The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About20 W Main 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: 20 W Main St Historic Address (if applicable): City/Town: Bozeman Site Number: 245 Historic District Number (if applicable): 24GA0952 County: Gallatin Historic Name: Michigan Building/Lovelace Building Original Owner(s): E. Broox Martin Current Ownership Private Public Current Property Name: Lovelace Building Owner(s): Lovelace Holdings LLC Owner Address: PO Box 97, Bozeman, MT 59771-0097 Phone: Legal Location PM: Montana Township: 2S Range: 6E SW ¼ SE ¼ NW ¼ of Section: 7 Lot(s): Lots 4-5, W3' Lot 3, N4' Lot 18, Lot 19, N4' of W3' Lot 20 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: 1905 Estimated Actual Original Location Moved Date Moved: UTM Reference www.nris.mt.gov NAD 27 or NAD 83 (preferred) Zone: 12 N Easting: 497053 Northing: 5058380 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. Date of this document: 05/15/2021 Form Prepared by: S. Wells and E. Sakariassen, Metcalf Archaeological Consultants Inc. 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: MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 2 Architectural Description Property Name: 20 W Main St Site Number: 245 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Architectural Style: Art Deco-Moderne If Other, specify: Property Type: Commerce Specific Property Type: Multiple businesses Architect: Unknown Architectural Firm/City/State: Unknown Builder/Contractor: Unknown Company/City/State: Unknown Source of Information: This site consists of one historical architectural feature: a commercial structure built ca. 1905. It was previously recorded in 1984 by James R. McDonald Architects, and revised in 1985 by Matt Cohen. It was subsequently included in the NRHP as a contributing site within the Main Street Historic District (24GA0952) in 1986. Cohen described the structure as follows: "The Lovelace Building is a 3-story, 5-bay, brick commercial block with a symmetrical, carrara glass double storefront. Windows, which are rectangular in the 2nd floor and segmental arched in the 3rd, have keystones (possibly limestone). he latter have 6/1 sash while the former have 1/1 sash. The gold brick façade is framed by corner quoins, articulated in brick, and a tall, flush brick parapet of a non-matching gold color, which bears the words: "Lovelace Building" in chrome letters. The first floor, which accommodates a recessed central entrance lined with red carrara glass, and two flanking storefronts, also with recessed central entrances, displays bands of light and dark carrara glass that frame the two storefronts. Non-contributing stucco covers the bottom edges of the storefronts. Large, Art Deco letters above the east storefront read: "Bungalow," as do polychromatic tiles before the doorstep. Hanging perpendicular to the top of the west storefront is a neon sign in the shape of Montana that reads: "Montana Motor Supply." The red brick sides of the building have stepped parapets." Metcalf revisited the site on November 11, 2020 and noted some modifications to the façade. The brick work around the second and third stories (framed by the corner quoins) has been painted gray. The brick parapet above the third-floor windows, with the same "Lovelace Building" lettering, has remain unchanged. The windows appear to have remained unchanged as well. However, as new stores have occupied the spaces on the ground floor, the façade has changed. The location of the three entrances is the same, and they are still recessed, but they are now all framed by the same cohesive ornate pillar design at each corner of the display windows. There are four display windows broken up by the three store entrances, and each consists of a large two-over-two-lite design. A band of glass windows runs across the top of the display windows and entrances, except for the central entrance, which has what appears to be a Carrara-glass design similar to the lintel design over the second story windows (including a keystone piece). This band of windows consists of six identical rectangular bays containing six-over-six-lite fixed windows, with one bay fitting above each display bay and recessed entrance. This site is in excellent condition. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 3 History of Property Property Name: 20 W Main St Site Number: 245 HISTORY OF PROPERTY This site is the Lovelace Building, one of the few 3-story commercial blocks located in the Main Street Historic District. It was built in 1905 and, according to Cohen’s 1985 history of the property, its remodeled façade (now historic in its own right) is “a typical example of turn of the century commercial design” and its Art Deco storefront, designed by prolific Bozeman architect Fred Willson, is “one of only three storefronts of the period in the district.” The structure was built by E. Broox Martin and was originally named the "Michigan Building," after Martin's native state. Martin also built 33-43 E. Main, his own residence at 1814 S. Willson Ave. (1709), the Evergreen Apartments at 317 W. Koch St. (1918), and the Clark Apartments (1914). According to Cohen, “Martin was a rancher as well as entrepreneur, and in 1892 became the first president of the Commercial National Bank (104 E. Main)” (Cohen 1985). Cohen’s history also chronicles the past tenants of the commercial block, paraphrased in the following: “The original tenant in the east store of this building may have been "The Bungalow" ice cream parlor…A c. 1908 photograph of the then-elaborate interior of the Bungalow is inscribed: 'The Bungalow - largest ice cream parlor in the west/R.J. Roschie, Prop.' In the early 20th century, the Bungalow was Bozeman's most popular confectionary and ice cream parlor and made its own candy and ice cream. Here one could find such diverse treats as 'Frozen dainties,' waffles, 'phosphates,' chocolate sundaes, and even oysters, in season...The western store has seen at least five occupants. In 19121, according to the Sanborn Map, there was a cigar and tobacco shop, and a billiard hall here. By 1918, the J.N. McCracken department store occupied