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Home My WebLink About222 S Tracy Ave 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: 222 S Tracy Ave Historic Address (if applicable): City/Town: Bozeman Site Number: 287 Historic District Number (if applicable): 24GA0955 County: Gallatin Historic Name: Original Owner(s): Harry W. Beinstroh Current Ownership Private Public Current Property Name: Owner(s): Barbara M. Lee Owner Address: 222 S Tracy Ave., Bozeman, MT 59715 Phone: Legal Location PM: Montana Township: 2S Range: 6E SW ¼ NE ¼ SW ¼ of Section: 7 Lot(s): Lots 11 & 12 Block(s): Block D Addition: Black Addition Year of Addition: 1872 USGS Quad Name: Bozeman Year: 1987 Historic Use: Residential Current Use: Residential Construction Date: Between 1904-1927 Estimated Actual Original Location Moved Date Moved: UTM Reference www.nris.mt.gov NAD 27 or NAD 83 (preferred) Zone: 12 N Easting: 497123 Northing: 5058102 National Register of Historic Places NRHP Listing Date: 1987 Historic District: S Tracy - S Black Historic District NRHP Eligible: Yes No *Property does not meet the City of Bozeman's definition of an eligible property (see below). Date of this document: 05/05/2021 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: Site is non-contributing within existing historic district. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 2 Architectural Description Property Name: 222 S Tracy Ave Site Number: 287 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Architectural Style: Other (specify) If Other, specify: Eclectic Property Type: Residential Specific Property Type: Single unit dwelling Architect: Unknown Architectural Firm/City/State: Unknown Builder/Contractor: Unknown Company/City/State: Unknown Source of Information: Cohen 1985 This site consists of one historical feature: a house built between 1904 and 1927. It was previously recorded in 1984 by James R. McDonald Architects, and regarded as a "neutral element within a potential historic district." It was subsequently considered non- contributing within the NRHP-listed S Tracy - South Black Historic District (24GA0955). McDonald described the house as follows: "This detached one-and-one-half story single-family residence has a square plan with a slight gable roof over the front porch supported by wood posts. The symmetrical façade has a central front entrance and fixed 1/1 double-hung windows. The frame construction is finished in horizontal siding in the gable ends and cut stone on the remainder of the structure. The foundation is also of cut stone. The cross axial gable roof is covered with asbestos sheathing." Metcalf revisited the site on October 15, 2020, and noted only minor modifications since this survey. It is a 1.5 story cross gabled house in an eclectic style. The house is composed of rusticated concrete block with a wood framed upper half story. The upper story is clad in asbestos shingles. The windows and door openings have large concrete block wills and lintels. The roof is clad in asphalt shingles. The primary façade faces west onto S. Tracy and is centered beneath a full width gable front open porch accessed by an angled walkway from the awning. The porch is concrete slab on grade. The porch roof is supported by six wood posts with a contemporary wood railing, and the entry itself is flanked by art glass side lites and a boarded up transom. To either side is a large fixed window, one is a one-over-one-lite window. The upper story gable contains a pair of one over one lite windows. A similar paired window is in the upper story gable on the south elevation, with three large single lite fixed windows on the first story. A basement vent and two coal chutes are also present. There is a single story gable roofed enclosed porch on the rear (east) elevation, containing a secondary entry and fixed and banked screened windows. The upper story gable has a pair of one-over-one-lite hung windows. The north elevation has three one-over-one-lite hung windows on the first story, as well as a large picture window. The upper story gable contains a pair of one-over-one-lite hung windows and a smaller one-over-one-lite window. The house is in good condition. Application of asbestos shingles and the replacement of the original windows and porches with contemporary low pitched gable porches on concrete slab affects integrity of materials, design, and feeling. