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Home My WebLink About137 E Babcock St 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: 137 E Babcock St Historic Address (if applicable): City/Town: Bozeman Site Number: 132 Historic District Number (if applicable): 24GA0952 County: Gallatin Historic Name: Bozeman Steam Laundry Original Owner(s): Michael J. O'Connell & Mary Flora Hagen Current Ownership Private Public Current Property Name: Owner(s): 137 E Babcock LLC Owner Address: PO Box 1070, Bozeman, MT 59771-1070 Phone: Legal Location PM: Montana Township: 2S Range: 6E NW ¼ NE ¼ SW ¼ of Section: 7 Lot(s): Lot 11 & 12 Block(s): Block B Addition: Bozeman Original Plat Year of Addition: 1870 USGS Quad Name: Bozeman Year: 1987 Historic Use: Commercial Current Use: Vacant Construction Date: 1917-1918 Estimated Actual Original Location Moved Date Moved: UTM Reference www.nris.mt.gov NAD 27 or NAD 83 (preferred) Zone: 12 N Easting: 497309.37 Northing: 5058336.98 National Register of Historic Places NRHP Listing Date: Historic District: Main Street Historic District NRHP Eligible: Yes No *Property meets the City of Bozeman’s definition of an eligible property (see below). Date of this document: 04/19/2021 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: Site contributes to the Main Street Historic District (24GA0952). MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 2 Architectural Description Property Name: 137 E Babcock St Site Number: 132 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Architectural Style: Art Deco-Moderne If Other, specify: Property Type: Commerce Specific Property Type: Laundry Architect: Fred F. Willson Architectural Firm/City/State: Unknown Builder/Contractor: Unknown Company/City/State: Unknown Source of Information: McDonald 1984 This site consists of one historical architectural feature: a commercial structure built ca. 1917. It was originally recorded in 1984 by James R. McDonald Architects, who recommended it as a "contributing element within a potential historic district due to its association with the commercial aspect of the Progressive Phase of Bozeman's historic/architectural development." It was subsequently listed in the NRHP as a contributing site within the Main Street Historic District (24GA0952) in 1986. McDonald described the structure as follows: "This detached one-story commercial structure has a rectangular plan with a diagonal corner front entry and double-transomed fixed windows in front. The rest of the structure has multiple-paned fixed windows. The brick construction sits on a concrete foundation and has a flat roof that lies perpendicular to the street." Metcalf revisited the site on October 15, 2020 and did not note any significant changes or modifications. It should be added to McDonald's description that the west elevation has no fenestration and that the shadow of a single story commercial building with stepped parapet, which no longer exists, is visible on the surface of the brick wall. There are additional entries on the building's north elevation, accessed via the alley. Also, on this elevation are additional original industrial multi-pane windows. The only change or alteration noted since the previous record is that the entryway on the south elevation has had the doors replaced. The site is in good condition, overall. Integrity is sufficient to maintain status as a contributing element to the Main Street Historic District. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 3 History of Property Property Name: 137 E Babcock St Site Number: 132 HISTORY OF PROPERTY McDonald wrote the following of the historical significance of the site, predicated on its association with Bozeman’s prolific early architect Fred F. Willson: "This property is significant because it is associated with a person important in Bozeman history, Fred F. Willson. Son of General Lester S. Willson, an early Bozeman pioneer, Willson was born in 1877 in Bozeman. He attended Montana State College for two years and graduated from Columbia University in architecture in 1902. He studied for two years abroad and upon his return, Willson practiced with C. S. Haire in Helena and Butte. In his long practice from 1910-1956, he designed many commercial, residential, and public buildings." This building was historically the Bozeman Steam Laundry, which was owned by partners Michael J. O'Connell and Mary Flora Hagen, also O'Connell's mother-in-law. A history of Hagen is provided on the website for the Missoula Textile Services and is as follows: "In 1880, Mary Hagen arrived from Switzerland and settled in Bozeman, Montana with her five daughters and two sons. She was Joseph Hagen’s mother, and grandmother to Herman, Karl and Larry Topel. Mary’s daughter Mary Pauline (Lena for short) married Henry Topel in 1882; he had arrived from Germany in 1880. Mary Hagen and Henry Topel founded Bozeman Steam Laundry on the corner of Rouse Street