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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: 24GA1681
(An historic district number may also apply.)
County: Gallatin
Historic Name: Math-Physics Building
Original Owner(s): Montana State College of Agriculture
& Mechanical Arts
Current Ownership Private Public
Current Property Name: A.J.M. Johnson 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
NE ¼ SW ¼ NE ¼ of Section: 13
Lot(s):
Block(s): 43
Addition: Capital Hill Year of Addition: 1890
USGS Quad Name: Bozeman Year: 1987
Historic Use: Classrooms, Offices, Laboratories
Current Use: Same
Construction Date: 1954 Estimated Actual
Original Location Moved Date Moved:
UTM Reference www.nris.mt.gov/topofinder2
NAD 27 or NAD 83(preferred )
Zone: 12 Easting: 496232 Northing: 5056930
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: K. Hampton
Comments:
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
PAGE 2
Architectural Description
Property Name: Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall) Site Number: 24GA1681
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION
Architectural Style: Other: If Other, specify: Modern
Property Type: Education Specific Property Type:
Architect: Architectural Firm/City/State: J. G. Link & Company / Billings, MT; CTA (1996)
Builder/Contractor: Company/City/State: Haggerty-Messmer Company (general); Walsh Plumbing &
Heating Co. (plumbing & heating); Dahlstrom Electric Co.
Source of Information: University Records, 53-0002 "Johnson, AJM"
Setting & Location
A.J.M. Johnson Hall is located on the south side of Centennial Mall and is immediately south of Renne Library and west of
the Student Union. It serves as the eastern boundary of the spacious oval lawn north of Romney Gymnasium (Romney
Field), open space that had been part of the 1917 George Carsley and Cass Gilbert Plan’s north / south axial
arrangement. Outside of the Italian Renaissance Revival style Romney Gymnasium and Traphagen Hall (located at the
northwest corner of the lawn), the lawn is surrounded by Mid-Century Modern style buildings or additions including Reid
Hall (1959) and the 1960 Renne Library addition to the north, the 1967 Student Union addition and A.J.M. Johnson Hall
(1954) to the east and the recently-renovated Gaines Hall (1961; 2012) to the northwest. Overall, the area is
characterized by academic buildings, service buildings and classroom buildings originally intended to serve a large
percentage of the campus community.
Summary
A.J.M. Johnson Hall, completed in 1954, is a two-story reinforced concrete building with a full basement designed in the
Modern style by the Billings, Montana architectural firm, J. G. Link & Company. Its rectangular footprint extends 188’
north/south and 69’ east/west. The long east and west elevations are characterized by recessed rows of aluminum
windows and pinkish-tan terra cotta spandrel panels between thin brick-clad columns. This pattern is repeated on the
shorter north elevation to the west of a solid brick wall. A concrete basement addition constructed in 1968 extends
approximately 20’ to the north of this elevation. The south elevation, originally a solid brick wall with a centered entrance
and second story window, was significantly altered in about 1996 with a protruding EIFS-clad, two-story entrance bay
designed by the Billings, Montana architectural firm, CTA. All brick surfaces, including the elevator penthouse and
southern stair tower, are clad in red face brick laid in a running bond. The building’s reinforced concrete foundation is
visible on all elevations. The flat roof's parapet is terminated with a graceful angled and stepped concrete cornice, a
feature repeated with fewer steps (3) at the entry canopies. Finally, a 60’ x 50’ observation deck is located near the south
end of the building’s flat roof. A solid wood fence was built around the observation deck in 1986.
West Façade
The west façade of A.J.M. Johnson Hall is comprised of thirteen recessed bays defined by slender brick-clad columns,
with the main entrance located in the third bay from the north. The two bays north of the entrance contain recessed brick
panels on their first story. Three aluminum windows with small lower hopper units above four rows of cemesto panels
stacked in six columns make up the second story. The entrance is reached by a short flight of brick-like steps and
contains modern double aluminum-framed glass doors with sidelights and a large transom. The second story of the
entrance bay is identical to the arrangement found in the northern bays. A window wall of twelve large glass panes divided
by aluminum mullions lights the main staircase in the bay immediately south of the entrance. Each of the remaining nine
bays contains an arrangement of aluminum windows and terra cotta panels on both stories. Each of the spandrel panels
on the first floor is composed of terra cotta blocks arranged in six columns three blocks high. Three aluminum windows,
identical to those found in the second story of the northern bays, are located above the terra cotta spandrel. On the
second story the spandrel is taller with seven rows of terra cotta panels stacked in six columns. A row of three slender
aluminum awning windows is located between the cemesto spandrel and the roofline. Slender louvered intake vents are
located in the first and second story spandrels of the second, forth, sixth and eighth bays from the south and in the first
story spandrels of the third and seventh bays. Only the southernmost bay offers any variation, because it is three feet
narrower. Here the central windows are more slender and there are only five columns of terra cotta panels in each
spandrel. A long concrete window well added in 2000 extends along the bottom of the nine southern bays, providing light
to the renovated basement.
