The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About34 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: 34 N Rouse Ave. Historic Address (if applicable): City/Town: Bozeman Site Number: 274 Historic District Number (if applicable): County: Gallatin Historic Name: Bozeman Fire Department Station #1 Original Owner(s): City of Bozeman Current Ownership Private Public Current Property Name: Bozeman Fire Department Owner(s): City of Bozeman Owner Address: PO BOX 1230, Bozeman, MT 59771-1230 Phone: Legal Location PM: Montana Township: 2S Range: 6E W ½ SW ¼ NE ¼ of Section: 7 Lot(s): Lot 15-19 Block(s): Block F Addition: Rouse 1st Addition Year of Addition: 1889 USGS Quad Name: Bozeman Year: 1987 Historic Use: Fire station Current Use: Fire station and police station Construction Date: 1964-1966 Estimated Actual Original Location Moved Date Moved: UTM Reference www.nris.mt.gov NAD 27 or NAD 83 (preferred) Zone: Easting: 497534.16 Northing: 5058509.76 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: 01/18/2021 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: MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 2 Architectural Description Property Name: 34 N Rouse Ave. Site Number: 274 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Architectural Style: Other (specify) If Other, specify: Contemporary Property Type: Government Specific Property Type: Municipal fire department Architect: William E. Grabow and Oswald Berg, Jr. and Associates Architectural Firm/City/State: William E. Grabow and Oswald Berg, Jr. and Associates Builder/Contractor: I. M. Johnson Company/City/State: I. M. Johnson/Bozeman/Montana Source of Information: This site consists of the Bozeman Fire Department. The building is complex, with an irregular footprint, and an irregular roof shape, mostly flat. It is mostly a single-story structure but with a two-story portion at the center, above the vehicle garage. There is also a four-story tower near center along the east elevation. The exterior walls consist of concrete and brick. The primary façade faces west onto N. Rouse Ave. There are two entrances: the first is located at the south end in a recessed glass entryway which provides access to the Bozeman PD. The second is near the center of the primary façade in a bump out that contains a glass door entry to the fire department offices. There are modern windows between the entries, both are six-lite metal windows, with fixed and awning lites. They have a decorative bracketed metal awning over the north of the fire department entry. On the face of the bump out is a large 9-lite window with operable awning lites as the bottom row. At the very north end of the façade is a large three bay garage containing fire engines. The center door is a sectional door with a row of fixed lites. It is flanked by narrower aluminum and vinyl sectional doors, also with a row of fixed lites. Above, the façade has a white aggregate veneer. The building's north elevation is unadorned and clad in stucco with brick at the base. The north end of the rear (East) elevation has a secondary entry, at grade. There are also garage doors on the east side of the vehicle bay. These doors are identical to those on the opposite side. A tower is centered on this elevation, projecting from the main volume of the building. It has a standard door at grade on the first story and boarded up window openings at each story facing north. A fire escape ladder is on the tower's east elevation. There are two additional standard door entries along the south end of the elevation, both are sheltered by a bracketed steel awning. The south elevation has a bank of four one over one lite windows at the east end, filling in what appears to have once been a vehicle bay based on the grade. To the west, there are four fixed square windows. Overall the site is in good condition. It has been expanded over the years. A recent addition to the north side was built between in 2003, based on aerial imagery. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 3 History of Property Property Name: 34 N Rouse Ave. Site Number: 274 HISTORY OF PROPERTY The property currently addressed as 34 North Rouse Avenue is located on lots 15-19 in Rouse 1st Addition, S07, T02S, R06E, Block F. The site is the Bozeman Fire Department and Police Department. Historically, the Bozeman Hook and Ladder Company #1, founded in 1884, was in the City Hall building which was combined with the Opera House and located on the southwest corner of Main Street and Rouse Avenue (Fire Department History, City of Bozeman). In the mid-20th Century, consideration was given to relocating. MSU architecture student W. B. McCloskey, in his 1960 thesis "A City of Bozeman Fire-Station," outlined the problems with the original fire station in the Bozeman Opera House. "The firestation in Bozeman has not changed appreciably since it was remodeled in the early 1920’s with the exception of the hose drying tower built by the firemen within the building in 1956. This 70 year-old building housing the firestation is in very poor structural condition aggravated by age and the Madison earthquake of 1960 [sic]. In interviews with several City officials and community leaders it is a unanimous feeling that Bozeman, Montana needs a new firestation." In his thesis, McCloskey selected three possible sites for his proposed fire house, none of which are where it currently stands. Bozeman City Commissioner Ed Sedivy said, "the continued deterioration of the present City Hall becomes more evident each day. The longer we wait the more costly the