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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWool Lab (24GA1892)_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 of 11 th & Harrison Historic Address (if applicable): NA City/Town: Bozeman Site Number: 24GA1892 (An historic district number may also apply.) County: Gallatin Historic Name: Montana Wool Laboratory Original Owner(s): Montana State College of Agriculture & Mechanical Arts Current Ownership Private Public Current Property Name: Wool Lab 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 NW ¼ NE ¼ of Section: 13 Lot(s): Block(s): Addition: Capital Hill Year of Addition: 1890 USGS Quad Name: Bozeman Year: 1987 Historic Use: Laboratory Current Use: Same Construction Date: 1947 Estimated Actual Original Location Moved Date Moved: UTM Reference www.nris.mt.gov/topofinder2 NAD 27 or NAD 83(preferred ) Zone: 12 Easting: 495970 Northing: 5057445 National Register of Historic Places NRHP Listing Date: Historic District: Montana State University-Bozeman HD NRHP Eligible: Yes No Date of this document: December 31, 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: 10/21/13 Evaluator: Kate Hampton Comments: contributor within the MSU-Bozeman Historic District MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 2 Architectural Description Property Name: Montana Wool Laboratory Site Number: 24GA1892 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Architectural Style: Craftsman If Other, specify: Property Type: Education Specific Property Type: Architect: William R. Plew (Supervising Architect, MSC) / Bozeman, MT Architectural Firm/City/State: Builder/Contractor: Montana State College Physical Plant / Bozeman, MT Company/City/State: Source of Information: Sutherland, Terry, "The Wool Laboratory, Montana State University," Feb. 2009, n.p. Setting & Location The Wool Lab is located at the very northwest corner of the Montana State University campus core area, at the intersection of 11 th Avenue and Campus Street. Once surrounded by other low-profile frame buildings to the north, east and southeast (including the North and South Barracks and Military Science Building), today the Wool Lab is separated from the rest of campus by parking lots. Langford Hall, the closest building to the Wool Lab, sits approximately 200 feet to the east along Campus Street. Its relative isolation matches its unique architectural status as the only surviving frame building within the campus core. The immediate site of the Wool Lab is characterized by grass-covered banking to the east and south and mature pine trees to the north and south. Summary The Wool Lab is a gable-roofed, frame building of two-and-a-half stories, consisting of a main floor, daylight basement, and half-story attic, that rests on an elevated poured concrete foundation. The daylight basement is visible on all elevations and is located within the concrete foundation, which was left unfinished with horizontal lines from the forms still visible. It is clad in its original wide clapboard siding and has newer asphalt shingles. The eave-fronted façade faces 11 th Avenue to the west and is 60’ long, while the north and south gable ends are 32’ long. An approximately 25’ x 28’ flat- roofed garage, also clad in wide clapboard sidings, is attached to the north side of the rear (east) elevation. The garage attaches to an approximately 50’ x 25’ Quonset-type garage by a small, gable-roofed section, also clad in wide clapboard. The Quonset is clad with corrugated metal siding on its curved longer elations and wood paneling in its shorter north and south ends. It sits upon a poured concrete foundation. While not included in the original architectural drawings, the Quonset is depicted in a historic photo printed in the Montana Collegian shortly after construction. All buildings are currently painted white. A paved drive leading to the garages from 11 th Avenue is found to the south of the building and a paved walk leads to the centered main entrance. The Wool Lab, completed in 1947, was designed in a modest Craftsman style by Montana State College Supervising Architect, William R. Plew, shortly before his death. West Façade The symmetrical, eave-fronted west façade has an approximately 15’ wide central gable-roofed porch that extends approximately 8’ from the face of the building. It is reached by a flight of modern wood stairs. A simple railing surrounds the porch and the enclosed base is clad in the same wide clapboard siding as the main building. Two squared, wood columns support the porch’s gable roof, which displays exposed rafter ends and three knee-braces in its vertical-board gable end. The original wood door contains a large rectangular light above two panels. Each story of the façade contains two evenly-spaced original, double-hung windows on either side of the porch. The first-story windows are eight-over-eight wood units, while the basement story windows, located immediately below, are six-over-six units. All windows are surrounded in a simple wood frame that sits almost flush with the wall face and first and attic story windows have a very low profile crown. Exposed rafter tails are located under the overhanging eave here and on the rear elevation. North and South Gable Ends The side elevations of the Wool Lab are nearly identical. Both exhibit overhanging eaves supported by five knee-braces. Their main story contains two pairs of eight-over-eight windows and the basement contains four evenly-spaced six-over- six light units, which share two concrete light wells on the south elevation. A single six-over-six window is centered in the attic story of both gable ends. Rear (East) Elevation Most of the rear elevation is covered by the garage on its northern end, but two horizontal eight-light wood windows are located above its roofline. To the south, the main story contains two eight-over-eight double hung windows, with the basement story containing four six-over-six light double hung windows that share two concrete light wells. