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Home My WebLink About115-117 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: 115-117 E Main St Historic Address (if applicable): City/Town: Bozeman Site Number: 231 Historic District Number (if applicable): 24GA0952 County: Gallatin Historic Name: Montana Armory Original Owner(s): Current Ownership Private Public Current Property Name: Owner(s): Robert O. Evans Owner Address: 604 S Willson Ave, Bozeman, MT 59715-5239 Phone: Legal Location PM: Montana Township: 2S Range: 6E SW ¼ SE ¼ NW ¼ of Section: 7 Lot(s): Lot 5 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 Estimated Actual Original Location Moved Date Moved: UTM Reference www.nris.mt.gov NAD 27 or NAD 83 (preferred) Zone: 12 Easting: 497263.4 Northing: 5058454.5 National Register of Historic Places NRHP Listing Date: 1986 Historic District: Main Street 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: 11/24/2020 Form Prepared by: E. Sakariassen & 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 is non-contributing within existing historic district. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 2 Architectural Description Property Name: 115-117 E Main St Site Number: 231 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: McDonald, 1985 This site is the former Montana Armory building, a single-story masonry commercial building with a red-brick exterior. The building was built c. 1888 in the Romanesque Style and has since been remodeled. The site was first recorded by James R. McDonald Architects in 1984, who recommended it an "intrusive element within a potential historic district." He described the building as follows: "This attached two-story commercial structure has a square plan with a cast iron column dividing the two glass-paned entrances to the two stores reading "St. Paul's Foundry." This storefront is protected by a canvas awning and the second store has a recessed entry. Both stores have aluminum storefront windows and no windows on the upper facade. Brick corbeling forms a cornice detail on the first half and a castle-trim roofline is featured on the store in the second half. The brick construction is finished with vertical board on the street level of one store, otherwise the original construction remains in tact. The roof is flat with built-up materials." As it stands today, the building has an asymmetrical facade with a brick cornice and a distinctive crenelated bay at the east end. This bay is mirrored by a crenelated parapet on the adjoining commercial building to the west (119-121 E Main). There are three retail spaces at street level, each with a separate at-grade entry on the south facade. There is a storefront within the crenelated east bay, which has a fixed display window and cloth awning. To the west, the facade has a segmented-arch recess which contains side-by-side entrances to the additional retail spaces. Flanking the recessed entry are display windows that also have a segmented-arch opening. All three retail spaces have a rear service entry on the north elevation. The east service entry is beneath a cloth awning and the two west entries have two fixed-lite windows between them and two-lite sliding window above. Very few changes have been made since the 1985 record, chief among them is the removal of vertical-board siding which has restored the building to a full brick facade. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 3 History of Property Property Name: 115-117 E Main St Site Number: 231 HISTORY OF PROPERTY This site is a single-story commercial building that was constructed c. 1888, following a fire that consumed a portion of this block on E Main Street. According to Matt Cohen, who updated the site record in 1985, the Montana Armory occupied one of the retail spaces in the building as early as 1901. The Montana Armory sold sporting goods and, around that time, L. Gottschalck was serving as president of the company, with August Gottschalck treasurer (R.L. Polk and Co. 1902). A variety of businesses have since occupied the retail spaces, including the Merritt White confectionery and, later, Purdy Sales confectionery as well as the Club Cafe, later the Main Cafe (R.L. Polk and Co 1935; 1950). In the 1960s, the AMC Sullivan Photo Company operated out of this building and, in 1965, employees discovered a headstone in the basement of 115 E Main. The headstone had been incorporated into the flooring. It was removed and turned over to reveal an inscription in the granite which read: "Celestia/Wife of/Richard J. Earp/Died March 26, 1881/Aged 32 Y. 12 D./Dearest Celestia thou hast left us/Here thy loss we deeply feel/But tis God that hath bereft us/He can all our sorrows heal." Celestia Earp was an early resident of Bozeman who, as a widow, was stalked and eventually murdered John Douglass near Sterling, Montana. A crime for which Douglass was arrested, tried, and hanged on June 7, 1881 (Bozeman Magazine 2016). It is unknown how the headstone came to be in 115 E Main Street and there is no known association between property and Celestia Earp or this historical event. The site was updated in 1985 by Matt Cohen, who wrote that it was "of marginal architectural significance to begin with, being a simple, 1-story commercial structure spanning the space between the Nevitt Block to the west (107-113 E Main) and 123-127 E Main to the east. It had a tall, plain brick parapet topped by an ornamental, triple-course corbelled cornice similar to the present one, which appears to have been reconstructed." Metcalf found no additional information that would merit individual eligibility for inclusion in the NRHP under Criteria A, B, C, or D. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 4 Information Sources/Bibliography Property Name: 115-117 E Main St Site Number: 231 INFORMATION SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY Bozeman Magazine [Bozeman, Montana] 2016 "The Demon Douglass and the War Widow." 1 October. Electronic document, bozemanmagazine.com, accessed November 25, 2020. James R. McDonald Architects 1984 115-117 E Main Street. Montana Historical and Architectural Inventory Form. Document on-file with the City of Bozeman. Bozeman, MT. R.L. Polk & Co. 1941-2010 Polk's Bozeman (Gallatin County, Mont.) City Directories. R.L. Polk & Co., Kansas City, Missouri. Electronic document, ancestry.com, accessed November 25, 2020. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 5 Statement of Significance Property Name: 115-117 E Main St Site Number: 231 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 site was first recorded by James R. McDonald Architects in 1984. At that time, it was recommended not eligible for inclusion in the NRHP and considered an "intrusive element within a potential historic district" on the basis of loss of historic integrity. In 1985, Matt Cohen updated the record to state that it was likely remodeled in 1972. When the Main Street Historic District was listed in 1986, 115-117 E Main was included as a "non-contributing" site within the district's boundaries. Metcalf visited the site and finds that it is in excellent condition, but concurs with previous findings that due to remodeling in the 1970s, which added the crenelated parapet, it no longer retains sufficient integrity to convey historic character. Sec. 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 in an existing or potential historic district. This site has been evaluated against the NRHP Criteria and has been determined to lack individual significance under Criteria A, B, C, and D. It is located within an existing district (24GA952) but is non-contributing and no longer retains sufficient integrity to convey historic character. Metcalf recommends the site not eligible/non-contributing. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 6 Integrity Property Name: 115-117 E Main St Site Number: 231 INTEGRITY (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association) Remodeling conducted in the 1970s modified the historic appearance of the building's primary facade and included addition of a crenelated parapet across its east end. These changes affect integrity of design, workmanship, feeling, and, to some extent, association such that it no longer retains sufficient integrity to convey its historic character. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 7 Photographs Property Name: 115-117 E Main St Site Number: 231 Feature # 1 Facing: N Description: Property 231. Façade view (Image #1661, 10/27/2020. SW). Feature # 1 Facing: S Description: Property 231. Rear view south (Image #1670, 10/27/2020. SW). MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 8 Site Map Property Name: 115-117 E Main St Site Number: 231 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 9 Topographic Map Property Name: 115-117 E Main St Site Number: 231