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 3 History of Property Property Name: 222 S Tracy Ave Site Number: 287 HISTORY OF PROPERTY The property currently addressed as 222 South Tracy Avenue was platted by Leander Black as Black’s Addition on October 31, 1872. From 1872 to 1945, this property is sold as Lots 11 and 12 as shown on the 1904 Sanborn Map. The 1904 Sanborn depicts a wood-frame residence at this corner site; it was built prior to 1889. This residence was either demolished, removed, or incorporated into the present residence that was built in c.1912. The 1912 Sanborn map depicts this one-story structure with “conc. Blks. Unfinished and Abandoned” written within it. By 1927 the structure had received a second story constructed of terra cotta tile and been finished as a dwelling. Single-story porches were added to both the front (full-width) and rear (entry) of the building. Harry Beinstroh (or Beimstroh) purchased this property on April 23, 1910. Harry W. Beimstroh had been born in January 1868 in Cincinnati, OH to Henry W. and Dora Beimstroh. He moved to Bozeman, MT in 1893. He worked as a bookkeeper for J. W. Tilton for many years. He was a member of the Masons, belonging to Gallatin Lodge No. 6 A.F. and A.M. (The Independent-Record, 16 November 1944). Harry married Rosie Lee Force on May 12, 1910 in Bozeman. In 1920, Harry and Rose Beimstroh lived at 110 West Curtiss Street (addressed as 7 East Curtiss Street in April 2021). In 1920, Harry Beimstroh worked as a watchman for the cereal mill (Ancestry.com, 2010). In 1940, Harry Beimstroh lived at 11 East Curtiss and the census recorded him as being retired (Ancestry.com, 2012). The estate of Harry Beinstroh sold this property to A. M. Russell on November 8, 1945. Alexander or "A.M." Russell had been born in Seattle and worked as an architect as a young man. He moved to Bozeman in 1917 from Butte, MT. In 1918 Russell worked as a draughtsman for architect, Fred Willson (R. L. Polk & Co., 1918). Russell worked on the architectural plans for the Ellen Theatre in Bozeman, during which he became interested in the movie business, prompting him to enter the field. A. M. Russell married Eoline Sootheran in c. 1920 in Spokane, WA (Ancestry.com, 2012). Russell took over management of the Rialto Theater, which was originally located in the Opera House located within the City Hall building. In 1923-1924 he moved the Rialto to 10 West Main Street (Great Falls Tribune, 03 May 1932). He purchased the Ellen Theatre in Bozeman in 1932 from the Gallatin Theater Company, a firm controlled by the Story family (The Independent-Record, 01 May 1932). In 1938 Russell opened the Joyce Theater at 219 East Main Street in Bozeman. As the Joyce Theater’s owner, A.M. Russell, said in a Bozeman Daily Chronicle article the day before the theater’s opening that the new theater "offers east Bozeman residents with a ‘theatre of their own’ and provides all theatregoers with a new, modern show house located on the main business thoroughfare, but in an area partially removed from that section of Main Street where the heaviest traffic occurs." The Bozeman Daily Chronicle ran full page stories about the new theater with large photos of Russell and his daughter, Joyce, for whom the new theater was named. "The blue-eyed miss, a sixth-grader at the Longfellow school, is very much excited over the opening of the Joyce" (The Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 25 March 2011). Russell owned and operated four theaters in Bozeman: the Rialto, the Ellen, the Joyce, and the Star-Lite (The Montana Standard, 20 October 1950). A. M. and Eoline Russell did not live in this residence during ownership but lived at 222 South Tracy from c. 1929 until A. M.’s death in 1950 and Eoline’s death in 1963 (R. L. Polk & Co., 1929 to 1963; Ancestry.com, 2002). Upon A. M. Russell’s death, the theaters were taken over by J. A. English (The Independent-Record, 26 October 1950; Great Falls Tribune, 20 October 1950). A.M. and Eoline Russell sold this property to their son, Donald Russell on November 29, 1946. Donald D. and Gloria Holt Russell sold this property to Donald L. and Barbara M. Lee on December 9, 1963. On August 21, 2015, Barbara Lee sold the property to Rebecca L. Behrent, Harlan M. Lee, Steven A. Lee, and Katherine L. Dixon, the current owners as of April 2021. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 4 History of Property Property Name: 222 S Tracy Ave Site Number: 287 Table 1. Chain of Title, 222 South Tracy Avenue, Bozeman, Montana. Grantor Grantee Date of Instrument Type of Instrument Property Description/Comments Reference USA William H. Babcock 10 March 1875 Patent E ½ SW ¼ Sec 7 T2S R6E GLO Records William H. Babcock Black & Story 06 July 1870 Deed W ½ E ½ SW ¼ Sec 7 T2S R6E (except 150’ x 50’ lot directly south of Gray and Grannis stable) (1/3 interest) D: H/71 Nelson and Ellen Story Leander M. Black 06 July 1870 Deed Same (1/3 interest) D: H/97 William H. Babcock Leander M. Black 13 April 1871 Deed W ½ E ½ SW ¼ Sec 7 T2S R6E (40 acres) D: H/246 Leander M. Black Julius T. Curtiss 29 October 1872 Deed Lots 11 and 12, Block D, Black’s Addition D: I/139 Julius T. and Lou Belle Curtiss George W. Monroe 26 November 1873 Deed Same D: 2/258 George W. and Carrie E. Monroe Robert A. Baxter 09 September 1895 Deed Same D: 22/310 Robert A. and Mary A. Baxter Moroni Metcalf 15 July 1896 Deed Same D: 22/539 Moroni and Henrieta A. Metcalf M. W. Hamm 13 October 1896 Warranty Deed Same D: 23/75 Sara A. Hamm (widow) Ruby M. Bohart 28 June 1906 Warranty Deed Same D: 37/29 Ruby M. Bohart Lucy W. Heiskell 13 August 1908 Warranty Deed Same D: 39/120 Lucy W. and Frank Heiskell Harry Beinstroh 23 April 1910 Warranty Deed Same D: 41/249 Estate of Harry W. Beinstroh A. M. Russell 08 November 1945 Administrator’s Deed Same D: 92/354 A. M. and Eoline S. Russell Donald D. Russell 29 November 1946 