situation will become, particularly construction-wise." Commissioner Harry Morrow went on to say, "The loss of even one life or injury to any of our employees working in this structure cannot be measured in dollar and cents" (Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 19 April 1963). The Bozeman City Commission made the decision to move forward with new municipal buildings which included a new City Hall building and a new Fire/Police Station building. The City of Bozeman purchased this piece of land for both the new Fire/Police Station and the City Hall buildings from Mr. and Mrs. James Ray for $30,000 cash. The site was appraised at more than $163,000; the difference was designated as a gift to the community. The original plan was to build the municipal buildings on the land made available by demolition of the City Hall/Opera House between Main Street and Babcock Street. The land offered by the Rays provided a larger area (Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 17 March 1966). Bozeman taxpayers approved a $475,000 bond issue to finance construction of both municipal buildings (City Hall and Fire/Police Station), as designed by William E. Grabow and Oswald Berg, Jr. and Associates. I. M. Johnson was the general contractor (Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 7 October 1965). The new City Hall building and Fire/Police Station were dedicated on April 23, 1966 in a short ceremony. The Reverend Paul M. Mackin of Holy Rosary Church opened the dedication ceremony. Mayor Edmund P. Sedivy, Sr. gave the dedication address and the Bozeman City Band furnished music. Reverend Lyle Onstad of Hope Lutheran Church gave the benediction. Sedivy mentioned that, "This is the first time in Bozeman’s 101-year history that the city government has been housed in a building especially designed for this purpose." After the ceremony, both buildings were open for tours and hundreds of Bozeman residents and out-of-town visitors toured the new facilities. Refreshments were served in the engine room of the new fire station (Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 22 April 1966). In December of 2020, the building at the northwest corner of the property houses Bozeman Fire Department Station #1 and the Police Department, both of which are owned by the City of Bozeman. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 4 History of Property Property Name: 34 N Rouse Ave. Site Number: 274 INFORMATION SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY Bozeman Daily Chronicle [Bozeman, Montana] 1963 "Officials Ask Support for New Buildings." 19 April. Bozeman, Montana Bozeman Daily Chronicle [Bozeman, Montana] 1965 "Ceremony Held At City Hall." 7 October. Bozeman, Montana. Bozeman Daily Chronicle [Bozeman, Montana] 1966 "Impressive Ceremony at Municipal Building." 17 March. Bozeman, Montana. Bozeman Daily Chronicle [Bozeman, Montana] 1966 "Bozeman’s New Municipal Building." 22 April. Bozeman, Montana. City of Bozeman. Fire Department History. https://www.bozeman.net/government/fire/department-history, accessed December 18, 2020. The Independent-Record [Helena, Montana] 2008 "Bozeman selling City Hall on its own." 18 August. Helena, Montana. James R. McDonald Architects 1984-85 34 N. Rouse Ave. Montana Historical and Architectural Inventory Form. Document on-file with the City of Bozeman. Bozeman, MT. McCroskey, William Bertram 1960 "A City of Bozeman Fire-Station." Thesis Submitted to Professor Eck, ARCH 445, Montana State University. 06 June. Bozeman, Montana. Montana Cadastral Property Record Card, 411 East Main Street, Bozeman, 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. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 5 Information Sources/Bibliography Property Name: 34 N Rouse Ave. Site Number: 274 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 property at 34 N Rouse has not been previously recorded. The site consists of the municipal Bozeman Fire Station, built in 1966 and expanded in recent years. The site is in good to excellent condition overall, and retains most aspects of integrity. Section 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 Criterion A, B, C, and D. The site is not located within an existing historic district and, due to considerable in-fill and redevelopment of the surrounding area which includes commercial, residential, and public buildings, Metcalf does not recommend district potential. The site is recommended not eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 6 Statement of Significance Property Name: 34 N Rouse Ave. Site Number: 274 INTEGRITY (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association) The site is in good condition, overall. Expansion and minor alterations such as the installation of modern windows, has affected integrity of materials and design to some extent. Other aspects are retained. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 7 Integrity Property Name: 34 N Rouse Ave. Site Number: 274 Feature # 274 Facing: SE Description: Site 274. Oblique view. (#0356, 10/13/2020. EAS) Feature # 274 Facing: NE Description: Site 274. Oblique view. (#0357, 10/13/2020. EAS) MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 8 Photographs Property Name: 34 N Rouse Ave. Site Number: 274 Feature # 274 Facing: SW Description: Site 274. Oblique view. (#0359, 10/13/2020. EAS) MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 9 Photographs Property Name: 34 N Rouse Ave. Site Number: 274 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 10 Site Map Property Name: 34 N Rouse Ave. Site Number: 274