South Elevation
The south elevation was altered with the addition of a two-story, EIFS-clad entrance bay during a 1996 renovation, which
coincided with the construction of the Engineering & Physical Sciences Building. At that time the physics department
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
PAGE 3
Architectural Description
Property Name: Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall) Site Number: 24GA1681
moved to the new building and A.J.M. Johnson Hall was converted to other uses. Originally, the elevation was a solid
brick wall with a flush 10’ tall stair tower offset to the west and a centered entrance containing double aluminum-framed
glass doors and a transom. Paired aluminum windows with short lower hopper units in the second story and a two-light
aluminum window in the stair tower were centered above the entrance. Currently only the stair tower window is still intact
with the original entrance and second-story windows lost to the 1996 addition. This addition, which contains an elevator
and small lobby, is offset to the west, and measures about 24’ wide and protrudes approximately 7.5’ to the south. The
new entrance is very similar to the original with double aluminum-framed glass doors and a transom. It is protected by a
flat-roofed metal canopy supported by engaged perpendicular walls. Paired aluminum windows with short lower lights are
located in the second story. Most of the EIFS is brick red with tan panels on each side elevation and below and above the
second story windows. Overall, the addition is sympathetic to the original Modern style of the building, without creating a
false sense of history.
East (Rear) Elevation
Like the west façade, the rear elevation of A.J.M. Johnson Hall has thirteen bays defined by slender brick columns. This
elevation’s entrance, however, is located in the fifth bay from the north. South of the entrance, the bays are identical to the
south bays of the west façade with intake vents found on both stories of the third, fifth and seventh bays from the south
and on the first story of the second, fourth and sixth bays. The entrance, which is reached by a modern concrete ramp to
the north and steps to the south, contains modern double aluminum-framed glass doors with a transom. An aluminum
window with a short lower hopper unit above a short brick wall is found immediately to the west. Both the entrance and the
window are protected by a flat-roofed concrete canopy. The second story of the entrance bay is identical to the second
story of the southern bays. The bay immediately north of the entrance is a solid brick wall (flush with the rest of the
building’s brick columns) punctured only by a second-story window in its south half and small louvered vent in the north
half of its first story. Each of the three northernmost bays has three aluminum windows with short lower hopper units on
both stories. These windows sit above cemesto panel spandrels of three rows on the first story and four rows on the
second story. Highly visible on this elevation is the 10’ tall brick-clad elevator penthouse. The 23’ x 30’ penthouse is
setback approximately ten feet from the building’s east wall and its south wall is even with the south edge of the solid brick
bay (the fourth bay from the north).
North Elevation
The north end of A.J.M. Johnson Hall contains four window bays divided by slender brick columns and flanked by solid
brick walls of differing widths. The recessed bays have an identical arrangement of windows and cemesto panel spandrels
as the northern three bays of the east elevation, except here the first and third bays from the west are narrower with only
two windows and four columns of cemesto panels. The 1968 concrete basement addition, designed by O. Berg Jr. &
Associates of Bozeman, Montana, is visible on this elevation. It rises approximately 2’ above grade and extends 20’ to the
north of the main building.
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
PAGE 4
History of Property
Property Name: Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall) Site Number: 24GA1681
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 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: Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall) Site Number: 24GA1681
The 1948 Bond Issue & Post-World War Expansion
Montana State College (MSC) came out of World War II with an ambitious new President in Ronald R. Renne and a sharp
increase in enrollment due to the G.I. Bill. While enrollment would fall briefly from its all-time high of 3,165 in 1947, it
would never again reach prewar levels and by 1960 had reached almost 4,000. (MSU Website, Enrollment History). Once
again, MSC needed to expand to meet a growing need for classroom and office space, as well as a need for facilities to
serve the growing campus. Luckily, Montanans—many of whom were experiencing their own postwar boom—were ready
to increase their investment in higher education. In 1948 they voted to increase the mill levy for higher education from 3.5
mills to 6 mills and to fund a $5 million bond issue for buildings on all of Montana’s campuses. (Burlingame, 186).
