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Home My WebLink About19-23 W Babcock St 2021 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 8th Ave Helena, MT 59620-1202 Property Address: 19-23 W Babcock St. Historic Address (if applicable): 25 W Babcock Street City/Town: Bozeman Site Number: 24GA1907 Historic District Number (if applicable): 24GA0952 County: Gallatin Historic Name: Montana Motor Supply Original Owner(s): John A. Lovelace Current Ownership Private Public Current Property Name: Architect's Wife Interiors Owner(s): MMSB LLC Owner Address: 193 Candle Lane, Bozeman, MT 59715-7182 Phone: Legal Location PM: Montana Township: 2S Range: 6E NE ¼ NW ¼ SW ¼ of Section: 7 Lot(s): Lots 16-17 Block(s): Block A Addition: Story Addition Year of Addition: 1872 USGS Quad Name: Bozeman Year: 1987 Historic Use: Commercial Current Use: Commercial Construction Date: 1940 Estimated Actual Original Location Moved Date Moved: UTM Reference www.nris.mt.gov NAD 27 or NAD 83 (preferred) Zone: 12 N Easting: 497035 Northing: 5058332 National Register of Historic Places NRHP Listing Date: 1986 Historic District: Main Street Historic District NRHP Eligible: Yes No *Property meets the City of Bozeman's definition of an eligible property (see below). Date of this document: 05/14/2021 Form Prepared by: S. Wells and E. Sakariassen, Metcalf Archaeological Consultants Inc. with C. Alegria and C. Hendry, Extreme History Project Address: PO Box 1526, Bozeman, MT 59771 Daytime Phone: (406) 219-3535 MT SHPO USE ONLY Eligible for NRHP: □ yes □ no Criteria: □ A □ B □ C □ D Date: Evaluator: Comments: Click here to enter text. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 2 Architectural Description Property Name: 19-23 W Babcock St. Site Number: 24GA1907 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Architectural Style: Other (specify) If Other, specify: Commercial Style (Industrial) Property Type: Commerce Specific Property Type: Interior design office Architect: Fred Willson Architectural Firm/City/State: Builder/Contractor: Unknown Company/City/State: Unknown Source of Information: This site consists of one historical architectural feature: a commercial industrial shop built ca. 1940. It was previously recorded in 1984 by James R. McDonald Architects, and regarded as an intrusive element within a potential historic district. It was subsequently listed as a non-contributing site within the Main Street Historic District (24GA0952) in 1987. In 2014 the site was recorded again by Scott L. Carpenter from InteResources Planning, Inc., and was recommended that the structure is a "contributing property to the Bozeman Main Street Historic District based on Criteria A (association with events related to the historic development of Bozeman's Main Street/Downtown Area) and Criteria B (association with the lives of the Lovelace family and architect Fred Willson)." Carpenter described the structure as follows: "The original portion of the building (Part A, built prior to 1943 but after 1927) is a single-story brick commercial machine shop building measuring approximately 34 ft east-west by 30 ft north south with a diagonal corner entrance from the alley on the northwest corner. The building is situated at the south edge of the east-west running alley north of Babcock Street, between Willson and Tracy Avenues. This building has a flat built-up roof behind brick parapets 15 ft high. The building is attached with a butt-joint to the brick building on the adjoining lot to the west. Formed concrete lintels are placed over the windows and entrance door. Original industrial shop windows have been recently replaced with modern architectural windows. Top of brick wall has modern metal coping cap. Interior of original block has been altered. Two additions were added to the original building in 1942 as indicated by the 1927/rev. 1942 Sanborn Map and Willson's architectural drawings dated 1943 for another addition to the south on the same lot. One of the two additions is a small single-story, flat roofed, brick addition (Part B), attached to the east side of Part A. The second, and possibly contemporaneous, addition (Part C) is a larger single-story, brick addition with gabled roof attached to the south of Part A and B. Part C has walls built of brick and tile brick with formed-concrete lintels over window and door openings. The original windows were multi-light industrial shop windows with hinged openings, now replaced by modern windows. Part C was known to exist in 1943, since the structure is noted as 'existing' in Willson's 1943 drawings for another, never built addition to have been attached to the south wall of Part C. Willson's drawings show the existence of 3/4" iron reinforcing bars protruding from the south face of the southwest corner of the existing building, to which the future addition was planned to be attached...All windows and doors have been recently replaced with modern pieces. The original main entrance of the building was at the northeast corner off of the alley. The facade of the Part C addition is asymmetrical on the south gable side...Roof on Parts A and B is flat built-up composition material behind brick parapet walls with drainage ports. Roof on Part C is a gable roof with ridge-line running perpendicular to Babcock Street, but with the approximately 6 ft of east and west portions of roof built in a flat design. Roof material covering Part C is composition/rolled roofing. Gable roof of Part C is supported by a manufactured steel truss system." Metcalf revisited the site on October 15, 2020, and noticed no obvious modifications since the 2014 report by Carpenter. The concrete band with rebar protruding out of the south elevation is still present. The site is in excellent condition. