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HomeMy WebLinkAbout27 N Tracy 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: 27 N Tracy Historic Address (if applicable): City/Town: Bozeman Site Number: 277 Historic District Number (if applicable): County: Gallatin Historic Name: Original Owner(s): Current Ownership Private Public Current Property Name: Owner(s): 27 N Tracy LLC Owner Address: PO Box 1795, Bozeman, MT 59771-1795 Phone: Legal Location PM: Montana Township: 2S Range: 6E NE¼ SW ¼ NW ¼ of Section: 7 Lot(s): Lot 21, 22, and N90' Lots 23-25 Block(s): Block A Addition: Tracy's 1st Add Year of Addition: 1872 USGS Quad Name: Bozeman Year: 1984 Historic Use: Commercial Current Use: Commercial Construction Date: 1936 Estimated Actual Original Location Moved Date Moved: UTM Reference www.nris.mt.gov NAD 27 or NAD 83 (preferred) Zone: 12 Easting: 497074.5 Northing: 5058506.36 National Register of Historic Places NRHP Listing Date: Historic District: NRHP Eligible: Yes No *Property meets the City of Bozeman’s definition of an eligible property (see below). Date of this document: 1/11/2021 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: Property contributes to potential historic district. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 2 Architectural Description Property Name: 27 N Tracy Site Number: 277 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Architectural Style: Art Deco-Moderne If Other, specify: Property Type: Commerce Specific Property Type: Offices Architect: Fred Willson Architectural Firm/City/State: Bozeman, MT Builder/Contractor: Olaf Holmquist Company/City/State: Bozeman, MT Source of Information: N/A This site consists of a single-story concrete and stucco flat roofed commercial building, historically a creamery. The building was designed by Bozeman architect Fred Willson for Herman Rush and was completed in 1936, with subsequent Willson-designed additions. The building is a strong example of the Art Deco style. It has a rectangular plan shape and concrete foundation. The roof is flat. and the exterior is clad in stucco. The primary facade faces East onto N Tracy and is divided into four uneven bays by fluted pilasters. The entry is at the south end and consists of paired glass doors with side lites and a transom lite above. The bay to the north contains a single, fixed, plate-glass window. The next bay is wider and has a bank of three fixed windows and, at the northernmost bay is another fixed window. Each of the bays has a black cloth awning over the window and door openings. At the south end, a flat arch extends over a driveway entry to a paved parking area along the south elevation of the building. The arched portal has deco lettering and reads "Professional Building." The north elevation of the building is divided into seven bays, also by fluted pilasters. All but one bay contains a fixed plate glass window. At the very rear is a shorter stucco addition with a parapet and a glass door entry facing north. The east (rear) elevation is unadorned and has a centered service entry. The south elevation is also unadorned but has two business entrances, both of which are glass-door entries with cloth awnings. The site is in good condition. An addition was made shortly after construction was completed in 1936 and was designed by Willson. Around 1959, the building was converted to use as office space. This change affected the interior more so than the exterior of the building and it retains sufficient integrity to convey its historic character. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 3 History of Property Property Name: 27 N Tracy Site Number: 277 HISTORY OF PROPERTY The property currently addressed as 27 North Tracy Avenue is located on lot 21, REM lot 22, and N90’ of lots 23-25 in Plat C-1-F in Tracy’s 1st Addition, S07, T02S, R06E, Block A. In 1904, the Lansing Brothers Lumber Yard was operating on this location. In 1912, the lumber yard was gone and had been replaced with an agricultural implement storage building that was 1-1½ stories tall. In 1927, a building with the same footprint as the prior building now housed a bus station with auto storage. In 1936, architect Fred Willson designed and prepared construction documents for a creamery on this site. The owner, 39-year-old Herman Rusch, and Willson accepted the construction bid of Olaf Holmquist, who began construction on February 4, 1936 (Ancestry.com, 2002; Willson diary, 1936). The building was completed in time for Rusch to begin operations on June 30. Soon after, a Willson-designed addition was built between August 21 and October 20, 1936 (Willson diary, 1936). This creamery, with two additions wrapping the south and west sides of the original building, was reflected on the 1943 Sanborn map (Sanborn Map Company, 1884 – 1957). The construction of the main building and one of the additions is described in detail in Willson’s 1936 diary. Herman W. Rusch had been born in Rosebud, North Dakota on August 31, 1895 and was living with his parents in Bozeman as of 1930 (Ancestry.com, 2002). By 1933, he had been married and was living with his wife Medra H. at 509 South Fifth Avenue in Bozeman. He owned the Bozeman Creamery, operating it out of the building at 35 North Tracy Avenue, from 1936 through at least 1944 (R.L. Polk, 1933-1947). As of 1947, Rusch was operating Rush Cold Storage at 803 North Wallace Avenue and the Bozeman Creamery was no longer listed in the directory (R.L. Polk, 1947). Herman Rusch died on August 10, 1967 and was buried in Sunset Hills Cemetery in Bozeman (FindAGrave.com, 2020). Fred Fielding Willson had been born in Bozeman in 1877 to Lester and Emma Willson. He attended Montana State College for two years and then went on to receive a degree in architecture from Columbia University in the city of New York, NY in 1902. He studied abroad for two years and, upon his return to Montana, Willson practiced with C. S. Haire in Helena and Butte. Willson settled in Bozeman and operated his own practice from 1910 until his death on August 13, 1956. During this time, he designed many public, commercial, and residential buildings throughout Montana. This building was used as a creamery from the time it was built in 1936 until c. 1956 under the names