Unfortunately, the money became bogged down in an argument over which college deserved what amount of money, with
Northern Montana College putting forth a strong argument for a higher share after receiving virtually no state building
funds since its inception. (Burlingame, 189). Funds were finally allocated four years later but, due to inflation, MSC’s $1.55
million did not stretch nearly as far as had been anticipated,. Nevertheless, the college was still able to move forward with
six construction projects: two greenhouses, an addition to the 1922 Engineering Shops (Ryon Labs), an addition to the
1909 Agricultural Building (Linfield Hall), a new Service Shop and a new Math-Physics Building. (Burlingame, 190). By
March of 1952, Acting President P. C. Gaines (President Renne was on leave) could tell the Exponent ,
We fully believe that all the buildings made possible by the 5 million dollar bond issue will be under construction
before the summer is over. The additions to Ryon Laboratory and the Agricultural Building will partially relieve
overcrowded conditions in the Engineering and Agriculture Divisions. The Math-Physics Building will provide a
much more favorable location for the Mathematics Department. The new greenhouses and the Veterinary
Research Laboratory will permit expansion of research work essential to Montana’s agriculture. All of these
improvements in facilities will give Montana State college a greater opportunity for service, through instruction and
research, to the people of the state. ( Montana Exponent, 3/13/1952, p. 11).
All building projects funded by the 1948 Bond Issue were constructed over the next two years, with the new Service
Shops finished in 1952, the addition to the Agriculture Building (Linfield North) finished in 1953 , and the largest of the
projects, the Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall), finished in 1954.
The Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall)
Ever since the first Chemistry Building was destroyed by fire in 1916, the Mathematics and Physics departments had been
in search of a permanent and suitable home, that is, when not battling for their life at MSC. Both fields became degree
programs in 1901, only to be combined in 1906 and then dropped entirely with the installation of the Chancellor System in
1916. (Burlingame, 44 and 50). The programs were temporary victims of a policy intended to eliminate cross-over with
degrees offered at the University of Montana in Missoula . However, both were reinstated by the mid-1920s and by the
1930s the college administration was looking to fund a Math-Physics Building. An application for $70,000 in federal
emergency assistance from the Public Works Administration was apparently rejected, and the “Math-Physics Building”
continued to make building proposal lists in 1939 and 1945. (Building Applications, PWA; 1939 Building Proposal List;
1945 Building Requests). In the meantime, both departments struggled to find suitable space. After the 1917 fire, the
Physics Department moved into the basement of Montana (Main) Hall and later into the “Physics Annex,” a frame building
moved in from a nearby mine and attached to Montana Hall in 1947. Math students and faculty fared even worse in a
“small stone building full of cracks that should be torn down.” (1945 Building Requests). This building, located southeast of
Montana Hall, was one of campus’s oldest structures and had housed the electrical engineering laboratory, while its 1900
and 1914 additions housed a foundry and the campus service shops. After the construction of the Engineering Building
and Shops (Roberts Hall and Ryon Laboratories) in 1922, Mathematics moved in to the original portion of the building,
which became known as the “Old Engineering Building” or the “Mathematics Building.” It was demolished in 1949 with the
promise of new service and classroom facilities made possible through the 1948 Bond Issue. (Burlingame, 24).
While inadequacy of existing space was one reason given by President Renne for a new Math-Physics Building, the rising
prominence of both programs within the curriculum at MSC was another. According to President Renne, both fields were
vital to the study of engineering, agriculture, medicine, industry and the biological sciences, which were the historical and
emerging foundations of applied education and research at MSC. As Renne explained in 1945, “statistical problems arise
continually in all types of research. The Department of Mathematics could render a service of great importance,” and,
“many biological and engineering research problems cannot be successfully studied without much of the equipment,
apparatus, instruments and services so essential to a well-equipped physical laboratory.” (1945 Building Requests). In
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
PAGE 6
History of Property
Property Name: Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall) Site Number: 24GA1681
short, a Math-Physics Building was a high priority. It was the only “department” building constructed between 1926
(Herrick Hall/Women’s Building) and 1960 (Gaines Hall/Chemistry Building) and took precedent over a number of other
desired projects including residence halls, buildings for Chemistry, Nursing and Health Services and a fieldhouse.
