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HomeMy WebLinkAbout006 - NRHP N Tracy Ave Historic District PropertiesNFS Form 10*»« (846) United States Department of the Interior StP National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Norti Tracy Avenue Historic District Section number 8 page 83 Historic Name:Horth Tracy Ave. Historic District Location: 300-500 blocks of North Tracy Ave.* Bozeman, Montana (030), Gallatin County (031) Classification: historic district private ownership public acquisition: n/a occupied restricted access residential use Ownership: Multiple Location of Legal Description: Gallatin County Courthouse, Bozeman, MT Representation in Existing Surveys: Historic Resource Survey of Bozeman, Montana, 1982-1986, sponsored by the Bozeman - Gallatin County Planning Office.i Depository of Survey Records: Montana State Historic Preservation Office, 102 S. Broadway, Helena, MT PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: North Tracy Ave. Historic District Contributing buildings: 2:1 Non-contributing buildings: 8 The North Tracy Ave. Historic District consists of 29 diverse, modest residences spanning two blocks, from Villard to Peach Streets. Although eight of the buildings are either neutral or non-contributing to the historic district, the district is nevertheless defined by its high overall architectural integrity and cohesiveness compared to surrounding streets. In! addition, most of those eight retain enough of their original designs to maintain the historical continuity of the streetscape. Of the contributing buildings ijh the district, twelve are Bungalow style and bear similar ornamentation, whjich helps to unify the district overall. The remaining ten are of diverse, 19th century forms, which display either no specific stylistic elements, or display influence of the Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles. All but two houses, 322 and 402 N. Tracy Ave., are of frame construction. Three-sixteen and 322 N. Tracy Ave. are quite large and impressive houses, relative to the architecture in Bozeman found north of Main Street, and anchor the south end of the district. Two blocks to thq north stand three of the other most significant houses in the district, which terminate the north end of the district. These are two very well preserved Bungalows on opposite corners, 518 and 519 N. Tracy Ave., as well as an unusual Queen Anne style house, 517 N. Tracy. NFS Foim 10400* OM8 Appro** No. 10244018 <M6) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet North; Tracy Avenue Historic District Section number 8 Page 84 Of the houses between these visual anchors, 501 N. Tracy Ave., which stands on a corner lot, is a striking example of the Bungalow style at the center of the district. Other visually prominent buildings include 411 N. Tracy Ave., a well preserved I-House with a broad eaves front, and 415 and 423 N. Tracy - a pair of gable front houses with bay windows and recessed entry porches that were originally identical to one another. The remaining houses vary in size, design, and integrity, but are regularly spaced along the £treet and create a strong sense of rhythm along the full, two and one-half btock length of the historic district. STATEMENT OP SIGNIFICANCE: North Tracy Ave. Historic District Period of Significance: 1890-1930 Areas of Significance: Architecture, Settlement The North Tracy Ave. Historic District contains th£ most significant concentration of historic residential architecture north of Main Street, and is a well preserved, representative portion of what was once a quite extensive historic residential area. Some of the houses in the district are among the most significant examples of vernacular architecture in the city. The east half of the district is included in Beall's Second Addition, which was platted in 1885, probably in response to the growth which was sparked by the arrival of the railroad in 1883. The bird's eye view of the city drawn in 1883 consequently shows no development in this yet unplatted district. Newspaper accounts from the period, however, as well as existing buildings in other parts of the city, attest to the extensive construction which occurred elsewhere in the city in the early 1880's. Construction in this district probably commenced shortly after Beall's Second Addition was platted. The earliest surviving house in the district appears to be the Toepper House, 506 N. Tracy Ave., a simple 3x1 bay, eaves front house which was probably built by William M. Toepper, a carpenter from Germany who came to Montana in 1884^ That house stands on the east side of North Tracy Ave. in Beall's Second Addition. The initial surge in prosperity in Bozeman that accompanied the arrival of the railroad subsided toward the late 1880's and gave way to a period of economic depression, later to be known as the Panic of 1893. Despite the condition of the economy, Bozeman experienced a brief period of