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Home My WebLink About121 N Rouse 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: 121 N Rouse Ave Historic Address (if applicable): City/Town: Bozeman Site Number: 275 Historic District Number (if applicable): County: Gallatin Historic Name: Bozeman Public Library Original Owner(s): City of Bozeman Current Ownership Private Public Current Property Name: City Hall Owner(s): City of Bozeman Owner Address: PO Box 1230 Bozeman, MT 59771-1230 Phone: Legal Location PM: Montana Township: 2S Range: 6E NE¼ SE¼ NW ¼ of Section: 7 Lot(s): Lots 20-31 & E 16' of Lot 32 Block(s): Block I Addition: Bozeman Original Plat Year of Addition: 1870 USGS Quad Name: Bozeman Year: 1987 Historic Use: Public Library Current Use: Municipal offices Construction Date: 1981 Estimated Actual Original Location Moved Date Moved: UTM Reference www.nris.mt.gov NAD 27 or NAD 83 (preferred) Zone: 14 Easting: 497442.77 Northing: 5058624.68 National Register of Historic Places NRHP Listing Date: 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: 11/30/2020 Form Prepared by: 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: MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 2 Architectural Description Property Name: 121 N Rouse Ave Site Number: 275 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Architectural Style: Other (specify) If Other, specify: Contemporary Property Type: Government Specific Property Type: City Hall Architect: Unknown Architectural Firm/City/State: Unknown Builder/Contractor: Unknown Company/City/State: Unknown Source of Information: Montana Cadastral records online This site is a modern building erected in 1981. It was originally the public library and now serves as municipal offices/city hall. The building is a two-story concrete structure with a flat roof. It has an irregular plan shape and concrete foundation. The exterior is brick-faced with expansive metal framed glass windows. The primary facade faces east to a parking lot, accessed via footbridge over Bozeman Creek, which runs north-south through the property. The main entry is at-grade and at the south end of the facade. The entry is within a recess adorned with cream-colored glazed concrete blocks. To the north of the entry is an east-projecting two story wing with three bays, each one extending further east from north-to-south. The south elevation of this wing contains expansive, banded tinted-glass windows. The building has a secondary entry on its north elevation, above-grade and accessed by a flight of concrete steps. At the west end of the elevation are banked, fixed, and sliding windows. The west elevation has two banks of windows in the upper story and recessed bays along the first story, with at-grade staff entrances. The west elevation faces a staff parking lot. The site is in excellent condition but is modern. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 3 History of Property Property Name: 121 N Rouse Ave Site Number: 275 HISTORY OF PROPERTY This property was formerly the Bozeman Public Library, built in 1980. Prior to that date, the city's library had been housed in the 1904 Bozeman Carnegie Library building which still stands on N Bozeman Ave. In 1974, Bozeman had increased its population to such an extent that a larger library was needed. What became a seven-year effort was aided by two individual donations of $25,000 each, informational efforts by the Friends of the Bozeman Library and the League of Women Voters, the Fred Willson Architectural Society, and passage of a funding bond. Ultimately 13 sites were reviewed, and this site was selected (Smith, 2006). The location was deemed appropriate due to its location, accommodations for parking, and proximity to the central business district. A November 1978 ballot for a $1,460,000 bond issue to construct a new library passed with a 72% margin. Increasingly greater bond levies were also passed for annual support of the county libraries (Smith, 2006). After considerable controversy and the ultimate firing of the city manager, it was agreed in mid-March 1979 that the library would pay the city $116,250 for the City Yard site and $75,000 for the two East Lamme sites (Bozeman Trail, 19 April 1979). Even though the library had to purchase the city’s site (before the two entities reached a city governing agreement in 1981), the site was less expensive than the other options and received the most public support (Billings Gazette, 18 March 1981; Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 13 March 1979). The city moved some of their engineering and building inspection departments into the old Carnegie Library building, which they sold to a local law firm in 1998 when they moved their offices into the Alfred Stiff Building on West Babcock Street. (Smith, 2006). The new Bozeman Public Library was designed by architect George Mattson of Mattson, Prugh & Lenon. In July 1980, Martel Construction was deemed the lowest of six bidders and awarded a $990,900 contract to construct the library. The use of alternates was a strategy to ensure that the project came in under the architect’s cost estimate of $1.1 million: “The alternatives include a skylight over an interior stairway, a landscape wall on the south side of the site, a passive solar heating wall for the public meeting room, a footbridge over Bozeman Creek and cooling equipment.” Martel was to remove the two houses on East Lamme Street as part of this contract. (Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 10 July; 17 July 1980). The lower bid allowed for the following improvements to the building: better carpet and wood ceilings, quarry tile flooring in front of the south facing windows to improve the passive solar ability of the building (Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 1980). It appears that the other selected alternates were installation of the interior skylight and construction of the footbridge over the creek. The two-story L-shaped building was completed in July 1981. A community “Book Brigade” moved 14,000 books from the Carnegie Library to the new building on