The College selected J. G. Link & Co. for the new Math-Physics Building, and the Billings, Montana firm returned
drawings and specifications for a rectangular reinforced concrete structure designed in the quintessential Mid-Century
Modern style. Contracts totaling $503,570 were awarded to Haggerty-Messmer Co., Walsh Plumbing and Heating , and
Dalstrom Electric in 1953 and construction apparently proceeded without incident because the departments were able to
move into their new building over the 1953-1954 Christmas break. Mathematics only stayed in the building until 1962
when it moved to the second floor of the Library and then, in 1974, to the newly-completed Classroom-Office Building
(Wilson Hall). The Physics Department was a longer tenant, vacating the building in 1997 for the newly-completed
Engineering & Physical Sciences Building (EPS Building). The building is now known as A.J.M. Johnson Hall, named after
head of the Physics Department from 1930-1961, and houses the Center for Computational Biology and the Physics
Learning Center. (MSU Website, “A.J.M. Johnson Hall).
J. G. Link & Company
John Gustave Link was born in Bavaria, Germany in 1870 and received his training at the Royal Academy of Landau
before immigrating to the United States at the age of 17 and settling in Denver. There he worked for Frank H. Kidder
(1887-1890), author of The Architect’s Handbook, and architect William Fisher (1890-1893). Link won a national
competition at the age of 22 for the design of the Minnesota State Capital. Hoping to capitalize on this experience, he
moved to Montana in 1896 and settled in Butte, where he first formed a partnership with W. E. Donovan, under the name
of Link & Donovan (1896-1900), and then with Joseph T. Carter (1900-1905). In 1906, he formed a partnership with
Charles S. Haire. Based on the strength of his earlier award, Montana State Architect, John C. Paulson, commissioned
Link & Haire to design the expansion of the State Capital in Helena. Link & Haire were considered Montana’s leading
architects during their 20 year partnership. They designed thousands of buildings statewide, both public and private,
including 18 of Montana’s 56 county courthouses. J. G. Link left the firm in 1926, practicing under his own name unit the
1940s, when the firm became known as J. G. Link & Co. By 1947, Link’s son, Elmer, served as Secretary of J. G. Link &
Co. and he continued operation under that name after his father’s death in 1954 and through the mid-1960s.
In addition to A.J.M. Johnson Hall, J. G. Link also designed the 1909 Neoclassical Revival Agriculture Building (Linfield
Hall) at MSU during his long partnership with Charles S. Haire. His son, Elmer, and grandson, John, also designed many
of MSU’s laboratory buildings under the names J.G. Link & Company or E.F. Link & Associates, including the 1960
Cooley Laboratory, the 1961 Marsh Laboratory (located off the main campus) and the 1983 Central Laboratory Animal
Facility (Tietz Hall). (Adapted from Painter, 58).
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
PAGE 7
Information Sources/Bibliography
Property Name: Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall) Site Number: 24GA1681
INFORMATION SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY
Building Applications, PWA. University Archives, Volume III-F-1, File 3.
Buildings Proposal List, 1939. University Archives, AC-2-2/Building Program, 1939.
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.
J. G. Link & Company, “Mathematrics-Physics Building for the State of Montana at Montana State College,” 29 May 1952.
Architectural Drawings, University Records, 53-0002.
J. G. Link & Company, “Speficications of Material to be Provided and Labor to be Preformed in Building and Completelyl
Finishing a Mathematics-Physics Building at Montana State College,” 29 May 1952. Univerity Records 53-0002.
“Math-Physics Building, August 12, 1953.” University Records, 53-0002.
Montana State University, “A.J.M. Johnson Hall,” Website accessed online at
http://calendar.msu.montana.edu/locations.php?building=4&ref=map .
Montana State University, “Fall Headcount Enrollment History, 1893-Present,” Website accessed online at
http://www.montana.edu/opa/facts/headhist.html .
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.
Renne, Ronald R. “Explanation of Request For a New Building for Science and Mathematics at Montana State College,
1945.
“Three New Buildings For MSC This Spring,” Montana Exponent , 13 March 1952.
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
PAGE 8
Statement of Significance
Property Name: Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall) Site Number: 24GA1681
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 Period of Significance: 1954-1968
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
A.J.M. Johnson Hall (Math-Physics Building) is a contributing building within the proposed Montana State University
(MSU) Historic District, which is eligible for listing under Criteria A and C. It is historically significant for its association with
post-World War II expansion at Montana State University. Along with the 1952 Service Shops, the 1953 addition to
Linfield Hall (Agricultural Hall) and a handful of minor projects, A.J.M. Johnson Hall is also significant as a product of the
$5 million 1948 Bond Issue. It is also significant as the only “departmental” building constructed between 1926 and 1960,
which is indicative of the growing importance of Math and Physics to the curriculum at MSU.
