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HomeMy WebLinkAboutVisual Communications (24GA1890) 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 NE Corner S. 11 th Ave. & Grant St. Historic Address (if applicable): NA City/Town: Bozeman Site Number: 24GA1890 (An historic district number may also apply.) County: Gallatin Historic Name: Visual Communication Building Original Owner(s): Montana State University Current Ownership Private Public Current Property Name: Same / Black Box Theater 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 NW ¼ SW ¼ NE ¼ of Section: 13 Lot(s): Block(s): 41 Addition: Capital Hill Year of Addition: 1890 USGS Quad Name: Bozeman Year: 1987 Historic Use: Classrooms, Offices, Laboratories Current Use: Same / Theater Construction Date: 1983 Estimated Actual Original Location Moved Date Moved: UTM Reference www.nris.mt.gov/topofinder2 NAD 27 or NAD 83(preferred ) Zone: 12 Easting: 495994 Northing: 5056885 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: yes X no Criteria: X A B X C D Date: October 2013 Evaluator: Kate Hampton Comments: Non-contributor to MSU-Bozeman HD – age, alterations MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 2 Architectural Description Property Name: Visual Communication Building Site Number: 24GA1890 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Architectural Style: Other: If Other, specify: Late Modern; Postmodern: Neo-Modern (2008 Black Box Theater) Property Type: Education Specific Property Type: Architect: Architectural Firm/City/State: CTA / Billings, MT; A&E Architects (2008 Black Box Theater) / Billings, MT Builder/Contractor: Company/City/State: Martel Construction / Bozeman, MT (general contract); R. H. Grover, Inc. (mechanical contract); Volk Electric; Sletten Construction (2008 Black Box Theater) / Great Falls, MT Source of Information: University Records, 80-0031 Setting & Location The Visual Communications Building is located at the northwest corner of MSU’s core campus, with its south façade facing Grant Street and its west elevation running along S. 11 th Avenue. The newly-renovated Gaines Hall (1961; 2010) is immediately to the east with Sherrick Hall (1973) and Traphagen Hall (1920) located across the large landscaped duck pond area to the north and northeast. McCall Hall (1952) is located across S. 11 th Avenue with the three-building Creative Arts Center (1974) farther to the northwest. Across Grant Street, a massive paved parking lot sits to the south and southwest and the recently-renovated (1973; 2008) Heath & Physical Education Complex / Marga Hosaeus Fitness Center is found to the southeast. This stretch of campus along Grant Street is characterized by recently-renovated buildings dating from the 1960s – 1980s, including Gaines Hall, the Margo Hosaeus Fitness Center and the Visual Communications Building, which was altered in 2008 with the addition of the Black Box Theater on its south façade. Summary The Visual Communications Building is a two-and-a-half story, flat-roofed, reinforced concrete building completed in 1983 and designed in a restrained Late Modern / Postmodern style by the Billings, Montana firm, CTA Architects Engineers. A two-story addition (the Black Box Theater) designed in the Neo-Modern style by Billings, Montana firm, A&E Architects, was added to the south façade in 2008. The original building consists of an irregular L-shaped footprint with perpendicular brick-clad wings connected by a slightly lower 44’ wide aluminum curtain wall entrance bay of sleek dark reflective glass. Both wings are 42’ wide and clad in variegated brown brick laid in a running bond. The 162’ long north/west wing is situated to the west and its south end extends approximately 27’ beyond the south elevation of the curtain wall bay and 14’ beyond the south elevation of 122’ long east/west wing. Two curtain wall cubes of dark reflective glass step down from the 30’ tall brick wings and extend across the interior (rear) north and east elevations. The main entrance is found on the south façade of the dark curtain wall underneath a broad arch cutout, a decorative attenuated flourish that evokes historical associations and links the building’s design to Postmodernism. There is a secondary entrance at the north end of the taller curtain wall cube that runs along the interior east elevation. A stringcourse of limestone paneling begins at the base of the arch accenting the main entrance and extends around both brick wings. Due to the slope of the site from east to west, the first floor of the building is exposed only on the north/south wing where a lower stringcourse divides the first and second stories. There is also a soldier course of brick at the roofline. A half-story or attic on both brick wings contains a mechanical room. Due to the function of the building, which contains numerous studios and screening rooms, there is little fenestration. Most offices and public areas are found in the curtain wall portions of the building or along the exposed first story of the north/south wing’s west elevation. The 2008 Black Box Theater Addition is found on the south elevation of the original building’s east/west wing. It consists of an approximately 50’ x 80’ brick-clad core cube with a series of lower cubes clad in various shades and textures of grey prefabricated metal paneling on its west and south elevations. The projecting main entrance is found on the west elevation within a curtain