optimism during the first three years of the 1890's, as the city made an avid bid to win designation as the State capital, in anticipation of a state-wide election on the matter in 1892. Some of Bozeman's most impressive structures, such as the Hotel Bozeman, were built during that brief period and several new plats were added to the city, despite the fact that vast areas platted during the optimism inspired by the railroad a decade earlier still remained undeveloped. Among these new plats were Beall's Third Addition, platted in 1891, in which the west half of the historic district is located. NPS Form 1MOCH O»« A**"-' Wo. 10244018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet North Tracy Avenue Historic District Section number 8 Page 85 Although Bozeman lost its capital bid in 1892, it did gain the Montana State College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, another of the state institutions being distributed at the time. The college, today Montana State University, was greeted in 1893 with skepticism. While construction of a capital complex might have triggered another building boom in Bozeman had the city won its bid, establishment of the college had little immediate impact on the depressed economy. By 1898, when another bird's eye view of the city was drawn, the seven year old Beall's Third Addition consequently was still largely empty. The later bird's eye view, however, may have anticipated the impending prosperity which ushered in the early 20th century. Shortly after the turn of the century, following a general pattern evidenced throughout the country, Bozeman's economy became characterized by a greater participation in the regional and national economic milieu than it had been in the 19th century. The city became the undisputed economic and cultural hub of the rich agricultural region of the Gallatin Valley. In addition to these factors, the college had begun to come of age, and an ever-increasing faculty and student body provided a steady demand for Bozeman's commercial services and housing market. A large percentage of the city as it appears today, especially the residential ar^as, was constructed during the first two decades of this century, and more than half of the buildings in the North Tracy Avenue Historic District date to that period as well. As those found elsewhere in the city, most of the Rouses in the North Tracy Avenue Historic District were built by local architects/builders for sale and, with a few exceptions, have had a high rate of occupant turn-over from the time they were built to the present. Although extensive construction occurred both north and south of Main Street during this period, I a clear preference developed after the turn of the century for the neighborhoods to the south. Houses in that part of the city are consequently more elaborate, of better quality, and of higher value in general than those north of Main Street. This discrepancy explains the high rate of attrition of the historii building north of Main Street relative to those to the south. This historical phenomenon, which is readily apparent by comparison of the vast residential historic districts to the south today sind the elaborate architecture found there with the sparse historic districts and more modest architecture found to the north. The Republican Courier newspaper beijtioaned this imbalance in development, and the consequent weighing of municipal improvements to areas south of Main Street, in an editorial in 1907. The papet noted: For several years the large proportion of improvements have been made on the south and southwest side of the city. Nothing has been done...on the north side. The consequence is property on the south side of Bozeman is vastly more valuable than that on the north side and many who formerly lived north NPS Form 10400« OUB Apprwul No. 1024-00)0 <M6) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet North Tracy Avenue Historic District o oc ( Section number ____ Page ____ of Main Street have moved across the line."^i Those who "moved across the line" to the south sidp of town after the turn of the century were invariably those of the middle and upper classes. By the early 20th century, the north side of the city was decidedly working class, as reflected by a random sampling of past residents of the distric: before 1930. Fred C. Jacobs, for example, who lived at 405 N. Tracy Ave. for mo st of the early 20th century, was a lather and carpenter. Frank L. Perkins, who! lived nearby in a very small house at 416 N. Tracy, was a "road supervisor" and railroad contractor. August Lake, a sign painter, built one of the most notablfe houses in the district in 1918, a fine Bungalow at 501 N. Tracy. Others incjlude George W. Roby, a post office clerk, William M. Toepper, a carpenter fromiGermany, John C. Robertson, another carpenter who may have built his Bungalow style residence in 1916 at 511 N. Tracy, and Lou F. Sievert, one of