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Home My WebLink About2-4 W Main MONTANA HISTORICAL AND 4RCHITECTURAL INVENTORY L-qal Description:_ _ CONTACT Address: 2-4 W• Main Street PHOTO C�jnership:Name: MCRay & Del one N. Evans private address: 1524 S. Rouse Ave. , Bozeman, MT 59715 Rona Fratrea o�biic JYlGrvr cJ IvaW%l(, h1iLL --T-- Historic Name: Gallatin State Bank of Gallatin _ Common Name: None Valley . I 1908 estimated Date of Construction: 7 O documented --_-� Architect: John R. Scahill I T T , r ! , Builder: John R. Scahill Original Owner: Gallatin State Bank Bank Original Use: tices/Retal Or— Present Use: RESEARCH SOURCES: Note all records consulted to determine t dates of construction,original owners,builders,uses,etc. i W I Title Search: Tax Records: i--- -� _ D 'l� '�t� Bldg.Permit: Census Records: I . T X X ISewer/Water: Sanborn Maps. ]► ! y Directories: Newspapers: t Q t c1� PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Describe present appearance of structure/site, then contrast and compare that with its original ap- pearance,noting additions,alterations,and changes in materials.Discuss significant architectural features. I' 2-4 W . Main 1985 revision Matt Cohen , surveyor The Gallatin State Bank , a well -ornamented , 2-story , 6x5 bay ( east x north sides ) , brick corner block , has a ,-round corner entrance . The two non- identical facades consist of variously flat and slightly projecting bays , which contain rectangular and broad , segmental arched windows . The latter , which occur only in the second floor and are framed by the projecting bays , are trimmed with stone ( presently painted ) hood moldings and sills . The remaining rectangular windows have shouldered surrounds , also of stone . Both retain their original muntins . Below the westernmost two bays is a storefront with a diagonally recessed plate glass window . Supporting the recessed entrance are two speckled granite , Scamozzi columns topped by a denticulated entablature . Topping the whole is a medalion , flanked by carved consoles , that bear the letters : " GSB . " From the building corner hangs an electric sign that reads : " Mr. Mack ' s Beauty College" . Corner quoins on all projecting bays , spandrel panels , and other ornament is executed in intricate brickwork . The original cornice is missing , and two wide fascias presently terminate the building . The foundation is quarry faced , limestone ashlar . 1� i 2-4 W . Main 1985 revision Matt Cohen , surveyor Significance Designed and built by J . R . Scahill for the Gallatin State Bank in 1908, one of the three dominant early 20th century banks in Bozeman , this fine example of the Classical Revival style executed in brick is especially notable for its quarter-round , recessed corner entrance , which is supported by two polished , speckled granite , Roman Ionic columns . Above the entrance is an ornate carved momogram with the letters : GSB . Though the building is presently painted and missing its once prominent cornice , the adjacent 6 W . Main , which retains its cornice and original gray brick finish , is composed of architectural elements that are identical to parts of the bank , and provides a clue to the bank ' s original appearance . The bank occupied its new building in 1908 , while the then-46 year old jewelry business of the bank ' s president , H . A. Pease , occupied the retail space in the building , which has a storefront on Main St . ( The original intricate transom of that storefront may still be intact ) . The Gallatin State Bank was organized in 1902 by Wells Seaman Davidson and R . D . Steele , had an initial capital of $25 ,000 , and was originally located in the Masonic Temple building at 137 E . Main ( Weekly Courier , April 10 , 1918 , p . 1 ) . A strong financial institution from the start , the bank built a new home just six months after a national depression that lasted from October-December , 1907 , and that forced the closing of many banks throughout the country ( The Coast , p . 425 , Edsall ) . The site of the building had previously been occupied by a small frame building , used as Ed Hanley ' s Tin Shop and Dr. Monroe ' s office and drug store , among other uses (Willson , p . 