Warranty Deed W 70.5’ Lots 11 and 12, Block D, Black’s Addition D: 95/82 Donald D. and Gloria Holt Russell Donald L. and Barbara M. Lee 09 December 1963 Warranty Deed Same D: 144/331 Donald L. Lee Barbara M. Lee 16 December 1988 Quit Claim Deed Same D: Film 104/1019 Barbara M. Lee Rebecca L. Behrent, Harlan M. Lee, Steven A. Lee, Katherine L. Dixon 21 August 2015 Beneficiary Deed (effective on Barbara M. Lee’s death) Same D: #2509895 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 5 Information Sources/Bibliography Property Name: 222 S Tracy Ave Site Number: 287 INFORMATION SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY Ancestry.com 2002 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Ancestry.com Operations Inc., Provo, Utah. Electronic document, accessed April 19, 2021. 2010 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Ancestry.com Operations Inc., Provo, Utah. Electronic document, accessed April 19, 2021. 2012 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Ancestry.com Operations Inc., Provo, Utah. Electronic document, accessed April 19, 2021. 2012 Washington, U.S., Marriage Records, 1854-2013 [database on-line]. Ancestry.com Operations Inc., Provo, Utah. Electronic document, accessed April 19, 2021. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle [Bozeman, Montana] 2011 "The Joyce Theater Opened in 1938 with Style, Beauty." 25 March. Bozeman, Montana. Gallatin County Clerk & Recorder 1864-2021 Gallatin County Deeds. Gallatin County Clerk & Recorder, Bozeman, Montana. Great Falls Tribune [Great Falls, Montana] 1932 "Russell Buys Movie House at Bozeman." 03 May. Great Falls, Montana. 1950 "Theater Owner Dies at Bozeman." 20 October. Great Falls, Montana. The Independent-Record [Helena, Montana] 1932 "A. M. Russell Takes Over Ellen Theater." 01 May. Helena, Montana. 1944 "H. W. Beimstroh Passes." 16 November. Helena, Montana. 1950 "Anacondan Leases Three Theaters of Bozeman Firm." 26 October. Helena, Montana. James R. McDonald Architects 1984 222 S Tracy Ave. Montana Historical and Architectural Inventory Form. Document on-file with the City of Bozeman, MT. The Montana Standard [Butte, Montana] 1950 "Former Resident of Butte Dies." 20 October. Butte, Montana. Montana State Library. Montana Cadastral records online, http://svc.mt.gov/msl/mtcadastral, accessed 5 May 2021. R. L. Polk & Company 1904-2012 Polk’s Bozeman (Gallatin County, Mont.) City Directories. R.L. Polk & Co., Kansas City, Missouri. Sanborn Map Company 1890-1957 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Bozeman, Gallatin County, Montana (Jul 1890, Nov 1891, Jan 1904, Sep 1912, Sep 1927, Sep 1943, Nov 1957). Sanborn Map Company, New York, New York. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 6 Statement of Significance Property Name: 222 S Tracy Ave Site Number: 287 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: Period of Significance: STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE The property at 222 South Tracy Avenue was previously recorded in 1984 by James R. McDonald Architects, and regarded non-contributing within the NRHP-listed S Tracy- S Black Historic District (24GA0955). Metcalf concurs with the previous assessments and finds that it no longer retains sufficient integrity to convey historic character; it should continue to be considered a non-contributing element within the historic district. 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 has been determined to lack individual significance under Criterion A, B, C, and D. The site is located within an existing historic district, specifically the 1987 NRHP-listed South Tracy Historic District (24GA0955). The site does not retain sufficient integrity to be considered contributing to the historic district. Metcalf recommends the site non-contributing/not eligible for inclusion in the NRHP. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 7 Integrity Property Name: 222 S Tracy Ave Site Number: 287 INTEGRITY (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association) The house is in good condition, overall. Application of asbestos shingles and the replacement of the original windows and porches with mid century/contemporary looking low pitched gable porches on concrete slab affects integrity of materials, design, and feeling. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 8 Photographs Property Name: 222 S Tracy Ave Site Number: 287 Feature # 1 Facing: E Description: Property 287. Primary façade. (Image #0461, 10/15/2020. EAS) Feature # 1 Facing: SE Description: Property 287. Oblique view. (Image #0460, 10/15/2020. EAS) MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 9 Photographs Property Name: 222 S Tracy Ave Site Number: 287 Feature # 1 Facing: NE Description: Property 287. Oblique view. (Image #0462, 10/15/2020. EAS) Feature # 1 Facing: NW Description: Property 287. Oblique view. (Image #0463, 10/15/2020. EAS) MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 10 Site Map Property Name: 222 S Tracy Ave Site Number: 287 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 11 Topographic Map Property Name: 222 S Tracy Ave Site Number: 287