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Home My WebLink About131-135 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: 131-135 E MAIN Historic Address (if applicable): City/Town: Bozeman Site Number: 206 Historic District Number (if applicable): 24GA0952 County: Gallatin Historic Name: Palace Saloon & Billiard Original Owner(s): Captain John W. Smith Current Ownership Private Public Current Property Name: Owner(s): Shannon Grady Nygard LLC Owner Address: 131-135 E Main St. Bozeman, MT 59715-4761 Phone: Legal Location PM: Montana Township: 2S Range: 6E SW¼ SE ¼ NW ¼ of Section: 7 Lot(s): E9.5' Lot 9 & W18' Lot 10 Block(s): E Addition: Bozeman Original Plat Year of Addition: 1870 USGS Quad Name: Bozeman Year: 1987 Historic Use: Commercial Current Use: Commercial Construction Date: 1882-1883 Estimated Actual Original Location Moved Date Moved: UTM Reference www.nris.mt.gov NAD 27 or NAD 83 (preferred) Zone: 12 Easting: 497295.19 Northing: 5058454.9 National Register of Historic Places NRHP Listing Date: 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: 11/6/2020 Form Prepared by: 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 the Main Street Historic District (24GA0952). MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 3 History of Property Property Name: 131 E MAIN Site Number: 206 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Architectural Style: Other (specify) If Other, specify: High Victorian Gothic style Property Type: Commerce Specific Property Type: Retail and real estate Architect: Vreeland & Kenna Architectural Firm/City/State: Unknown Builder/Contractor: Unknown Company/City/State: Unknown Source of Information: James R. McDonald Architects This site consists of one historical architectural feature: a commercial downtown building built c. 1882. Two addresses are associated with this building: 131 E Main St. which refers to the entrance on the western end of the primary south façade, and 135 E Main St. whose entrance is on the east end of the south façade. The site has been previously recorded in 1984 by James R. McDonald Architects and is listed in the NRHP as contributing to the Main Street Historic District (24GA0952). McDonald described the building in 1984 as follows: "This attached two-story commercial structure has a rectangular plan with a flat overhang projecting the storefront windows. The entrance must be through an adjoining building. There are 1/1 double-hung windows on the upper level, one on either side of a pair of arched double-hungs under an elaborate stained-glass transom. There are carved wood panels forming arches above all the windows. The brick construction features a decorative corbeled brick cornice and has a flat build-up roof, which lies perpendicular to the street. The entire ground floor (Travertine) has been remodeled obscuring any original details. The original style was Moorish which has been retained on the upper levels." Metcalf visited the site on October 27, 2020 noting a number of changes since the 1984 McDonald survey. These changes are mainly to the 1st story façade. Both 131 and 135 E Main are new openings/entrances. The building was remodeled in the 1920s and at the time it was originally surveyed, there was no entrance on the Main Street side of the building, only fixed display windows. Currently, the west entrance is for the ground floor children's boutique, and the east entrance is for the real estate company on the second floor. Between the two new entrances are two large, fixed display windows for the storefront. The second story originally window openings appear to be intact, but windows have been replaced with modern vinyl or metal sash. There are no other visible changes to the second story. Where the strip of stucco was beneath the 2nd story windows and above the store sign, a narrow cornice now exists with small brackets beneath. The two entries are recessed beneath the cornice, with fixed transom lites above. Between the entries, a bay contains two large display windows flanked by fluted wood pilasters. At the east and west ends of the façade, corner piers have been restored to their brick facing. A mature deciduous tree has been planted and is growing out of the sidewalk in front of the west end of the primary façade. The site is in excellent condition. The new storefront and the replaced second story windows affect the integrity of materials but have restored the façade to an aesthetic in keeping with its original appearance and within its historic style. