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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: 1-5 E Main St
Historic Address (if applicable):
City/Town: Bozeman
Site Number: 192
Historic District Number (if applicable): 24GA0952
County: Gallatin
Historic Name: Avant Courier Building
Original Owner(s): William W. Alderson
Current Ownership Private Public
Current Property Name: Avant Courier Building
Owner(s): Tuller, Maria Brigette
Owner Address: 2245 Deer Park Ct., Bozeman, Montana 59715-
2230
Phone:
Legal Location
PM: Montana Township: 2S Range: 6E
SE ¼ SW ¼ NW ¼ of Section: 7
Lot(s): Lots 1-2 and 9' of Lot 3
Block(s): Block 00F
Addition: Bozeman Original Plat Year of Addition: 1870
USGS Quad Name: Bozeman Year: 1987
Historic Use: commercial
Current Use: commercial
Construction Date: 1879, 1881, 1973 Estimated
Actual
Original Location Moved Date Moved:
UTM Reference www.nris.mt.gov
NAD 27 or NAD 83 (preferred)
Zone: 12 Easting: 497117.03 Northing: 5058453.81
National Register of Historic Places
NRHP Listing Date: 1986
Historic District: Main Street Historic District (24GA0952)
NRHP Eligible: Yes No
*Property meets the City of Bozeman’s definition of an eligible
property (see below).
Date of this document: 12/28/2020
Form Prepared by: A. Sakariassen, Metcalf Archaeological
Consultants, Inc with A. Alegria and A. 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 status should be elevated to
eligible/contributing to the Main Street Historic District
(24GA0952).
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
PAGE 2
Architectural Description
Property Name: 1-5 E Main St Site Number: 192
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION
Architectural Style: Commercial Style (Western) If Other, specify:
Property Type: Commerce Specific Property Type: Multi-unit retail shops
Architect: Architectural Firm/City/State:
Builder/Contractor: Company/City/State:
Source of Information:
Montana Cadastral records online, accessed 9/07/2020.
The site consists of a two-story, flat-roofed, brick commercial structure located on a corner lot in the Main Street Historic District of
Bozeman (24GA0952). The main facade faces south onto Main Street, and the ground level contains two glass recessed entries
surrounded by divided fixed lite windows and separated by a brick pilaster. On the second story are six tall, eight-lite, single-hung,
segmented arch windows. Brick columns with corbelled caps rise between the windows. Paired blind arches are centered above each
window between the corbelled columns. Lighter colored keystones top each blind arch, and each segmented window arch. The
window ledges are of rusticated stone.
On the west elevation a sandstone capped brick column, beside which is set a 2 -over-2-fixed lite window, forms the corner with the
main facade. Four original window openings, infilled with brick, are spaced out along the first story of this elevation. Near the north
end, a single arched window is set to the north of a narrow entry door. This window and the seven upper story windows match the
windows on the main facade. The cornice on the west elevation is corbelled.
The north and east elevations abut adjacent buildings and are not visible.
The site has been recorded previously by James R. McDonald in 1984 and reviewed in the same year by Matthew A. Cohen. Each
considered the property, as it appeared at the time, to be non-contributing to a district due to extensive exterior remodeling. Metcalf
finds the property has since undergone extensive and sensitive renovation and restoration and has been brought into nearly original
appearance, and the earlier assessment no longer valid. In the 1984 images and description, the original brick exterior had been
covered with modern brick, most of the windows had been covered over with brick, and the openings for those remaining ones altered
in both location and size. All this material has been stripped away, revealing the original material and design. The site is in excellent
condition and has regained aspects of historic integrity.
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
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History of Property
Property Name: 1-5 E Main St Site Number: 192
HISTORY OF PROPERTY
The property is a large brick commercial building containing several businesses. It was built in 1879 and added to in 1881.
According to McDonald, this property has historic associations with William W. Alderson:
“Alderson, both in England in 1831, was one of the first settlers in Bozeman in the summer of 1864. Homesteading south of the
original plat, Alderson was instrumental in the town’s founding and development. In 1879, Alderson purchased the Avant-Courier
from Joseph Wright who had begun the paper in 1870. That same year of his purchase, Alderson built a single-story brick building in
intent to house his newspaper. Two years later in 1881, the second story was added. When it was first built, a grocery store and post
office occupied the ground floor, the newspaper office was located on the second and the printing office at the rear. Alderson edited
the paper until his death in 1906.”
At the time the property was originally recorded and at the time the Main Street Historic District was nominated and listed in the
NRHP, it had been covered in an external textured stucco sheathing applied in 1973 that compromised its historic integrity such that it
was considered “non-contributing” despite its known historic associations.
Ca. 2000, owners Page and Brigeitte Anderson began a restoration of the building’s façade, removing the stucco to reveal the original
brick. MKE Construction was responsible for the restoration work. Restoration has reclaimed the historic appearance of the structure
(Bozeman Daily Chronicle July 8, 2000).
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
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Information Sources/Bibliography
Property Name: 1-5 E Main St Site Number: 192
INFORMATION SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bozeman Daily Chronicle
2000 “Some historic buildings being salvaged” July 8, 2000. https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/some-historic-buildings-being-
salvaged/article_89054500-f785-536d-98c8-7f785704c37e.html, accessed 2/18/2021.
James R. McDonald
1986 Main Street Historic District National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form National Park Service, U. S.
Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.
Montana State Library, Montana Cadastral records online, http://svc.mt.gov/msl/mtcadasrtral, accessed 7/09/2020.
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
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Statement of Significance
Property Name: 1-5 E Main St Site Number: 192
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: Architecture,
Exploration/Settlement, Commerce Period of Significance: Historic More Than One Decade
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
The property known as the Avant-Courier Building on Main Street in Bozeman, has been recorded and is located within the Main
Street Historic District (24GA0952). At the time of the listing, the building was determined "not contributing" because of extensive
exterior remodeling that dated to 1973. However, Metcalf has found that major restoration and renovation to the building in recent
years has brought the site back to near original appearance such that it has regained 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. The site has been re-
evaluated against the NRHP Criteria. Metcalf recommends that the site’s status be elevated as it is eligible/contributing within the
Main Street Historic District (34GA0952) and should be listed as such in the NRHP.
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
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Integrity
Property Name: 1-5 E Main St Site Number: 192
INTEGRITY (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association)
The site is in excellent condition overall. Extensive and successful restoration work has brought the building back to near original
appearance. Some window openings on the west elevation were infilled with brick long ago. All aspects of integrity-location, design,
setting, materials, and association are retained. Metcalf finds that the property retains sufficient integrity to convey its historic
character.
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
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Photographs
Property Name: 1-5 E Main St Site Number: 192
Feature # 1
Facing: N
Description: Property 192. Façade. (Image #1640, 10/27/2020. SLW).
Feature # 1
Facing: NE
Description: Property 192. Oblique view. (Image #1639, 10/27/2020. SLW).
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
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Photographs
Property Name: 1-5 E Main St Site Number: 192
Feature # 1
Facing: SE
Description: Property 192. Oblique view. (Image #1657, 10/27/2020. SLW).
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
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Site Map
Property Name: 1-5 E Main St Site Number: 192
MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD
PAGE 10
Topographic Map
Property Name: 1-5 E Main St Site Number: 192