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 3 History of Property Property Name: 19-23 W Babcock St. Site Number: 24GA1907 HISTORY OF PROPERTY This site is the historic Montana Motor Supply building, originally owned by John A. Lovelace. It was built c. 1940, with early additions in the mid-1940s. According to Carpenter's 2014 history of the property, the building appears on the 1943 revision of the 1927 Sanborn Map as a tile brick-faced "Machine shop" and has a small single-story masonry attachment to the south face of the southwest corner of the Lovelace Building, on the north side of the alley, at 20 W Main St. Carpenter also found that the 1957-59 revision of the Sanborn Map shows the original portion of the building with the additions on the east and south. Carpenter has surmised that all three portions of the building were likely designed by the same architect, prolific Bozeman architect Fred Willson, though this has not been confirmed. Carpenter also provides an overview of past occupants of the building, as follows: "The Polk's City Directories for Bozeman, 1937-38 (pg. 102), 1940 (pg. 94), 1944 (pg. 86), and 1947 (pg. 131) list the Lovelace Motor Supply as a business operated by John A. Lovelace, in the Lovelace Building at 20 W Main Street (across the alley to the north, and one lot to the east of the subject property). The attached machine shop building to the south of 20 W Main, and the machine shop building at 25 W Babcock St., are presumed to all be part of the same business. Such presumption is made based on the similarity of building materials, design, and the Willson architectural drawings showing the existing structure planned with addition for the Lovelace business. Beginning with the 1956 Bozeman City Directory (pg. 159), the motor supply business located at 20 W Main is identified as the Montana Motor Supply. This same identification of business name exists in the directories for 1959 (pg. 153) and 1961 (pg. 143). None of the city directories show listings for 23/25 W Babcock St., presumably due to the fact that the buildings were secondary buildings on the alley behind/near the primary business location at 20 W Main St. From the detailed information contained on the Sanborn Maps, City Directories, and Fred Willson's architectural drawings, it is estimated that Part A of the subject building was built sometime between 1927 and 1942, and that Parts B and C (historic additions to the existing building) were built at the same time between 1943 and 1945" (Carpenter 2014). In 2014 the structure underwent renovations that added the modern industrial windows and entrances. The business occupying the site at the time of these renovations, Architect's Wife Interiors, continues to be the current business using the structure. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 4 Information Sources/Bibliography Property Name: 19-23 W Babcock St. Site Number: 24GA1907 INFORMATION SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY Carpenter, Scott L. 2014 19-23 W Babcock St. Montana Historic Property Record, Bozeman Historic Structures Inventory. Document on-file with the City of Bozeman, MT. James R. McDonald Architects 1984 19-23 W Babcock St. Montana Historical and Architectural Inventory Form. Document on-file with the City of Bozeman, MT. Montana State Library. Montana Cadastral records online, http://svc.mt.gov/msl/mtcadastral, accessed 14 May 2021. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 5 Statement of Significance Property Name: 19-23 W Babcock St. Site Number: 24GA1907 NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES NRHP Listing Date: 1987 NRHP Eligibility: Yes No Individually Contributing to Historic District Noncontributing to Historic District NRHP Criteria: A B C D Area of Significance: Architecture Period of Significance: Historic More Than One Decade STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE The property at 19-23 West Babcock Street was previously recorded in 1984 by James R. McDonald Architects, and subsequently considered non-contributing within the Main Street Historic District (24GA0952) listed in the NRHP in 1987. In 2014 the site was recorded again, by Scott L. Carpenter from InteResources Planning, Inc., and it was recommended that the structure be considered a "contributing property to the Bozeman Main Street Historic District based on Criteria A (association with events related to the historic development of Bozeman's Main Street/Downtown Area) and Criteria B (association with the lives of the Lovelace family and architect Fred Willson)." Sect. 38.700 of the Bozeman Municipal Code defines an eligible property as one that meets the criteria for inclusion in the NRHP or State Register either 1) individually or 2) as a contributing building to an existing or potential historic district. This site has been evaluated against the NRHP Criteria and Metcalf concurs with the previous 2014 assessment that it meets Criterion A and B and be considered eligible for the NRHP and retains sufficient integrity to contribute to the existing Main Street District (24GA0952). MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 6 Integrity Property Name: 19-23 W Babcock St. Site Number: 24GA1907 INTEGRITY (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association) The site is in excellent condition, overall. The modern modifications of the windows and entrances have affected integrity of design, materials, workmanship, and feeling. Other aspects are retained. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 7 Photographs Property Name: 19-23 W Babcock St. Site Number: 24GA1907 Feature # 1 Facing: N Description: Site 24GA1907 (Property 137). Primary façade. (Image #1583, 10/15/2020. SLW) Feature # 1 Facing: NE Description: Site 24GA1907 (Property 137). Oblique view. (Image #1582, 10/15/2020. SLW) MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 8 Site Map Property Name: 19-23 W Babcock St. Site Number: 24GA1907 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 9 Topographic Map Property Name: 19-23 W Babcock St. Site Number: 24GA1907