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 3 Architectural Description Property Name: Montana Wool Laboratory Site Number: 24GA1892 Garages On the northern side of the Wool Lab, the main building, garage and Quonset garage are all flush, with the small gable- roofed connecting building being slightly set back. The southern side is much less even, with the gable-roofed connecting building being the furthest set back, followed by the frame garage and then the Quonset, which extends approximately 25’ farther south than the main building. The flat-roofed garage is accessed on its south side through two Craftsman style, multi-panel wood garage doors with six lights in their upper row. A solid wood walk-in door is located to the west of the garage doors. The northern elevation of the garage contains two six-light wood windows. Both exposed sides of the garage (north and south) have a small parapet, which hides the flat roof. A small (approximately 4’ wide), gable-roofed building connects the garage with the Quonset-style garage immediately to the east. The gable roof, which runs east-west, is clad in older asphalt shingles. The Quonset garage is also accessed on its southern end, which is fitted with a single garage door identical to those found on the frame garage. Four large four-light wood windows dominate the northern end of the Quonset. The curved sides and roof of the Quonset garage lack fenestration. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 4 History of Property Property Name: Montana Wool Laboratory Site Number: 24GA1892 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 1907 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 occurred 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 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 5 History of Property Property Name: Montana Wool Laboratory Site Number: 24GA1892 The 1945 Montana Woolgrowers Convention Sheep always proved a significant component of Montana’s livestock industry, and for much of its history far more sheep than cattle occupied Montana’s ranges. By 1886, for instance, there were 986,000 sheep and 664,000 cattle recorded in Montana, and in 1900 Montana led the nation in wool production with approximately 6 million sheep, as opposed to just under 1 million cattle. (Malone, 157,167; US Agricultural Census, 1900). The fantastic growth in sheep numbers can be partially attributed to the disastrous winter of 1886-1887, which proved sheep better suited to Montana’s tough winters than cattle. To protect their interests and promote the industry, the state’s sheep ranchers formed the Montana Wool Growers Association in 1883 at a gathering in Fort Benton. (Sutherland, 2). By 1940, the number of sheep fell to just over 3 million, but they continued to outnumber cattle 3:1 in Montana. (US Agricultural Census, 1940). As such, the Montana Wool Growers Association had an acknowledged seat at the table when it came to Legislative funding and agricultural research at Montana State College (MSC). In mid-January of 1945, the Montana Wool Growers Association met in Butte, Montana to set an ambitious course for the coming years. They established a mill levy, which required members to set aside 2 mills per pound of wool to fund the Association, stay in in good standing with the American Wool Council and maintain stability in the changing post-War economy (Sutherland, 4). In addition, the Association called for the establishment of a wool laboratory within Montana State College’s Agricultural Experiment Station, “for the purpose of sampling, testing and shrinking Montana wool clips, and carrying on any and all research as may be pertinent to a more complete knowledge of Montana wools.” (Sutherland, 5). Funding and approval for the proposed wool laboratory was sought from the 29 th Montana Legislature, who passed House Bill 123 during their 1945 session. The bill established the Montana Wool Laboratory, detailed its organization under the MSC Agricultural Experiment Station, created a three member advisory board, called for a field service to collect samples across the state and appropriated $50,000 over the next two years for the staffing and construction of the wool laboratory. (Sutherland, 6-8). The Montana Wool Laboratory With Legislative funding and approval in hand, MSC could move forward with the construction of the Wool Laboratory, but decisions about the location and character of the building slowed the process. Initially, some faculty and campus planners hoped to incorporate the Wool Laboratory into a $455,000 Animal Science Building, but soon it was decided that to expedite the process—the Animal Science Building had been a long unrealized dream—it should be constructed independently. Anticipating this move, MSC’s supervising architect, William R. Plew, drew up plans for a modest, two-and- a-half story, frame building very much in line with the $50,000 appropriation provided by the Legislature. Plew’s Wool Laboratory, however, was not what the Advisory