Architecturally, A.J.M. Johnson Hall is a significant example of Modern architecture on the MSU campus. Along with a
handful of residence halls constructed during the 1950s (particularly Hannon, Hapner and Langford) and Reid Hall, it is
one of MSU’s most quintessentially Mid-Century Modern buildings. Nearby Gaines Hall also once served as an excellent
example of the style, but a 2010 renovation has rendered it unrecognizable. The visual resonance of these Mid-Century
Modern buildings depends upon repetitive patterns of materials and the arrangement of geometric forms, rather than on
ornamentation. This can be seen in the west façade of A.J.M. Johnson Hall, which can be divided into three “cubes” that
are further broken down into repetitive geometric patterns created with aluminum windows, pinkish cemesto spandrel
panels and red brick piers. These buildings might be considered “generic” in contrast to those designed in a more
distinctive branch of Modernism, such as International or New Formalism, but it is often the typical that best illustrates the
aesthetic of the time. Furthermore, A.J.M. Johnson Hall is also significant as a late work of one of Montana’s leading
architects, J. G. Link, who died prior to its completion. Comparing this building to his 1909 Neo-Classical Revival
Agriculture Building (1909) illustrates the great divide between historicism and modernism, as well as the design leaps
talented architect like Link were able to make during the mid-20 th Century.
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
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Integrity
Property Name: Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall) Site Number: 24GA1681
INTEGRITY (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association)
A.J.M. Johnson Hall retains good integrity of design, location and materials. The most significant alteration occurred in
1996, when a small EIFS-clad entrance addition designed by CTA was added to the center of the south façade. This
addition is sympathetic to the original building with its rectilinear forms and patterns, yet clearly identifiable as new
construction due to the use of contemporary materials. A second significant alteration was the replacement of the original
windows. However, great care was taken to replace the windows with almost identical aluminum units and the change is
extremely difficult to ascertain when looking at the building without prior knowledge. The building also retains excellent
integrity of location and setting. The 1917 Carsley / Gilbert Plan called for a “physics group” directly across an open
courtyard from a “chemistry group,” on the south end of campus’s north/south axis. Today, A.J.M. Johnson Hall (the Math-
Physics Building) sits across Romney Field from the 1920 Traphagen Hall (originally the Chemistry Building). In sum, the
building readily conveys its architectural significant as one of campus’s most quintessential Mid-Century Modern buildings,
as well as its associations with Post-World War II expansion and the 1948 Bond Issue.
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
PAGE 10
Photographs
Property Name: Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall) Site Number: 24GA1681
A.J.M. Johnson Hall
West Façade, Facing: SE
Montana State University
Jessie Nunn, November 3, 2012
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
PAGE 11
Photographs
Property Name: Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall) Site Number: 24GA1681
A.J.M. Johnson Hall
South Elevation, Facing: N
Montana State University
Jessie Nunn, November 3, 2012
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
PAGE 12
Photographs
Property Name: Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall) Site Number: 24GA1681
A.J.M. Johnson Hall
East Elevation, Facing: NW
Montana State University
Jessie Nunn, November 3, 2012
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
PAGE 13
Photographs
Property Name: Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall) Site Number: 24GA1681
A.J.M. Johnson Hall
East Entrance, East Elevation, Facing: NW
Montana State University
Jessie Nunn, November 3, 2012
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
PAGE 14
Photographs
Property Name: Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall) Site Number: 24GA1681
A.J.M. Johnson Hall
North Elevation, Facing: S
Montana State University
Jessie Nunn, November 3, 2012
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
PAGE 15
Photographs
Property Name: Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall) Site Number: 24GA1681
East, West and North Elevations, “Mathematics-Physics Building,” J.G. Link & Company, May 1952, Sheet 7.
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
PAGE 16
Photographs
Property Name: Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall) Site Number: 24GA1681
South Elevation, “Mathematics-Physics Building,” J.G. Link & Company, May 1952, Sheet 7.
“Math & Physics Building,” undated. Digital Historic Photograph Collection, MSU Library, Photo ID: parc-000446
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
PAGE 17
Site Map
Property Name: Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall) Site Number: 24GA1681
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
PAGE 18
Topographic Map
Property Name: Math-Physics Building (A.J.M. Johnson Hall) Site Number: 24GA1681