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Home My WebLink About107-113 E 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: 107-113 E Main Historic Address (if applicable): City/Town: Bozeman Site Number: 230 Historic District Number (if applicable): 24GA0952 County: Gallatin Historic Name: Nevitt Block Original Owner(s): William M. Nevitt Current Ownership Private Public Current Property Name: Nevitt Block Owner(s): MDB/JCB II LLC Owner Address: 130 N Vermont Ave Apt A, Glendora, CA 91741-5314 Phone: Legal Location PM: Montana Township: 2S Range: 6E SW ¼ SE ¼ NW ¼ of Section: 7 Lot(s): Lots 3 and 4 and 3.5' E Lot 2 Block(s): Block E Addition: Bozeman Original Plat Year of Addition: 1870 USGS Quad Name: Bozeman Year: 1987 Historic Use: Commercial Current Use: Commercial Construction Date: 1888; remodeled 2016 Estimated Actual Original Location Moved Date Moved: UTM Reference www.nris.mt.gov NAD 27 or NAD 83 (preferred) Zone: 12 Easting: 497249.86 Northing: 5058454.41 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: 11/23/2020 Form Prepared by: E. Sakariassen and S. Wells, 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 contributes to existing historic district. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 2 Architectural Description Property Name: 107-113 E Main Site Number: 230 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Architectural Style: Romanesque If Other, specify: Property Type: Commerce Specific Property Type: Retail Architect: Unknown Architectural Firm/City/State: Unknown Builder/Contractor: Unknown Company/City/State: Unknown Source of Information: Montana Cadastral records online This site is the 1888 Nevitt Block, a 2-story commercial building built by William Nevitt, an early Bozeman businessman. The primary facade faces south onto E Main Street, with commercial store-front entries recessed and at-grade. The building was originally recorded by James R. McDonald Architects in 1985 and subsequently listed in the NRHP as contributing to the Main Street Historic District. McDonald described the site as follows: "This attached two-story commercial structure has a square plan with an inset front entrance and projecting rectangular bay to one side with an entrance to the upper floors. The symmetrical facade has aluminum storefront windows and a central entrance, as well as the site entrance through the extended bay. The original arched windows in the upper level have been infilled with brick and aluminum sliding windows. There are cut stone designs over the window arches and a continuous stone sill form[s] a band across the building. The brick construction has been painted and has a flat built-up roof." Metcalf visited the site and found this description is no longer accurate. In 2016, Yellowstone Architects of Bozeman, undertook a restoration of the Nevitt Block, including a complete restoration of the historic masonry and installation of historically sensitive modern windows (yellowstonearchitects.com). As it stands, the Nevitt Block is divided visually into four bays. The east and west bays are nearly identical, with storefront display windows and shop entries at-grade and an arched tinted-glass six-lite window in the upper story. The windows have two operable sashes. The interior bays are asymmetrical, with a slightly projecting narrow bay to the west containing a storefront entry at-grade and a rectangular window opening on the second story. Directly above the second story is a date block containing the year "1888." The wider interior bay to the east has a storefront entry at-grade and an arched tinted-glass six-lite window flanked by slightly smaller arched windows in the second story. There is a flat-roofed metal awning spanning the first story storefronts. Above this awning is a continuous series of fixed-lite transoms. The brickwork near the cornice of the building is poly-chromatic, while most of the masonry is red-brick, with sandstone details. The site is in excellent condition. Historically, it had a more elaborate cornice with brick corbelling and arched details. In addition, the Nevitt Block originally had a very distinctive square tower with a pyramidal roof over the slightly projecting narrow bay of the facade. The tower and cornice details are no longer extant. However, the masonry details and fenestration clearly convey its historic associations with the Romanesque commercial style. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 3 History of Property Property Name: 107-113 E Main Site Number: 230 HISTORY OF PROPERTY This site is named for its original owner, William M Nevitt. Nevitt was born in 1857 and raised in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. At age 19, he headed west, settling in the Bozeman area where he established and operated his hardware business for nearly 25 years and "had an active and large part in the upbuilding of that city, he having built and operated for a time the electric light plant there" (Oshkosh Northwestern, 17 May 1924). He and his wife Hilda Pederson Nevitt eventually relocated to Minnesota, where he died in 1924 (Oshkosh Northwestern, 17 May 1924). As McDonald asserted in 1985, "the property is significant because it is associated with a person important to Bozeman history, William Nevitt. An early Main Street businessman, William M. Nevitt established a hardware shop between Bozeman and Rouse Avenues on Main Street...In 1901, Nevitt built another business block, 'the Gallatin' at the southwest corner of Bozeman Avenue and Main Street. A dry goods shop 'the Faire' occupied the street level space for many years." According to McDonald, the Nevitt Block was "built to replace a modest, frame hardware store following a fire in 1887." The historic commercial building had four storefronts and housed various businesses over time, including Nevitt's hardware store, a photo gallery, a furniture store, and saloons and billiards halls. During the 2016 restoration, Yellowstone Architects discovered a hook in the ceiling of the building, atop the main stairway. Their research concluded that the hook was a means of fire protection and prevention used by the fire department to collapse the roof inward in the event of a fire (yellowstonearchitects.com). It stands to reason that William Nevitt, having lost his original store building to fire, would have such measures installed to safeguard his new building in 1888. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 4 Information Sources/Bibliography Property Name: 107-113 E Main Site Number: 230 INFORMATION SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY James R. McDonald Architects 1985 107-113 E Main St. Montana Historical and Architectural Inventory Form. Document on-file with the City of Bozeman. Bozeman, MT. Oshkosh Northwestern [Oshkosh, Wisconsin] 1924 "William Nevitt Dies." 17 May 1924. Electronic document, https://www.newspapers.com/image/246155589/?terms=William%20Nevitt&match=2, accessed 1/21/2021. Yellowstone Architects 2017 Historic Restoration: Preserving the past, exciting discoveries and specialized solutions." Website of Yellowstone Architects, 23 January. https://www.yellowstonearchitects.com/awards1/historic-restoration-preserving-the-past-exciting-discoveries-and-specialized-solutions, accessed 11/23/2020. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 5 Statement of Significance Property Name: 107-113 E Main Site Number: 230 NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES NRHP Listing Date: 1986 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 Nevitt Block is currently listed in the NRHP as a contributing site within the Main Street Historic District (24GA952) (James R. McDonald 1986). Metcalf finds that the site is in excellent condition. In part because of restoration work conducted in 2016, the site retains sufficient integrity to convey its historic character in reference to its historic associations. The site is currently listed in the NRHP and retains integrity sufficient to maintain its listed status. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 6 Integrity Property Name: 107-113 E Main Site Number: 230 INTEGRITY (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association) The site is in excellent condition overall. Early modifications such as the removal of the original square tower affects integrity of materials and design. However, despite these impacts, the site was included in the Main Street Historic District in 1986. Since then, the building has been restored and well-maintained. Metcalf has determined that sufficient integrity remains and that the site is able to convey historic character. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 7 Photographs Property Name: 107-113 E Main Site Number: 230 Feature # 1 Facing: N Description: Property 230. Façade view (Image #1660, 10/27/2020. SW). Feature # 1 Facing: S Description: Property 230. View south (Image #1671, 10/27/2020. SW). MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 8 Site Map Property Name: 107-113 E Main Site Number: 230 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 9 Topographic Map Property Name: 107-113 E Main Site Number: 230