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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTaylor Hall (24GA1887) 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 SE Corner 11 th Ave & Arthur Street Historic Address (if applicable): Same City/Town: Bozeman Site Number: 24GA1887 (An historic district number may also apply.) County: Gallatin Historic Name: Experiment Station Building Original Owner(s): Montana State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts Current Ownership Private Public Current Property Name: Taylor Hall Owner(s): Montana State University - Adminstration Owner Address: 201 Main Hall / PO Box 172440 Bozeman, MT 59717-2440 Phone: 406-994-2001 Legal Location PM: Montana Township: 2S Range: 5E SW 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: Offices, Classrooms, Workshops, Residences Current Use: Offices (MSU Extension Services) Construction Date: 1894 Estimated Actual Original Location Moved Date Moved: UTM Reference www.nris.mt.gov/topofinder2 NAD 27 or NAD 83(preferred ) Zone: 12 Easting: 495984 Northing: 5057144 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: Contributor to MSU-Bozeman HD MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 2 Architectural Description Property Name: Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall) Site Number: 24GA1887 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Architectural Style: Other: If Other, specify: Mixed (Italianate, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival) Property Type: Education Specific Property Type: Architect: Charles S. Haire (attributed) Architectural Firm/City/State: Charles S. Haire / Helena, MT Builder/Contractor: unknown Company/City/State: Source of Information: Montana State Archives This relative simple side-gable building combines elements from the Italianate, Queen Ann and Colonial Revival styles, all of which were popular during the early 1880s. The solid masonry building sits on a coursed stone foundation (the roof is framed in wood and there are interior walls of wood, but the bearing walls at the perimeter are solid brick). It has a full daylight basement and attic. It measures 44’ x 50’ and is 35’ tall. The wood-shingled, clipped-gabled roof is orientated with its ends on the east and west, with the west elevation facing 11 th Avenue. This clipped-gable roof shape is often association with Danish, German and Austrian architecture. Along with its symmetrical massing and eave front, the roof shape conveys a rural and Colonial feeling. Fenestration treatments, however, are more in line the Italianate and Queen Anne styles. The gable ends are finished in square and fishscale shingles that are currently painted white. Shed roof attic dormers with four fixed windows in wood frames are located on the north and south slopes of the roof. 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. Windows in the gables were full-size one-over-one double hung, while the remaining windows were two-over-two double hung. The north façade is symmetrical, with the exception of the 1967 flat-roofed porch and stairs. It has three bays with three openings on the first and second stories and two at the basement story. Second story windows are paired one-over-one double hung units with arched upper lights and flattened arch hoods in brick. The hoods are particularly reminiscent of the Italianate style. First story widows, which are paired one-over-one units with a heavy sandstone lintel, flank the elevated main entrance. The entrance was reconfigured in 1967 with perpendicular concrete steps 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 has a transom and sits under an original sandstone lintel identical to those above the windows on this story. First and second story windows have wood lug sills, which replace the original rowlock sills. Basement level window have brick segmental arch lintels. The different treatment of widows 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 west elevation is unadorned, with 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 have simple wood frames with crown molding. The east elevation is identical, except that it includes a wooden fire escape and the bottom half of the building is observed by a circa 1970 brick addition. The small addition extends approximately 20’ feet 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. The ground story of the south elevation bears the scars of two gable-roofed greenhouses attached to the building during the early 20 th century. There was a door in the center of the first floor, but it has been infilled with brick and a small window. Its original sandstone sill, however, remains in place. The fenestration patterns and treatments are similar to those found on the façade. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 3 History of Property Property Name: Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall) Site Number: 24GA1887 HISTORY OF PROPERTY The Experiment Station Building, built in 1894, is the oldest substantial brick building on the Montana State University campus. The creation of an Experiment Station associated with the Agricultural College was the result of the 1887 Hatch Act, which provided $15,000 annually for each state that could make use of such a station to promote experimentation and research in agricultural science. The association was a logical for the new school in 1893, and a vital one for the construction of the school’s first buildings. The 1862 and 1890 Morrill Acts provided funds for instruction, but left the responsibility for land acquisition and building construction to the States. The need of substantial office and classroom space for the year-old Montana College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts was immediately apparent following the move one mile south of town. The first buildings for both the College and the Experiment Station consisted of an assortment of structures from the city of Bozeman’s poor farm and a few log cabins and outbuildings. In the first Montana Experiment Station Bulletin (1894), the station director noted that the poor quality buildings on the agricultural farm were “unsuitable for the purposes of an experiment station.” (Bulletin No. 1, 9) Although any building financed through the Hatch Act was ostensibly for Experiment Station use, the College had always intended on sharing space. Plans had already been developed earlier that year for a new brick-clad building that would provide classroom and work room space for agricultural, mechanical engineering and drafting studies. In addition, the building included accommodations for the Experiment Station director and offices for professors of botany and agriculture, as well as the horticulturalist, chemist and veterinarian. When the State Board of Examiners ruled the $15,000 appropriated by the legislature unavailable, the citizens of Bozeman advanced the money. Bozemanites had acted in a similar manner in 1892 when they pledged funds for the purchase of land of for the College. Final construction costs were $3,750. (Burlingame, 20-21; Bulletin No. 1, 9; Archives, folder A6.1/Buildings History of) Link & Haire The building is attributed to Charles S. Haire because of a file reference listed at the Montana State University Archives. Charles S. Haire managed one Montana’s most influential architectural firms in the 1890s and 1900s. His Helena-based firm had expanded to offices in the Montana cities of Butte, Billings, Miles City, Lewistown and Missoula by 1910. Born in Hamilton County Ohio in 1857, Haire studied architecture while teaching for three years and was then employed as a draftsman for the Union Pacific Railroad. He moved to Butte with the Great Northern Railroad in 1887, and by 1888 was 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 had some input in the Agricultural Station’s choice of architects. In January of 1906 he formed a partnership with John G. Link, which would soon become the most prolific architectural firm in Montana. In Link & Haire’s many offices, numerous young Montana architects received their training, including Fred F. Willson of Bozeman. Link and Haire designed several smaller buildings on the Montana State campus which do not survive. Their other major academic building is the extant 1907 Agricultural Building (Linfield Hall). (McDaniel and Sanford, 34) The Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall) The site for the new Experiment Station Building overlooked the adjoining experiment farm to the west, a collection of frame agricultural buildings, pastures and fields. For several years Experiment Station buildings outnumbered academic buildings. When completed, the sixteen-room building also contained the Station Library and biological laboratories. Iron- and woodworking classes were held in the basement. By 1896 the agricultural station proudly boasted a 47’ x 41’ basement room fitted with three 16” screw cutting lathes, one 22” iron planer, one 20” drill press, three lathes for wood turning, one 15-horse power engine, one 20-horse power boiler, and a complete set of hand tools. One year later, Director W. S. Emery rearranged the first floor into family apartments, and moved offices and classrooms to the second floor. Botany and entomology collections were also housed in the building by this time. A second major alteration of interior space occurred in 1905. While the Director’s office, the library and the horticultural rooms remained on the first floor, biology occupied the entire upper two floors. Laboratories and the entomologist’s office were on the second floor, while the attic was divided into two rooms for a small lecture room and a museum for the herbarium and zoology collections. Agronomy rooms and laboratories were located in the basement. (Quick Facts Notebook: Forth Annual Catalogue, 1896- 1897 and Bulletin vol. 3, no. 3, Dec. 1, 1905) The buildings first name change occurred in 1907. When the agricultural department moved into their newly-completed building (Linfield Hall), the cramped biology department expanded within the renamed Biology Building. However, continued growth of the school and dissatisfaction with the existing facilities prompted the College to remark of its 25 year- old building in 1917, “It is a very cheap brick veneer structure that is crowded from cellar to garret as is no other building MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 4 History of Property Property Name: Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall) Site Number: 24GA1887 on the grounds.” Desiring to protect the valuable botanical and entomological collections, scientific equipment and libraries housed in the building, the station hoped to obtain financing for a new fireproof structure. Additional reasons for new facilities included crowded and inefficient research conditions, which