wall framed by smooth aluminum-colored metal paneling and is protected by a flat-roofed canopy that turns up slightly at the end of the entrance structure. This entrance “cube” is approximately 14’ x 50', with its west elevation matching the width of the core cube’s west elevation. A second almost 30’ x 30’ cube is attached to the west end of the core cube’s south elevation. This cube and the elongated (18’ x 75’) cube attached to its east elevation are clad in dark grey metal paneling with wide board-like corrugations. A wide band of smooth lighter grey paneling beginning just above the entrance canopy wraps around both cubes. There is an “arch” clad in aluminum-colored at the junction of dark grey cubes that indicates the building’s interior stair. It begins just below the light grey band at the east end of the 30’ x 30’ cube and extends over the roof until it meets the south wall of the brick-clad core cube. Stairs and walks leading to the main entrance of the Visual Communications Building were also altered with the addition of the Black Box Theater. The original curved and striated concrete retaining wall and angled concrete stairs, which lead up to an entrance-level walk from the southwest, remain intact; however, the concrete was extended to meet the theater’s west MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 3 Architectural Description Property Name: Visual Communication Building Site Number: 24GA1890 elevation entrance. A second set of concrete stairs now takes pedestrians directly north from the Grant Street sidewalk to the theater entrance. South Façade The long (approximately 208’) south façade of the Visual Communications Building is complex and includes (from west to east): the south end of the north/south wing, the east wall of the north/south wing to the south curtain wall entrance bay; the south elevation of the curtain wall entrance bay; the west elevation of the east/west wing and Black Box Theater Addition and the south elevation of the east/west wing and Black Box Theater addition. The double glass door main entrance is centered in a 44’ wide curtain wall bay, which has seven columns of lights. The curtain wall’s 4 eastern columns have ten rows of lights (with the bottom row filled with black paneling), while the three remaining columns continue below grade to the west of the concrete retaining wall, lighting the first story landing of the building’s central interior stair. Below grade, the curtain wall extends approximately 10’ into the west-facing concrete retaining wall allowing for a single glass door entrance. The soldier course brick arch accenting the main entrance is contained in a floating wall of brick and sandstone paneling that stretches between the building’s brick wings in front of the curtain wall. Below the arch is a wide band of sandstone paneling that continues as a stringcourse along both of the building’s brick-clad wings. To the west of the curtain wall entrance bay is the south end of the brick-clad north/south wing. Both its east and south elevations are solid brick walls adorned only with the sandstone stringcourse beginning at the base of the entrance arch and a second sandstone stringcourse that demarcates the boundary between this wing’s first and second stories. Originally the remainder of the south façade consisted of the west and south elevations of the brick-clad east/west wing. Both were solid brick walls, with the south elevation having a single sandstone stringcourse beginning below the arch at the main entrance. Since 2008, however, the south elevation has been obscured by the Black Box Theater Addition, which (except for its fenestration) is described above. Due to function, the fenestration is nearly as limited on the theater addition as it is on the original Visual Communications Building. Its double aluminum-framed glass door main entrance is centered on its west elevation. The doors are framed in a protruding one-story aluminum and glass box with a flat roof that turns upward at the end of the entrance structure to create a canopy. Curtain wall panels with two columns of three large lights flank the entrance and three identical panels are situated above in vertical alignment. On the south elevation, there are seven evenly-spaced square windows lighting offices in the longer (eastern) dark grey cube. East and West Elevations The east elevation includes the ends of the Black Box Theater’s longer dark grey cube and its brick-clad central core, along with the east end of the original building’s brick-clad east/west wing. East walls of the theater addition bays are flush, with the east/west wing extending another 15’ to the east. The brick-clad walls of the original east/west wing and the theater addition’s core cube are of almost equal height, but the dark grey cube is much shorter. It contains a single recessed entrance that is reached by short flight of perpendicular concrete steps from the south and a small concrete stoop. A tubular metal railing provides safety. The brick-clad core of the Black Box Theater has a single one-light square window near its south end and a concrete loading dock fills the corner created by its junction with the original east/west wing. Short concrete steps against the core’s east wall provide pedestrian access to the loading dock. There is a single walk-in entrance above the loading dock to the south and a recessed overhead garage door to the north. The east elevation of the original