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 4 Information Sources/Bibliography Property Name: 131 E MAIN Site Number: 206 HISTORY OF PROPERTY This site is the historic Palace Saloon and Billiard Hall, built in 1882-1883. In 1985 the James R. McDonald survey was revised to include a detailed history of the site by Matt Cohen, provided below: "Noted in 1883 by Matt Alderson as "The finest saloon west of Chicago," the architect-designed Palace Saloon and Billiard Hall is today Bozeman's sole example of the High Victorian Gothic style (also known as Ruskinian Gothic), and retains unique, incised wooden detailing above the windows…The building was designed by Vreeland & Kenna (who also designed the original 1880 Gallatin County Courthouse and the Bozeman East Side School about the same time - none of which survive) for John W. Smith. It was built at a cost of $20,000, and is one of only two in the district that were built specifically as Saloons, the Tivoli Beer Hall, 17 E Main, being the other. According to the Sanborn Map of 1884 however, this one had the added distinction of an opera house with a balcony, stage, and scenery in the second floor… The Palace Saloon is the center component of a group of three progressively taller building, all built between 1882 and 1883, that terminate with the Masonic Temple (137 E Main), and that appear to have been consciously planned for an impressive effect. Despite the high praise conferred by Matt Alderson, Smith's Palace Saloon was short-lived. The Sanborn Map of 1889 indicates the building in use as a harness and buggy shop, with the "balcony used as (a) harness work shop" (Sanborn Map, 1889). In 1890, the building housed the Northern Pacific Railroad express Office, as well as a harness and buggie shop (Sanborn Map, 1890), and in 1891, a beer hall and gambling establishment was again operating in it (Sanborn Map, 1891). The Sanborn Map of 1904, and all subsequent maps indicate a "Chinese restaurant and lodgings" here - actually a Chinese house of prostitution, according to owner James Zimbric. In the second floor can still be seen red velvet wallpaper, and the markings of wall partitions which have since been removed for several small rooms, each with its own sink. (Another Chinese house of prostitution was located in the small building behind 201 E. Main). According to McDonald’s record, the building was remodeled in the 1920s. MCracken's men's clothing store expanded from the neighboring 131 E. Main into the ground floor of this building around 1960, which is presumably when the present marquee and sign which spans both storefronts was installed." In the late 1990s, Thomas Nygard purchased the property and undertook its restoration. The marquee was removed in 1996 and local contractor Intermountain Restoration was hired to replicate the building’s original cornice (Bozeman Daily Chronicle July 7, 1996). According to the Montana Cadastral records, the building was remodeled again in 2011, and some of the additional modifications described in the architectural section were made. Currently the site is occupied by a boutique on the 1st floor and a real estate company on the 2nd floor. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 5 Statement of Significance Property Name: 131 E MAIN Site Number: 206 INFORMATION SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY Bozeman Daily Chronicle 1996 “Historic buildings to be saved by Western art dealer.” Bozeman Daily Chronicle July 7, 1996. https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/historic-buildings-to-be-saved-by-western-art-dealer/article_f428a3e0-eec2-5555-a211- 2e2766d23355.html, accessed 2/24/2021. James R. McDonald Architects 1984-85 131(135) E Main St. Montana Historical and Architectural Inventory Form. Document on-file with the City of Bozeman. Bozeman, MT. Montana State Library. Montana Cadastral records online, http://svc.mt.gov/msl/mtcadastral, accessed 12/07/2020. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 6 Integrity Property Name: 131 E MAIN Site Number: 206 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: 1870-1937 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE The property at 131-135 E. Main Street is the historic Palace Saloon and Billiard Hall. It has been previously recorded and is listed as a contributing property within the Bozeman Main Street Historic District (24GA0952). The site is in excellent condition and consists of a two-story brick Gothic Revival style commercial building built in 1882-1883, restored between 1996 and 2011. The site 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. The site is currently listed in the NRHP as contributing within the Main Street Historic District and retains integrity sufficient to maintain its listed status. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 7 Photographs Property Name: 131 E MAIN Site Number: 206 INTEGRITY (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association) The site is in excellent condition. The restoration work conducted in the late 1990s and 2000s has revived the building’s historically accurate storefront and revealed original materials, restoring key aspects of integrity. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 8 Site Map Property Name: 131 E MAIN Site Number: 206 Feature # 1 Facing: N Description: Property 206. Primary façade. (Image #1664, 10/27/2020. SLW) Feature # 1 Facing: S Description: Property 206. North elevation. (Image #1668, 10/27/2020. SLW) MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 9 Topographic Map Property Name: 131 E MAIN Site Number: 206 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 10 Property Name: 131 E MAIN Site Number: 206