Board or MSC had in mind for the campus, because its modest nature and frame construction would not, “harmonize with other permanent buildings as to similarity and in design or type of architecture and materials used in its construction.” (Sutherland, 14). The building, it was felt by all, would harmonize much better in design and purpose with the buildings at MSC’s Fort Ellis facility, a small farm located just east of Bozeman that was currently used for range sheep investigations. Montana’s Governor and Attorney General concurred, finding no provision in the law that required the Wool Laboratory be constructed on MSC’s core campus. The MSU Physical Plant, headed by H. C. Cleever after Plew’s death in June of 1945, proceeded with the Fort Ellis site and by May of 1947 had invested $600 dollars in excavation. By then, however, the situation at MSU changed, and the Wool Laboratory Advisory Board made an about-face, now requesting the building be constructed on campus. It seemed Plew’s building was now a better fit within a campus, “cluttered up…with various buildings of a semi-permanent nature,” required to house a surge of post-World War II GIs. (Sutherland, 17). Furthermore, the Board felt if the building was located on campus it could be used for adult education and the Wool Laboratory could better utilize student assistants. It seemed MSC officials agreed, and a suitable site was selected at the northwestern corner of campus with temporary housing to the south and frame buildings dating from World War I (the Military Science Building and North and South Barracks) to the north and east. Construction and equipment acquisition lagged due to post-War shortages, but the building was finished by early 1947 and ready for operation by the 1948 wool season. ( Montana Collegian , 3/1948, 7). Upon completion, the Montana Wool Laboratory was described as a “long felt need of the multi-million dollar wool industry,” that would serve five functions: (1) determine the shrinkage or clean content of Montana wools; (2) assist growers in the production of higher quality wool clips; (3) educate growers and students on campus; (4) study Montana wool production over a period of years; and (5) gather wool samples from across Montana and the world. ( Montana Collegian , 3/1948, 7.) As such, the Wool Laboratory fit perfectly with MSC’s Agricultural Experiment Station and Extension MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 6 History of Property Property Name: Montana Wool Laboratory Site Number: 24GA1892 Service, which served Montanan’s rural communities since 1983 and 1914, respectively. Assistant professor and MSC graduate, G. Curtis Hughes, served as the Wool Laboratory’s first director until 1950, when he was replaced by Jim Drummond, who had completed his graduate work at the University of Wyoming. Drummond served as Wool Laboratory director until 1981. Around that time, the Wool Laboratory became part of the Animal & Range Science Department. Today, it is one of only three like it in the United States (the others are at the University of Wyoming and Texas A&M), and is an integral part of Montana State University’s Montana Sheep Institute, which also includes the 200 acre Fort Ellis Research Ranch and the 13,000 acre Red Bluff Research Ranch. (Montana Sheep Institute Website). William R. Plew William R. Plew was educated at Rose Polytechnic Institute in Terre Haute, Indiana, graduating in 1907 with a BS degree. At Montana State College he taught architecture classes as part of the College of Engineering. When Alfred Atkinson assumed the presidency of Montana State College, William Plew took a leave of absence to return to Rose Polytechnic to continue his education in the newly formed discipline of architectural project management. He returned to Montana State College with a Master of Science degree and created his position as Supervising Architect in 1913. His function was that of project manager, draftsman, designer, coordinator with outside consultants and director of the Physical Plant. When Plew died in June of 1945, H. C. Cheever of the College of Architecture stepped into his position as an additional duty until Plew's replacement could be found. Walter Baker was employed as Professor Plew's replacement in 1947. (Adapted from Sutherland, 17). The Wool Laboratory represents the only extant building designed by Plew, though he oversaw the construction of every building added to the MSC campus during his long tenure as Supervising Architect (1913-1945). As director of the Physical Plant, Plew also served as the general contractor for Herrick Hall (1926) and likely drew up final plans for that building. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 7 Information Sources/Bibliography Property Name: Montana Wool Laboratory Site Number: 24GA1892 INFORMATION SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY Building Master List. Physical Plant Records, Montana State University. Burlingame, Merrill. A History: Montana State University, Boeman Montana. Bozeman, MT: Office of Information Publication, Feburary 1968. Malone, Michael P. and Richard B. Roeder, William L. Lang. Montana: A History of Two Centuries . Revised Edition. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, [1991], 1997. Montana State University. “Montana Sheep Institute,” Website, accessed online at http://www.sheepinstitute.montana.edu/facilities.html . “New Laboratory on Campus Will Serve Montana Wool Growers,” Montana Collegian , v. XXIV, no. 1, March 1948, 7. Painter, Diane J. “Langford Hall, Montana Property Record Form,” July 18, 2010. Montana State Preservation Office. Sutherland, Terry. “The Wool Laboratory, Montana State University,” unpublished, February 2009. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Census, 1900 and 1940. Accessed online at http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/Historical_Publications/index.php . MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 8 Statement of Significance Property Name: Montana Wool Laboratory Site Number: 24GA1892 NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES NRHP Listing Date: NA NRHP Eligibility: Yes No Individually Contributing to Historic District Noncontributing to Historic District NRHP Criteria: A B C D Area of Significance: Education, Architecture, Agriculture Period of Significance: 1947-1968 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE The Montana Wool Laboratory is a contributing building within the Montana State University-Bozeman Historic District, which is eligible for listing under Criteria A and C. Constructed in 1947, the Wool Laboratory is significant under Criterion A in the areas of education and agriculture. Along with the Agricultural Building (Linfield Hall) and the Extension Building (Taylor Hall), both which housed the Agricultural Experiment Station and Extension Service at certain points, the Wool Laboratory contributed heavily to the scientific, commercial and social development of agriculture in Montana. This building, of course, had a particularly significant impact on Montana’s wool industry after 1947, assisting ranchers in assessment and betterment of their wool crops through scientific research. The Wool Laboratory also contributed to the education of students at Montana State University (MSU), especially those in the Animal Sciences Department. Architecturally, the Wool Laboratory is significant under Criterion C as the only surviving frame building within MSU’s core campus area. Once surrounded by other frame buildings dating from World War I (the Military Science Building and the North and South Barracks), by the 1970s the Wool Laboratory was the sole survivor of the 1968-1974 Building Program, which sought to eliminate all non-permanent, frame buildings from the MSU campus. Its survival relates no doubt due to its specialized function. The building is also significant as the only building within the historic district designed by William R. Plew, who served as Montana State’s Supervising Architect between 1913 and 1945. Plew drew up plans for the modest, Craftsman style building a few months before his death in June of 1945. Along with the Extension Building (Taylor Hall), the Wool Laboratory is also the only building within the core campus area that might be considered vernacular or rural in its overall design and character. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 9 Integrity Property Name: Montana Wool Laboratory Site Number: 24GA1892 INTEGRITY (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association) The Wool Laboratory retains excellent integrity of location, design, materials, workmanship, feeling and association. Only its setting has been disrupted, with the loss of several other low-profile, semi-permanent buildings to its north, south and east during the 1970s. These buildings were largely supplanted by parking lots, and today the Wool Laboratory feels somewhat isolated from the rest of campus. Despite the loss of setting, the building still conveys its architectural and associational significance because it retains its original design, materials (including clapboard siding, wood windows and Craftsman style garage doors) and workmanship. The workmanship is especially apparent in the concrete foundation of the building, where lines from the wood forms are still highly visible. Only the stairs leading up the main entrance on the west façade appear to be of recent vintage. In large part to the retention of its original materials, the building clearly dates from the post-World War II era, a period of building materials scarcity. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 10 Photographs Property Name: Montana Wool Laboratory Site Number: 24GA1892 Wool Lab West Façade, Facing: E Montana State University Campus Jessie Nunn, November 3, 2012 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 11 Photographs Property Name: Montana Wool Laboratory Site Number: 24GA1892 Wool Lab North Elevation, Facing: SE Montana State University Campus Jessie Nunn, November 3, 2012 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 12 Photographs Property Name: Montana Wool Laboratory Site Number: 24GA1892 Wool Lab South Elevation & West Façade, Facing: NE Montana State University Campus Jessie Nunn, November 3, 2012 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 13 Photographs Property Name: Montana Wool Laboratory Site Number: 24GA1892 Wool Lab East (Rear) Elevation, Facing: NW Montana State University Campus Jessie Nunn, November 3, 2012 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 14 Photographs Property Name: Montana Wool Laboratory Site Number: 24GA1892 Wool Lab South Elevation of Garages, Facing: NW Montana State University Campus Jessie Nunn, November 3, 2012 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 15 Site Map Property Name: Montana Wool Laboratory Site Number: 24GA1892 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 16 Topographic Map Property Name: Montana Wool Laboratory Site Number: 24GA1892