July 14, 1981. The building was dedicated on September 14, 1981 (Smith, 2006). In 1987, historian Merrill G. Burlingame opined: “the betting is, that with the present trend of increasing library use, this building will be outgrown before the 77-year service span of the old one has passed – but that will be progress, too.” (Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 2 August 1987). His statement proved to be true within twenty years. By 1998, the library, buffeted by the greater-than-anticipated growth of Bozeman, formed a building committee to address the overcrowded spaces in the library. Architect George Mattson stated that the existing building could not accommodate a second story. A library consultant reported that the existing 20,000 square feet was insufficient; that the library would need at least 49,000 square feet. In October 2001, the library bought 14.3 acres of land at the original site of the Milwaukee Road Depot, just on the east fringes of downtown. Martel Construction erected a new $10.5 million library here, in time for the October 7, 2006 “Book Brigade” (Smith, 2006). Similar population and departmental growth prompted the city to look for larger quarters for their staff, moving from their 411 East Main Street location (where they had been located in a Berg-Grabow building, designed specifically for the city offices, since 1966) into the 1980 library building. The city engaged local architect Comma-Q Architecture Inc. to design a LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) renovation which included eastward expansion of the meeting room to the east block wall adjacent to the entry (this room is used for city commission meetings). Dick Anderson was the general contractor for this $1.9 million renovation that was completed in 2008 (Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 30 January 2008). The city owned an additional house west of the newly renovated City Hall; “master planning for the complex calls for the area of 214 East Lamme as space for an addition to City Hall.” This 1½ -story front gable home was built by Mrs. John Mitchell in September 1908 (Brownell, 2011). In 2010, the city demolished this house at 214 East Lamme to “make way for the city’s third community garden.” (Great Falls Tribune, 13 June 2010). Prior to demolition, the house was documented in accordance with the Historic American Building Survey standards. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 4 Information Sources/Bibliography Property Name: 121 N Rouse Ave Site Number: 275 INFORMATION SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY The Billings Gazette [Billings, Montana] 1981 “Library gives in to city on authority.” 18 March 1981. Billings, Montana. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle [Bozeman, Montana] 1979 “Library panel picks city shop for site.” 13 March. Bozeman, Montana. 1980 “Bozeman library bids below architect’s guess.” 10 July. Bozeman, Montana. 1980 “Contract awarded for new library.” 17 July. Bozeman, Montana. 1980 “Library nears start.” 17 July. Bozeman, Montana. 1980 “New library upgraded.” 31 October. Bozeman, Montana. Bozeman Trail [Bozeman, Montana] 1979 “City clears site obstacles for construction of new library.” 19 April. Bozeman, Montana. Brownell, Joan 2011 HABS No. MT-16-Boz Documentation of house at 214 East Lamme Street. Burlingame, Merrill G. “City’s new library follows long tradition.” The Bozeman Daily Chronicle 2 Aug. 1987. Print. Fred Willson Architectural Society 1978 A Site Feasibility Study of A New Library Building for the City of Bozeman. In Gallatin History Museum Collection. Great Falls Tribune [Great Falls, Montana] 2010 “Gardens: Sprout up around the state.” 13 June. Great Falls, Montana. Friends of the Gallatin Libraries 1977 Prospectus for a New Library Building for the City of Bozeman. June. In the Bozeman Public Library Collection. Montana State Library. Montana Cadastral records online, http://svc.mt.gov/msl/mtcadastral, accessed 7/18/2020. Ricker, Amanda. “City Hall bids pour in.” The Bozeman Daily Chronicle 30 Jan. 2008. Electronic document, www.nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=list&p_topdoc=11, accessed November 30, 2020. Sanborn Map Company 1890-1943 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. Smith, Phyllis 2006 The Bozeman Public Library: A History. Friends of the Bozeman Public Library, Bozeman, Montana. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 5 Statement of Significance Property Name: 121 N Rouse Ave Site Number: 275 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: Period of Significance: STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE The recorded building is a modern structure. It has not reached the 50-year threshold for consideration as a historic property and it does not satisfy Criterion Consideration G (properties that have achieved significance within the past 50 years). Metcalf therefore recommends the property not eligible for inclusion in the NRHP. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 6 Integrity Property Name: 121 N Rouse Ave Site Number: 275 INTEGRITY (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association) The property is in excellent condition but is modern and, as such, it has no historic integrity. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 7 Photographs Property Name: 121 N Rouse Ave Site Number: 275 Feature # 1 Facing: NE Description: Property 275. Oblique view (Image #544, 10/16/2020. EAS). Feature # 1 Facing: SW Description: Property 275. Oblique view (Image #545, 10/16/2020. EAS). MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 8 Photographs Property Name: 121 N Rouse Ave Site Number: 275 Feature # 1 Facing: W Description: Property 275. Oblique view (Image #546, 10/16/2020. EAS). Feature # 1 Facing: N Description: Property 275. Oblique view (Image #549, 10/16/2020. EAS). MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 9 Site Map Property Name: 121 N Rouse Ave Site Number: 275 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 10 Topographic Map Property Name: 121 N Rouse Ave Site Number: 275