5) . The new bank building was " planned and built" by contractor John R. Scahill , according to a handwritten note by an assistant cashier at the bank , Ernest S . Edsall , and was occupied July 1 , 1908 ( The Coast , p . 425 , concurs on this date ) . Scahill was one of the original nine shareholders of the Commercial Exchange Bank ( 104 E . Main ) in 1892 ( Griffin , D . 4) . In 1912 the bank was reincorporated as the Gallatin Trust and Savings Bank and b 1 1 had a capital stock totalling 140 ,000 (Weekly Y 9 8 , P 9 � ( �Y Courier , April 10 , 1918 , p . l ) . Other banks in the city , such as the National Bank of Gallatin Valley , which built an impressive structure across the street at 1 W . Main only two years previous to this one , were not so fortunate . Many failed in periodic depressions through the late 19th and early 20th century . Part of this bank ' s success may be attributable to the shrewd management of W . S . Davidson - one of the bank ' s founders and early cashiers . Davidson was elected bank president in 1918 , and has frequently been noted as the " guiding genius " of the bank from the time of its formation (Weekly Courier , April 10 , 1918 , p . 1 ) . In 1907 he built an impressive Tudor Revival /Queen Anne style house , 604 S . Willson . Davidson ' s son , Paul Davidson , recalled in 1983 that during the financially troubled times of 1924-25 , " dad would rise up out of his chair to see if the bank across the street was opening up ( National Bank of Gallatin Valley , 1 W . Main ) . It was the old ( James E . ) Martin bank - it was always a matter of touch and go" ( Bozeman Daily Chronicle , 1983 Centennial Edition , Pt . IV , p . 14) . In 1926 , that bank was absorbed by three banks in the city at the time , including Davidson ' s Gallatin Trust and Savings Bank . ( Griffin , p . 1 ) . The Gallatin Trust and Savings Bank remained in this building until Bozeman ' s surge of growth in the early 1970 ' s . In 1971 , it moved into a new building at 237 W . Main , and became the Montana National Bank ( the name was again changed in 1975 to Montana Bank of Bozeman ) . The old bank building is presently rented for retail and office space , and a small vestibule added on the south allows access to the upstairs offices ( see photo of 17 S . Tracy) . H . A . Pease , who was born in Granville , Ohio in 1838 , left for Virginia City in 1864 , lured by the gold mines . In 1865 he opened a jewelry and optometry business there , and in 1882 , along with his son- in- law Gus J . Steffens , relocated in Bozeman and established H . A . Pease & Co . ( Leeson , 1151 ) . The business ( referred to as " Pease & Steffens " by Alderson , 1883 ) was originally located on E . Main St . , near the present site of the Saunders Building , 124- 126 E . Main ( Alderson , p . 31 ) . Pease , who in Virginia City had served for four years as Chairman of the City Council Finance Committee , brought to Bozeman not only a fine reputation as a jeweler ( Avant Courier , May 4 , 1882 , p . 3 ) , but a sense of financial acumen as well . In 1908 he was president of the Gallatin State Bank , and H . A . Pease & Co . moved into the store space , which may have been specified by Pease , in the bank ' s newly constructed building . The business continued to occupy the store well after the death of Pease in 1918 , run by Pease ' s grandson , Claude P . Steffens , until 1945 ( Burlingame , 19765, p . 87 ; City Directory , 1933 , p . 106 ) . Gus J . Steffens , as early as the 1920 ' s , had opened his own business , located at 107 E . Main . " Pease ' s Jewelry Store" ( listed in the 1933 City Directory as still located in this building ) , was bought by Harry Miller in 1945 , who perhaps at that time moved it across the street to 2 E . Main , the present site of Miller ' s Jewelr.y Store . Bibliography Griffin , pp . 4 , 89 Alderson , p . 31 City Directories : 1916- 17 , p . 75 ; 1927 , p . 177 ; 1933 , pp . 106 , 125 Leeson pp . 1151 , 1152 Ellsworth , p . 19 The Weekly Courier , May 4 , 1882 , p . 3 The Coast , p . 426 i Bozeman Daily Chronicle , 1883- 1983 , Pt . IV , p . 14 Burlingame , 1976 , pp . 83 , 87 Sanborn Maps , 1904 , 1912 , 1927 Fred Willson , radio show transcript , p . 5 Bozeman Daily Chronicle , 8/2/70 , p . 11 .