooms (two windows) flanked by a single room (single window) and staircase (rectangular panel) situated around a circular living room. First-Story of the Core Column The main entrance is located on the southwest elevation of the core column and fronts the parking lot serving both Roskie Hall and the Hedges Complex. Unlike the other entrances to Roskie Hall, which are reached by stairs, the main entrance is at grade. As previously mentioned , the concrete walk leading to the main entrance is protected by a flat-roofed canopy, which extends almost 45’ from the core column. The double entrances are located in trapezoid-shaped panels that flank the engaged tapered bracket supporting the canopy. Each trapezoidal entrance panel contains double aluminum-framed glass doors with tops that slant down from the center and large sidelights. The elevated east entrance is reached by a broad flight of concrete steps and consists of double aluminum-framed glass doors. Round, concrete planters on either side of the stairs add to the building’s Modern aesthetic. A nearly identical entrance is found on the northwest elevation of the core column. The original first-story floor plan of the central column included a lounge to the northwest and a reception area and mailroom to the east, with the building’s double elevators to the southwest. First Story of Wing Columns The first story of the west wing was originally designed as a shared recreational space with public restrooms, while the north and south wings each contained a single bedroom apartment and a double bedroom apartment, both of which had a living room, kitchen , and bathroom. Depending on the nature of the rooms they serve, exterior first story bays contain trapezoid-shaped panels that are either filled with lights or brown concrete. On the north and south “apartment” wings, bays 2 and 8 light the living rooms, bays 4-6 light the bedrooms and bays 3 and 7 light the kitchens and bathrooms. Living room bays have four full-length aluminum-framed lights filling their trapezoidal panels, while bedroom bays are similar except for small operational awning units at the bottom of the two center lights. A single light panel serves each kitchen, while the remainder of bays 3 and 7, including the bathrooms, lack fenestration. On the west “recreational” wing the trapezoidal panels of all bays except 1, 8 and the eastern half of 7, are filled with full-length glass. In some cases, such as in bay 4 of the west wing, aluminum-framed doors with trapezoidal transoms make up one of the central lights. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 4 History of Property Property Name: Roskie Hall Site Number: 24GA1885 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 5 History of Property Property Name: Roskie Hall Site Number: 24GA1885 A Modern University In 1963, Montana State College was awarded its first “bachelor of arts” degrees in History and English, symbolizing a significant shift in curriculum from the traditional emphasis on agriculture, engineering and the physical sciences. Over the next five years, four more Bachelor of Arts degrees were added in Modern Languages, Music, Government and Philosophy along with three “social” Bachelor of Science degrees in Sociology, Economics and Psychology. (Burlingame, 197). Enrollment also continued to grow alongside the curriculum and the “low-rise” dormitories at the north end of campus would quickly prove insufficient. Between 1958 and 1964, enrollment increased by 1,381 and the College estimated an additional 891 students would enroll in 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. (Item 192-211, 18/12/1964). The massive scale—the proposed dormitories would be the state’s tallest buildings—and modern design of the new residential complex would come to represent the transition of campus from Montana State College to Montana State University (MSU), a name change approve by the State Legislature in 1965. (Burlingame, 203 and 208). The Hedges Complex (1964-1967), along with the nearby Roskie Hall (1967), would be featured on the front cover of the 1968 President’s Report, which celebrated the diamond anniversary of Montana State University. Roskie Hall By 1966, Montana State University was ready to add a second high-rise dormitory complex capable of housing another 1,440 students next to the nearly-completed Hedges Complex. The “Roskie Residential Hall Complex” was to include three high-rise residential halls around a central service center. The latter would be the “center of coeducational activities and the focal point for those parents and visitors coming to the complex,” and should be informal, gracious, logical in its circulation patterns and, “allow that amount of privacy which is conductive to wholesome activities among the sexes yet preclude those activities which are not.” (Complex Service Center, 5/23/1966). The complex was to be built in multiple phases and cost an estimated $8,378,012. (Cost Analysis, 7/9/66). O. Berg Jr. and William F. Grabow, the architects responsible for the Hedges Complex, were hired to create drawings and specification for “Phase I”, an 11-story dormitory, which were ready by April 20, 1966. If the Hedges Complex marked the apex of Modernism at MSU, the Roskie Complex pushed into the futuristic realm of “Exaggerated Modern” or “Googlie.” The service building was again round, but now the architects called for three identical dormitories consisting of three white nine-sided columns situated around a central dark nine-sided column. Haggerty-Messmer Co. received the $1,468,466 general contract for the first dormitory and construction began in June of 1966 (Notice to Proceed, 6/7/1966). Completed in 1967, the $2 million first phase of the “Roskie Complex,” was also its last. The rest of the project was permanently tabled, probably due to funding issues. Luckily, the solitary finished dorm, dubbed Roskie Hall, was the closest to the Hedges Complex and residents could easily share its dining facilities. Initially a men’s dormitory, Roskie Hall became co-education in 1972 to comply with Title IX. Today, it includes men’s and women’s floors, as well as co-ed floors for upperclassmen and women. O. Berg Jr. and William E. Grabow Oswald Berg Jr. was a Montana native, born into a ranching family in Lewistown, on October 8, 1918. He attended St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota and then Washington State College (now University), where he was awarded 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 was employed by the college architecture office at WSU and as an architect for N.W. Fabricators, Inc. before opening his own Bozeman-based firm in 1949. 