interfered with studies and prevented increased enrollment. (24 th Annual Report, 231) When the new Biology Building (Lewis Hall) was completed in 1922, the Extension Service moved from its attic office space in the Agricultural Building into the old Experiment Station Building. The Extension Service was created in 1914 through the Smith-Lever Act, and was designed to distribute agricultural science information and research done through the Experiment Station to farmers, ranchers, homeowners and communities across the state. Miscellaneous Notes A series of greenhouses were constructed adjacent to the Experiment Station building and subsequently torn down. The first appeared east of the building in 1899. Traces of 1906 and 1909 greenhouses built on the south side of the building can still be seen. The third greenhouse was the result of a $10,000 state appropriation for a number of college greenhouses. The $1,500 wood and iron post structure sat directly east of the 1906 glass greenhouse, and measured 22’ x 50’. Foundations and walks were of cement. A shingled roof six feet wide was constructed over both structures to protect them from drips form the main building. (18th Annual Report, 117) MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 5 Information Sources/Bibliography Property Name: Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall) Site Number: 24GA1887 INFORMATION SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY Building Master List. Physical Plant Records, Montana State University. “Bulletin No. 1, Montana Agriculutral Experiement Station: Organizational Announcement, FY 1894-1895” Vol 1. Bozeman, M: Bozeman Chronicle Book & Job Printers, March 1894. Burlingame, Merrill. A History: Montana State University, Boeman Montana. Bozeman, MT: Office of Information Publication, Feburary 1968. “Folder A6.1/ Buildings, History of.” Acc 7-4062-1A. Montana State University Archives. “Location Listings, Construction Files, Specifications, Blueprints, O/M’s [Master List],” Montana State University Facilities, c. 1900 – 2004. McDaniel, Susan R. and Dena L. Sanford. Beautiful City of Miles , Miles City, MT: Star Printing, 1989. Nepper, Carl J. 1939 Building Appraisal. Photos: neg. MSC History #702, PA6.1.EB Alphap Folders. Montana State University Archives. Photos: Miscellaneous Photos Files, University Archives, Montana State Uiversity, Facilities. “Quick Facts Notebook.” Montana State University Archives. Universty of Montana Agricultural Experiement Station. “18 th Annual Report, June 30, 1912, FY 1911-1912,” 11. Bozeman, MT: n.p., Feburary 1911. Universty of Montana Agricultural Experiement Station. “24 th Annual Report, June 30, 1917, FY 1916-1917,” 17. Bozeman, MT: n.p., Feburary 1918. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 6 Statement of Significance Property Name: Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall) Site Number: 24GA1887 NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES NRHP Listing Date: NA NRHP Eligibility: Yes No Individually Contributing to Historic District Noncontributing to Historic District NRHP Criteria: x A B x C D Area of Significance: Education, Architecture, Agriculture Period of Significance: 1894-1954 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE The Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall) is a contributing resource within the potential Montana State University Historic District, which is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A and C. It is significant for its association with the development of the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station and Extensions Services and its connections to the development of Montana State University during its earliest period of construction (1894-1918). Architecturally, the building is significant for its eclectic style and as campus’s earliest permanent brick structure. Montana State University began in 1893 in rented buildings and high school classrooms. The college’s first year, which was spent in rented buildings and high school classrooms, was described over 60 years later by former student, Thomas H. McKee, as: 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. (Burlingame, 12) The appropriation of 200 acres and some small farm buildings south of town on “a low hill, [and] a slightly place,” was the result of contributions by Bozeman citizens. One year later, the college boasted a large brick structure that commanded a view of the entire valley. (Burlingame, 19, 30) The University’s evolution from an uncertain agricultural school with a beginning enrollment of eight students to its present status as a leading engineering and technical school of over 14,000 is due in part to the construction of this building. Without the benevolence of the federally-funded Experiment Station, the first years of the college’s existence would have been spent in overcrowded rooms that limited enrollment and available teaching and research space. The genesis of nearly every science-related department at Montana State is associated with the Experiment Station Building. The first agricultural and engineering work was done in this building, and the first on-campus biological laboratories were established here. It was the residence for the first Experiment Station Director, S. M. Emery. The numerous interior renovations and uses of the building document the growth and changing needs the University. Architecturally, the utilitarian Experiment Station Building is an excellent example of a modest design that incorporates characteristics of multiple styles popular during the early 1890s. 