east/west wing is unadorned except for the presence of the continuous sandstone stringcourse. The west wall of the Visual Communications building’s north/south wing makes up the entire west elevation. It is a massive brick wall with two sandstone stringcourses. A ribbon of eight single-light aluminum windows with dark reflective glass is located just above grade near the center of the elevation. These windows light first-story offices. North Elevation The rear (north) elevation of the Visual Communications Building includes the north and east elevation of the brick-clad north/south wing and the south elevation of the brick-clad east/west wing. On the back of the building, the curtain wall entrance bay is largely obscure d by two , approximately 13’ wide , sleek curtain wall cubes of dark reflective glass that line the majority of this elevation, beginning approximately 15’ from the east end of the east/west wing and ending approximately 25’ from the north end of the north/south wing. The innermost of these cubes is 18’ tall and represents a continuous interior corridor that serves a series of offices located within the outer 10’ tall cube. There is a concrete loading dock at the east end of the curtain wall cubes that is accessible to pedestrians via a flight of concrete steps at its northeast corner. The loading dock serves an overhead garage door in the east end of the 18’ tall cube and a single aluminum- framed glass walk-in door in the 10’ cube that accesses a vestibule for an interior stair. The north end of the curtain wall cubes (along the east elevation of north/south wing) contains the building’s rear entrance, which consists of a single aluminum-framed glass door on the east side of the taller cube. A paved walk, equal in width to the taller cube, leads up to the door and is bordered to the east by a layered, striated concrete retaining wall. Its bottom layer extends north until it MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 4 Architectural Description Property Name: Visual Communication Building Site Number: 24GA1890 meets a line even with the end of the north/south wing, and then turns to the northeast for approximately 50’, decreasing in height until it meets an east/west service road entering campus from S. 11 th Avenue. The second layer extends north for approximately 14’ before turning northeast and gradually decreasing in height until it reaches grade. Plantings are found between the layers and in there are a handful of trees in the courtyard between the retaining wall and the north elevation of east/west wing. The 30’ tall walls of the brick-clad wings and the 27’ tall curtain wall entrance bay are visible above the curtain wall cubes on the rear elevation. Finally, the north end of the north / south wing is a solid brick wall adorned only by this wing’s two sandstone stringcourses. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 5 History of Property Property Name: Visual Communication Building Site Number: 24GA1890 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 World 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 of this new construction 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: Visual Communication Building Site Number: 24GA1890 The Visual Communications Building A Bachelor of Science degree in Film and Television Production was available at Montana State University beginng in 1958, and by 1974 the program had grown to include three options (motion pictures, television and still photography) and 251 students. Unfortunatly , the department was spread across campus in substandard spaces—television in McCall Hall, motion pictures on the third floor of Montana Hall and still photography in the basment of the Montana Hall Annex. With hopes for better facilities, MSU approached the Montana Legislature in 1974 for authorization to, “build those facilities over what is available in McCall Hall to house Television and Motion Pictures,” while trying to find space for Still Photography in the recently-completed Creative Arts Complex. At that time, the project was estimated to cost $634,100, but it remained unfunded. Over the next six years, MSC and the State Board of Regents continued to make facilities for the Film and Television Department their first priority and as time went on , the project became more extensive and increasingly expensive. When the State Legislature finally authorized the expenditure of $225,000 in local funds on planning for the project in 1979, MSU was requesting an entirely new building with a $4.5 million price tag. (Rose, 1980; Item 35-203-R0582). Upon the building’s completion in 1983, Andy Van Teylingen, Director of MSU Facilities Planning, relflected, “If one goes by the silver-lining-in-every-cloud theory, there were ones in those that rained on our earlier requests. Otherwise we would not have what now exists.” (Van Teylingen to Wessel, 9/26/1983). In December of 1980, however, the project remeained unfunded, prompting the MSU Alumni Association to create an informational paphlet requesting supporters of the building to contact their state congressmen. (Visual Communications, 12/1980). Fotunately, the State authorized $4,598,000 for a Visual Communications Building during their 1981 session. (Item 35-203-R0582). The Billings, Montana architectural firm, CTA, was selected in January 1980 to facilitate planning and a two-day design charrette attended by staff, students and the architect was held