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. His longtime partner, William Edmund Grabow was born in Livingston, Montana on September 10, 1924 and attended Montana State College, from which 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. Berg had a long and prolific career in Montana, Washington and Oregon. He and his partners designed churches and chapels, schools and university buildings, banks, libraries and shops, along with some commercial and residential buildings. Some of his best known works were designed in partnership with Grabow and include MSU’s Museum of the Rockies, Hedges Complex and Roskie Hall. Berg also designed buildings at MSU-Havre. In addition to his architectural practice, Berg taught as a visiting professor at MSU and was a licensed engineer. Grabow was also engaged in the Bozeman community, serving as mayor in the early 1970s. (Adapted from Painter, 47 and 55). MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 6 Information Sources/Bibliography Property Name: Roskie Hall Site Number: 24GA1885 INFORMATION SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY Berg & Grabow, “A Residence Hall for Montana State University,” Specifications, c. 1966. University Records, 66-0008. Berg & Grabow, “Montana State University Dormitory Complex,” Architectural Drawings, 20 April 1966. University Records 66-0008. 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. “Complex Service Center,” 23 May 1966. University Records, 66-0008. Montana State Board of Education. “Item 192-211, Construction and Financing of Second Residential Section of the Hedges Hall Complex,” 12 October 1964. University 65-0012. Montana State Board of Education. “Notice to Proceed,” 7 June 1966. University Records, 66-0008. Montana State University. “Ideas Toward a New Tomorrow: The President’s Report,” 1968. 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. “Roskie Residence Hall Complex Cost Analysis,” 9 July 1966. University Records, 66-0008. Rydell, Robert, Pierce Mullen and Jeffrey Safford. In the People’s Interest: A Centennial History of Montana State University , 1993. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 7 Statement of Significance Property Name: Roskie Hall Site Number: 24GA1885 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: 1966-1968 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Roskie Hall is a contributing building within the proposed Montana State University Historic District, which is eligible for listing under Criterion A and C. It is significant for its association with MSU’s continued effort to provide suitable and attractive housing for a growing number of undergraduate students after World War II. Roskie Hall is also the last large- scale residential hall constructed adjacent to the core campus. Later residences for traditional undergraduate students would be in the form of “suites” or apartments. Architecturally, the Hedges Complex and Roskie Hall represent the pinnacle of Mid-century Modern architecture within the core MSU campus. The next major construction project on campus (Cobleigh Hall, 1970) would have a decidedly different Late Modern (or Brutalist) aesthetic. For the design of the unfinished “Roskie Complex”, architects O. Berg , Jr. and William F. Grabow used circles extensively, with a round service building flanked by three 11-story dormitories made up of a central nine-sided (almost circular) column and three outer nine-sided columns containing student rooms. In essence, each dorm was a miniature of the entire complex. Roskie Hall, the only building of the complex to be constructed, is an excellent example of the Exaggerated Modern (or Googlie) style. Its design evokes a future where traditional building forms can be abandoned in the wake of continuous technological advances, reflecting the zeitgeist of the Space Age. The building is also significance for the extensive use of mid-century materials including Mo-Sai precast concrete panels, Glasweld asbestos panels and aluminum windows. Finally, along with the Hedges Complex, Roskie Hall is significant as arguably the best work produced during the partnership between Bozeman architects, O. Berg. Jr. and William F. Grabow. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 8 Integrity Property Name: Roskie Hall Site Number: 24GA1885 INTEGRITY (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association) Roskie Hall retains excellent integrity of design, workmanship and materials. Outside of reroofing, the only alteration of any significance was the replacement of the original concrete parapet and the installation of a parapet railing in 2011. It also retains its integrity of location and setting, which are important to its association with the Hedges Complex and its role as the southwest anchor of campus proper. Overall, Roskie Hall readily conveys its significant association with the continued growth of MSU and its architectural significance as an outstanding example of exaggerated Modernism. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 9 Photographs Property Name: Roskie Hall Site Number: 24GA1885 Roskie Hall East Elevation, Facing: NW Montana State University Campus Jessie Nunn, January 8, 2013 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 10 Photographs Property Name: Roskie Hall Site Number: 24GA1885 Roskie Hall Southwest Elevation, Facing: NE Montana State University Campus Jessie Nunn, January 8, 2013 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 11 Photographs Property Name: Roskie Hall Site Number: 24GA1885 Roskie Hall Typical First Story Bay (South Tower), Facing: NE Montana State University Campus Jessie Nunn, January 8, 2013 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 12 Photographs Property Name: Roskie Hall Site Number: 24GA1885 Roskie Hall East Entrance, Facing: SW Montana State University Jessie Nunn, January 8, 2013 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 13 Photographs Property Name: Roskie Hall Site Number: 24GA1885 Roskie Hall Southwest Entrance, Facing: NW Montana State University Campus Jessie Nunn, January 8, 2013 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 14 Site Map Property Name: Roskie Hall Site Number: 24GA1885 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 15 Site Map Property Name: Roskie Hall Site Number: 24GA1885 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 16 Topographic Map Property Name: Roskie Hall Site Number: 24GA1885