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 German variants. Finally, in its second story segmental arch window hoods, the Experiment Station Building also nods to the Italianate style, which was waning in popularity by the 1890s— although not enough to prevent Montana State’s first Chemistry Building (non-extant) from being designed in the style in 1897. Overall, the Experiment Station Building conveys a vaguely rural feeling, as well as a feeling of substance, both of which were appropriate to a new agricultural school. The building is also likely an excellent example of architect Charles S. Haire’s more modest work, however, it can only be attributed to Haire at this time. Finally, the building is also significant for its association with the development of agriculture in Montana through the College’s Experiment Station and Extension Service. As Burlingame explains: 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 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 7 Statement of Significance Property Name: Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall) Site Number: 24GA1887 Smith-Lever Act of 1914, which established the Extension Service, and the land-grant educational pattern was complete (128). Experiment Station administration and staff were located in the building until moving into the newly-completed Agricultural Hall in about 1909, while Extension Services were located in the building from 1923 throughout the remainder of the period of significance. The significance of Experiment Station research and Extension Services to Montana’s rural societies and landscapes is immense. A small sampling of Experiment Station / Extension programs during the period of significance is instructive: irrigation, dryland farming, the certified seed program, shelterbelts, agricultural diversification, drought relief, range management, disease control, 4-H Clubs and home demonstration agents. (Burlingame, 133-173 in passim) Beginning in 1907, the College also established branch Experiment Stations across Montana at Corvallis (1907), Moccasin (1907), Huntley Project (1910), Fort Assiniboine (1913); Sidney (1947) and Creston (1947) to address regional agricultural issues. (Burlingame, 1954-1956) MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 8 Integrity Property Name: Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall) Site Number: 24GA1887 INTEGRITY (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association) The 118-year old Experiment Station Building is in good condition, although a one-story addition to the east detracts from the original appearance. Other alterations include the entrance porch on the north façade and the replacement of some windows. Originally sited on the open hillside overlooking the Experiment Station’s farm buildings, the Experiment Station Building’s once-prominent position has been compromised by later construction and development to the north, east and south. However, regular maintenance due to the constant demand for classroom and office spaces has ensured the building’s structural integrity and relatively unaltered appearance. The building’s modest design provides a good reference to the University’s agricultural beginnings and associations with the Experiment Station. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 9 Photographs Property Name: Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall) Site Number: 24GA1887 Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall) North Façade, Facing: SW Montana State University Jessie Nunn, October 6, 2012 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 10 Photographs Property Name: Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall) Site Number: 24GA1887 Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall) West Elevation, Facing: E Montana State University Jessie Nunn, October 6, 2012 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 11 Photographs Property Name: Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall) Site Number: 24GA1887 Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall) South (Rear) & East Elevation, Facing: NW Montana State University Jessie Nunn, October 6, 2012 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 12 Photographs Property Name: Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall) Site Number: 24GA1887 Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall) East Façade and c. 1967 Addition, Facing: SW Montana State University Jessie Nunn, October 6, 2012 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 13 Photographs Property Name: Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall) Site Number: 24GA1887 Experiment Station Building and Heating Plant, pre-1922. Facing Northwest. (Miscellaneous Historic Photo Files, University Archives, MSU Facilities) Experiment Station Building, c. 1900. Facing SW. (Miscellaneous Historic Photo Files, University Archives, MSU Facilities) MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 14 Site Map Property Name: Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall) Site Number: 24GA1887 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 15 Topographic Map Property Name: Experiment Station Building (Taylor Hall) Site Number: 24GA1887