Bozeman Creamery, the Jersey Dairy Plant, and, for a brief time in 1956, the Gallatin Co-Operative Creamery (R. L. Polk, 1944, 1947, 1950, 1954, 1956). A large sculptural sign shaped like a milk bottle sat atop the building as an advertisement in the late 1930s but was gone by 1960 (GHM Photo Archives). The last creamery-based occupant of the building was The Gallatin Co-Operative Creamery. This organization incorporated in 1932 to promote, foster, and encourage the local growth and production of agricultural products. Marketing products cooperatively eliminated waste and speculation and helped stabilize the market. The founding directors were N. L. Towne, Fred M. Boylan, L. D. Westlake, W. J. Harrer, and Ole Oma, all of Bozeman (The Montana Standard, 03 February 1932). The Co-Operative was first located in the old Milwaukee Railroad Depot on East Main Street in Bozeman (at approximately 630 East Main). In 1941, the creamery outgrew the railroad depot location and the Milwaukee Railroad Company decided not to renew the lease agreement, so the Co-operative began searching for a new location (Johnson, no date). In September of 1942, the Co-Operative Creamery purchased a building located at 138 West Mendenhall Street in Bozeman, from Alvin Bellows. The Gallatin Co-Operative Creamery expanded into this location briefly in the 1950s, specifically 1956. The entire creamery operation moved to a newly constructed building on North Seventh Street in 1957 (Sixty Year Review, 1992). The building was vacant in 1958, but by 1959 it had been overhauled as a professional office building and has been used in that capacity until present, as of December 2020. The stucco-clad lintel that extends south from the east façade over the driveway, was likely added in 1959. The sign fastened to the east face is of individual aluminum letters of typical 1950s font, spelling out "Professional Building." Over the years, the occupants of the professional building have included physicians, lawyers, the U.S. Social Security Administration office, mining companies, real estate agents, accountants, and many others business entities (R. L. Polk; 1958 to 2012). The building is owned by 27 N Tracy LLC, as of December 2020. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 4 Information Sources/Bibliography Property Name: 27 N Tracy Site Number: 277 INFORMATION SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY Ancestry.com 2002 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Provo, Utah. Electronic document, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/106191512:6224?indiv=try&o_vc=Record%3aOtherRecord&rhSource=60525, accessed December 15, 2020. Find A Grave 2020 Memorial page for Herman Rusch (31 August 1895 – 10 August 1967), Find a Grave Memorial no. 51340922. Electronic document, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/51340922/herman-rusch#source, accessed December 15, 2020. The Montana Standard [Butte, Montana] 1932 "Creamery Plant Will be Built." 03 February. Butte, Montana. 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. Johnson, Brady No date The Dairy Industry of Gallatin County. Gallatin History Museum. Bozeman, MT. Sixty Year Review: Country Classic Dairies, Inc. Montana. 1992. Gallatin History Museum, Bozeman, MT. Willson, Fred 1889 – 1947 Diaries and Day Books. Montana State University Special Collections, Bozeman, MT. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 5 Statement of Significance Property Name: 27 N Tracy Site Number: 277 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: Historic More Than One Decade STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE This site consists of a single-story concrete and stucco flat roofed commercial building designed by Bozeman architect Fred Willson for Herman Rush in 1936, with subsequent Willson-designed additions. The building is a strong example of the Art Deco style. It has a rectangular plan shape and concrete foundation. The roof is flat. and the exterior is clad in stucco. Historically, it was used as a creamery from the time it was built in 1936 until c. 1956 under the names Bozeman Creamery, the Jersey Dairy Plant, and, for a brief time in 1956, the Gallatin Co-Operative Creamery. The site was converted to use as offices in the late 1950s. However, it retains sufficient integrity to convey historic character. 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 Criteria A, B, C, and D. The site is not located within an existing historic district. However, it is immediately north of the 1986 NRHP-listed Main Street Historic District boundary (24GA952). If the boundary of the district were expanded, the site retains sufficient integrity that it should be considered contributing to a potential district. Metcalf recommends further research regarding the potential for an expansion of the Main Street Historic District to determine site significance. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 6 Integrity Property Name: 27 N Tracy Site Number: 277 INTEGRITY (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association) The site has one known addition, which was designed by the original architect, Fred Willson, and completed soon after the building's construction in 1936. Other alterations have been made in more recent years, including the conversion of interior space from creamery to use as an office building. These changes have had minimal effect on integrity of materials and design. The site retains sufficient integrity to convey historic character. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 7 Photographs Property Name: 27 N Tracy Site Number: 277 Feature # 1 Facing: NW Description: Property 277. Oblique view northwest (Image #360, 10/13/2020. EAS). Feature # 1 Facing: SW Description: Property 277. View southwest (Image #363, 10/13/2020. EAS). MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 8 Photographs Property Name: 27 N Tracy Site Number: 277 Feature # 1 Facing: SE Description: Property 277. View southeast (Image #364, 10/13/2020. EAS). MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 9 Site Map Property Name: 27 N Tracy Site Number: 277 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 10 Topographic Map Property Name: 27 N Tracy Site Number: 277