and Mendenhall in 1900. This was the first steam laundry in Montana. Mary Hagen, her children, and one other man comprised the entire staff of the new laundry. Henry continued his career as a tailor, and in 1905 sold his interest in Bozeman’s Steam Laundry to his brother-in-law Michael O’Connell (husband of Mary’s daughter Mary Ada Hagen). This laundry is now called Gallatin Laundry and is currently owned by Mary Hagen’s great-grandson. Gallatin Laundry is the oldest business in Bozeman, and has been continuously owned and operated by the same family" (missoulatextiles.com). According to an article written in 1999 by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, O'Connell was also a volunteer firefighter and worked the laundry business. In 1917 the Bozeman Steam Laundry burned down, and O'Connell and Hagen had to borrow "money from the son of a wealthy cattle baron, T. Byron Story, and constructed a new business at the corner of Babcock Street and Bozeman Avenue." The article also stated the following: "Gallatin Laundry, as the business was renamed when it opened in January 1918, was bigger and it was brick...In its lifetime, the laundry business has gone from washing hotel bed linens and shop rags to restaurant tablecloths and uniforms it rents...More than once the business was on the brink of changing hands or shutting down. After withstanding the fire, Michael O'Connell was slow to pay back his rebuilding loan from T. Byron Story. His children, Clarence O'Connell and Martin O'Connell, stepped in to bail out [his] dad. In turn, the brothers were ready to sell the business in 1969. Their would-be buyer backed out of the deal at about the time Terry O'Connell returned from a military hitch" (Bozeman Daily Chronicle 1999). At the time of McDonald’s survey, the structure was still in use as Gallatin Laundry. It was still Gallatin Laundry when the article appeared in 1999 by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. However, currently it is currently owned by 137 E Babcock LLC, and is sitting vacant. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 4 Information Sources/Bibliography Property Name: 137 E Babcock St Site Number: 132 INFORMATION SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY Bozeman Daily Chronicle 1999 "City's oldest businesses have been around 100 years and change." 03 July. Electronic document, https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/citys-oldest-businesses-have-been-around-100-years-and- change/article_ebacdf75-8883-53ad-856b-9b57132e0abc.html, accessed 19 April, 2021. James R. McDonald Architects 1984 137 E Babcock Ave. Montana Historical and Architectural Inventory Form. Document on-file with the City of Bozeman. Bozeman, MT. Missoulatextiles.com Textile Services "Missoula Textile Services, History". Website, http://missoulatextiles.com/history/#:~:text=Gallatin%20Laundry%20is%20the%20oldest,basement%20of%20the%20Dorothy%20Apartments, accessed 19 April, 2021. Montana State Library. Montana Cadastral records online, http://svc.mt.gov/msl/mtcadastral, accessed 04/15/2021. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 5 Statement of Significance Property Name: 137 E Babcock St Site Number: 132 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 137 E Babcock St. was previously recorded in 1984 by James R. McDonald Architects and regarded as a "contributing element within a potential historic district." The site was listed as a contributing element to the Main Street Historic District (24GA0952) in 1986. While vacant, the property remains in good condition and retains sufficient integrity to convey historic character. This site is currently listed in the NRHP as contributing to the Main Street Historic District (24GA0985) and retains sufficient integrity to maintain its listed status. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 6 Integrity Property Name: 137 E Babcock St Site Number: 132 INTEGRITY (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, association) The site is in good condition, overall. All aspects of integrity are retained. MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 7 Photographs Property Name: 137 E Babcock St Site Number: 132 Feature # 1 Facing: NW Description: Property 132. Oblique view. (Image #0484, 10/15/2020. EAS) Feature # 1 Facing: SW Description: Property 132. Oblique view. (Image #0485, 10/15/2020. EAS) MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 8 Photographs Property Name: 137 E Babcock St Site Number: 132 Feature # 1 Facing: SW Description: Property 132. Oblique view of rear of building. (Image #0486, 10/15/2020. EAS) Feature # 1 Facing: NE Description: Property 132. Oblique view. (Image #0487, 10/15/2020. EAS) MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 9 Site Map Property Name: 137 E Babcock St Site Number: 132 MONTANA HISTORIC PROPERTY RECORD PAGE 10 Topographic Map Property Name: 137 E Babcock St Site Number: 132