in May. The charrette marked the beginning of an 18- month planning process that culminated in the opening of construciton bids on November 4, 1981. Martel Construciton Company of Bozeman was alwarded the $2,290,650 general contract, and construction begain near the end of 1981. (Notice to Proceed, 12/15/1981). As Van Teylingen later recalled, “the contractors…and architects then spent the following 22 months bringing to reality the facility that had been dreamed about for years.” (Van Teylingen to Wessel, 9/26/1983). By all accounts the 36,000 suare foot buiding, which included mostly studio and office space, was a success. A “Certificate of Substantial Completion” was issued on June 20, 1983, one day before the deadline listed in the general contract, and the Department of Film and Television was able to occupy their new building for the Fall 1983 quarter. “Both new and returning students are impressed and overwhelmed with the equipment and space,” reported Department Head, Paul F Jesswein, before noting, “because the returning students have been crammed into cellars and attics for years, they have more of an appreciation for the buiding.” (Exponent, 10/18/1983). The architect and the director of the MSU Physical Plant, Edward Rice, were equally impressed. The former wrote to Bill Martel, “you should be complimented on your quality control and your excellent workmanship,” while the latter described it as, “the best construction project we have received since I’ve been here.” (Radke to Martel, 7/20/1984; Rice to Martel, 4/1894). The Visual Communications Building continues to serve its original function as home to the School of Film and Photography. Offices and studios for KUSM / Montana PBS are also housed in the building. In 2008, the Black Box Theater was added to the eastern half of the south façade. (MSU Website, “Visual Communications Building”). CTA (Cushing, Terrell and Associates) The Billings firm of Cushing & Terrell, also known as Cushing, Terrell and Associates, is now called CTA. Cushing & Terrell was founded in 1938, when partners Ralph Cushing and Everett Terrell joined forces. Ralph Henry Cushing was born in Dillon, Montana on January 16, 1903. He was educated at Montana State College, from which he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture in 1927. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1932. He worked for others, apprenticing in architecture and engineering, before establishing the firm of Cushing, Terrell and Associates in 1938. Cushing’s partner Edwin O. Terrell was born in Billings, Montana on February 11, 1908. He was educated at the University of Washington, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture in 1931. His first listed architectural employment was with Cushing, Terrell and Associates. Cushing, Terrell and Associates had an established reputation in Montana at mid-century, based on extensive work in the areas of education (schools and university buildings) and healthcare (hospitals and related structures). They also designed numerous buildings for state and local governments. Additional building types undertaken by the firm included MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 7 History of Property Property Name: Visual Communication Building Site Number: 24GA1890 commercial structures and resort developments. When faced with a downturn in the education market in 1966, the firm re- organized and expanded. Today, CTA is a multi-disciplinary firm with sixteen offices throughout Montana and six other western states. Their office, constructed in 1958, was located across N. 27th Street from the Eastern Montana College (now Montana State University—Billings) campus, just south of the Physical Education Building. Notable buildings designed by the firm include several buildings on the Montana State University—Billings campus; buildings for the Midland Empire Fairgrounds in Billings; Highland Elementary School and Shrine Auditorium in Billings; the hospital in Red Lodge; the Dude Rancher Lodge in Billings; the Veteran’s Hospital in Miles City; Deaconess Hospital in Billings; and the Montana Crippled Children’s Association Rehabilitation Center in Missoula; among many others. (Taken in its entirety from Painter, 49). In addition the Visual Communications Building, Cushing, Terrell and Associates also designed a number of other buildings on the Montana State University campus, including Hannon Hall (1955), Hapner Hall (1959), Reid Hall (1959), Leon Johnson Hall (1973) and Wilson Hall (1974). More recently, CTA has undertaken the renovation of campus buildings including the Brick Breden Field House Renovation (1998) and Renne Library (2003). MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 8 Information Sources/Bibliography Property Name: Visual Communication Building Site Number: 24GA1890 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. CTA Architects Engineers, “Project Manual, Montana State University, Visual Communications Building,” 1981. University Records, 80-0031. CTA Architects Engineers, “Montana State University, Visual Communications Building,” Architectural Drawings, 1981. University Records, 80-0031. Drake Jon F. (Construction Supervisor, Montana Architecture & Engineering Division). Letter to Martel Construction Company, 22 June 1983. University Records, 80-0031. Hauck, Philip H. (Montana Architecture & Engineering Division). “Notice to Proceed” to Martel Construction Company, 15 December 1981. University Records, 80-0031. Macleod, Joann. “Film/TV Building Impresses Students,” Exponent , 18 October 1983. University Records, 80-0031. Montana Board of Regents. “Item 35-203-R0582, Authorization to Increase Project Authorization of the Visual Communications Building, Montana State College,” 21 May 1982. University Records, 80-0031. Montana State University. “Visual Communications Building,” Website accessed online at http://calendar.msu.montana.edu/locations.php?building=7&ref=map . MSU Alumni Foundation, “Visual Communications…,” December 1980. University Records, 80-0031. 