this space. J.C. Penney bought out McCracken's in 1929 and located in the Fechter Hotel (128-130 E. Main), until 1937 when the chain moved into and remodeled 9 E. Main. By 1933 Farmers Market Produce was in the former McCracken's space, which Gardner Waite remembers well. John Lovelace, head of Lovelace Realty, Inc. and at one time a state Senator, bought the building in 1934, and moved his Montana Motor Supply Co. into the western store, next to the Bungalow. That company, founded in Livingston in 1919 as the Michelle Filling Stations, was expanded to Bozeman in 1925 as the Lovelace Oil Co. (later called the Lovelace Motor Supply Co.), and located in a service station that formerly stood at 628 W. Main. In 1932 the parts business was separated from the oil business, and for 2 years the former occupied a store on Main St. The parts business was renamed 'Montana Motor Supply,' since it had branch store in Livingston, Helena and Dillon… “John Lovelace purchased the building in 1934, moved the Montana Motor Supply into it, and soon, if not immediately thereafter hired Fred Willson to redesign the storefront. He also had the original, ornamental parapet removed and replaced with a flush brick parapet bearing the words: 'Lovelace Building,' spelled out in chrome, Art Deco letters. Lovelace also bought Martin's building across the street, the 'Martin Building,' around this time, which today bears similar letters in the parapet that spell out the words: 'Hawthorn Building,' his wife's maiden name. “One year after Lovelace bought the building, 1935, Fred Willson redesigned the Bungalow storefront for J. Bartlett, proprietor of the business by then. Four years later, he presumably designed both the storefront of Montana Motor Supply, and the central entrance to the upper floors of the building, unifying these elements with the Bungalow storefront. The storefront, which spans the first floor of the building, includes stripes of dark and light beige carrara glass on the exterior, and red within the recessed entry way. Three colors of encaustic tile cover the doorstep to the Bungalow, with the name of the establishment inlayed. Each window making up the Bungalow storefront retains a c. 1935 transom decal that advertises such things to be found inside as 'Fountain,' 'Films,' 'Gifts,' 'Candy,' and 'Lunch.' In 1943, Lovelace built an impressive auto machine shop directly behind this building (19-21 W Babcock). According to Gardner C. Waite, since at least as early as the 1920's, the upper floors of this and several other buildings on Main St., were used as a rooming house. In 1948, the upper floors at this building became known as the West Hotel (Cohen 1985).” At some point the Harley Davidson store took over what used to be Lovelace Motor Supply shop. In 2005 renovations to restore the original façade began on the Lovelace Building, and "Yellowstone Harley Davidson sits next to Mountain Lodge and finished its renovation in December...now both stores look nearly identical in design, with green tinted windows that longtime residents should recognize as being similar to the Bungalow Drug that was in the same building" (Bozeman Daily Chronicle 2005). Currently the store is occupied by Montana Silversmiths in the eastern commercial space and Wild Joe's Coffee Spot in the western commercial space. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 4 Information Sources/Bibliography Property Name: 20 W Main St Site Number: 245 INFORMATION SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY The Bozeman Daily Chronicle [Bozeman, Montana] 2005 "Lovelace Building renovated." 27 April. Bozeman, Montana. Cohen, Matt 1985 Montana Historical and Architectural Inventory for Commercial National Bank, 20 W Main St., Revision. Document on-file with the City of Bozeman, MT. James R. McDonald Architects 1984 20 W Main St. Montana Historical and Architectural Inventory Form. Document on-file with the City of Bozeman. Bozeman, MT. Montana State Library. Montana Cadastral records online, http://svc.mt.gov/msl/mtcadastral, accessed 17 May 2021. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 5 Statement of Significance Property Name: 20 W Main St Site Number: 245 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: Persons Period of Significance: Historic More Than One Decade STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE The property located at 20 West Main Street, known once as the Michigan Building and then the Lovelace Building, was previously recorded in 1984 by James R. McDonald Architects, then revised in 1985 by Matt Cohen. It was subsequently listed in the NRHP as a contributing site within the Main Street Historic District (24GA0985). The structure has undergone numerous modifications over the decades; however, the current state of the primary façade is similar to its original design, with modern materials affecting integrity of materials and feeling. Metcalf finds that it retains sufficient integrity to maintain historic character. This site is currently listed in the NRHP as a contributing site within the Main Street Historic District and retains integrity sufficient to maintain its listed status. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 6 Integrity Property Name: 20 W Main St Site Number: 245 INTEGRITY (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association) The site is in excellent condition overall. While recent renovations have returned some of the original design elements to the primary façade, the new materials have affected integrity of materials and feeling. Other aspects are retained. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 7 Photographs Property Name: 20 W Main St Site Number: 245 Feature # 1 Facing: S-SW Description: Property 245. Semi-oblique view of primary façade. (Image #1801, 11/07/2020. SLW) Feature # 1 Facing: N Description: Property 245. View of south elevation. (Image #1806, 11/07/2020. SLW) MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 8 Site Map Property Name: 20 W Main St Site Number: 245 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 9 Topographic Map Property Name: 20 W Main St Site Number: 245