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. Radke, Michael C. (Project Manager, CTA). Letter to Bill Martel, 20 June 1984. University Records, 80-0031. Rice, Edward. (Director, MSU Physical Plant). Letter to Bill Martel, 18 April 1984. University Records, 80-0031. Rose, Harold C. (Dean, College Arts and Architecture), “Summary: The Department of Film and Television Production at Montana State University, Bozeman, 1957-1980 (Authorization, Development and Growth),” 9 July 1980. University Records, 80-0031. Van Teylingen, A. A. (Director, MSU Facilities Planning). Letter to Marilyn Wessel, 26 September 1983. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 9 Statement of Significance Property Name: Visual Communication Building Site Number: 24GA1890 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: Period of Significance: STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE The 1983 Visual Communications Building is not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, and does not contribute to the Montana State University Historic District, due to its age. Its contributing status should be reconsidered in any future amendments to (or expansions of) the historic district. After 2033, the building may be considered historically significant as a representation of the evolving curriculum at MSU and architecturally as one of campus’s first buildings displaying characteristics of the Postmodern style in the use of an historically-evocative arch at the main entrance. It may also be significant as a representative of the evolving design aesthetic of CTA, a prolific Montana architectural firm. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 10 Integrity Property Name: Visual Communication Building Site Number: 24GA1890 INTEGRITY (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association) The Visual Communications Building retains excellent integrity of design, workmanship and materials, with the significant exception of the 2008 Black Box Theater Addition on the east end of the south façade. This addition is clearly non-historic due to the use of popular contemporary materials such as prefabricated corrugated and smooth metal paneling, however, its overall form, which incorporates a series of cubes and a curtain wall entrance, does speak to the design of the original building. The addition will likely cause the building to be individually ineligible for National Register listing once it reaches 50-years of age, however, it may still contribute to a historic district in the future. Also of concern are alterations to the buildings immediately adjacent to the Visual Communications Building, including the complete renovation of Gaines Hall (1961) in 2010 and the Health & Physical Education Building (1973) in 2008. These renovations threaten to compromise the architectural record at the southwest corner of campus, which until recently represented the evolution of the Modern Movement through the 1960s and 1970s and the coming of Postmodernism to campus. Of the three recently renovated buildings, the Visual Communications Building retains the best integrity, because its alterations were largely additive and historic materials and forms were not removed. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 11 Photographs Property Name: Visual Communication Building Site Number: 24GA1890 Visual Communications Building / Black Box Theater South Elevation with Black Box Theater Addition (2008), Facing: NE Montana State University Jessie Nunn, January 5, 2013 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 12 Photographs Property Name: Visual Communication Building Site Number: 24GA1890 Visual Communications Building West Elevation, Facing: NE Montana State University Jessie Nunn, January 5, 2013 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 13 Photographs Property Name: Visual Communication Building Site Number: 24GA1890 Visual Communications Building West End Entrance of South Elevation, Facing: N Montana State University Jessie Nunn, January 5, 2013 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 14 Photographs Property Name: Visual Communication Building Site Number: 24GA1890 Visual Communications Building South Elevation, Facing: NW Montana State University Jessie Nunn, January 5, 2013 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 15 Photographs Property Name: Visual Communication Building Site Number: 24GA1890 Visual Communications Building / Black Box Theater East Elevation and East End of South Elevation, Facing: NW Montana State University Jessie Nunn, January 5, 2013 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 16 Site Map Property Name: Visual Communication Building Site Number: 24GA1890 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 17 Topographic Map Property Name: Visual Communication Building Site Number: 24GA1890