Bozeman's most prominent carpenters of the later 1920's and 1930's. Sievert built three houses in the district, 512, 514, and 518 N. Tracy, the latter two of which, Bungalows, are two of the most significant buildings in the district. Edward W. Damerell, a rancher, may have been one of the more wealthy residents of this district, for his early 20th century pattern (Dook/Colonial Revival style house, 316 N. Tracy, is larger and more impressive! than the others, with the exception of 322 N. Tracy, which stands next to itl The latter was built in about 1890 by George Harrison, a black carpenter ffom Utah, and is one of the best of the few remaining examples in Bozeman of the I-House building type. In addition to those mentioned above, 517 N. Tracy is of special note for its architectural significance. The small L-plan hous£ had a canted entrance at the union of the two wings, which is sheltered by a quarter-round, Queen Anne style porch. The only other example of this type in Bozeman is at 221 S. 7th Avenue, located within the Cooper Park Historic District. Another very significant house in the district is 411 N. Tracy, an excellent frame example of the I-house building type. iThe North Tracy Avenue Historic District, which contains a cross-section of houses ranging from the elaborate Damerell House, &L9 N. Tracy, and Harrison House, 322 N. Tracy, to the very modest Perkins House, 416 N. Tracy, is an important remnant of Bozeman's historic development. No other group of residences north of Main Street, historically the working class area of the city, remains intact as a cohesive architectural entity, recalling by their present appearance the later 19th and early 20th centuries! BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION AND JUSTIFICATION: The boundaries for this small historic district haye been drawn to include all Republican Courier. Sept. 3, 1907, p. 3. NPSForm 10-90O-* (M6) OUB Approvfl No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet North Tracy Avenue Historic District Section number _8_Page buildings oriented toward North Tracy Avenue between Villard St. north to Peach St. Two substantial, highly significant residences facing North Tracy Avenue and located to the south of Villard St. are also included, and serve to anchor the southern half of the district. Houses that are oriented toward the cross streets (Beall St., Villard St. and Peach St.) are not included within the historic district boundaries, due to their non-contributing status and the fact that they are not visual components of the North Tracy Avenufe streetscape. The boundary line begins at the intersection of Peach St. and N. Tracy Ave. and runs south for one lot, then east to the alley between N. Tracy and N. Black Avenues? then south to the southeast corner of lot 30, Blk E of Beall's 2nd Addition? then west for approximately 31 feet? then south to Villard St.? then south to include lots 12-15 of Blk K of Beall's 2nd Addition? then north on N. Tracy Ave.? west on Villard to the alley between N. Willson and N. Tracy Avenues? then north along this alley to Peach St.? and back to the point of beginning. UTM REFERENCES: D: 12/497200/5058900 V: 12/497150/5058550 W: 12/497100/5058900 ACREAGE: Approximately 9 acres NPS Form 10400« United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet QMS Approva/ Mo. 7024-00)8 o Section number 8 Page 88 Nortlji Tracy Avenue Historic District North Tracy Historic District Address 316 N. Tracy 322 N. Tracy 402 N. Tracy 403 N. Tracy 405 N. 411 N. 414 N. 415 N. 416 N. 422 N. 423 N. 426 N. 427 N. 430 N. 433 N. 434 N. 439 N. 440 N. 501 N. 502 N. 505 N. 506 N. 511 N. 512 N. 514 N. 515 N. 517 N. 518 N. 519 N. Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Tracy Historic Name Damerell House Harrison House Goddard House Style Builder Corbly House Perkins House Jacobs House Roby House Nelson House Lake House Ambrose House Toepper House Robertson House Sievert House Sievert House Sievert House Nelson House Vernacular/ Colonial Vernacular Vernacular Vernacular remodeled I-House Revival (I-House) Charles & A.E.Godda Bungalow (remodeled) Bungalow Vernacular Bungalow Bungalow Vernacular Bungalow Vernacular Bungalow Remodeled Remodeled Vernacular Bungalow Vernacular Remodeled Vernacular Bungalow Bungalow Bungalow Vernacular Queen Anne Bungalow Bungalow 1900-1904 c. 1890 1904-1912 1892 :d c.1900 1898-1904 C.1910/C.1970 c. 1909 c. 1895 c. 1910 Fred C. Jacobs c. 1909 George Rob c. 1909 7 C. 1910 r c. 1915 c. 1911 C.1900/C.1980 C.1900/C.1975 c. 1900 c. 1918 1950 c. 1900 Wm. Toepper c. 1890 John Roberl Lou F. Sie^ Lou F. Sie^ :son 1916 7ert 1932 /ert 1925 c. 1912 c. 1900 Lou F. Sievert 1929 1916 Status primary primary contributing contributing non-contributing contributing non-contributing contributing contributing contributing contributing non-contr ibuting contributing non-contributing contributing non-contributing non-contributing contributing contributing non-contributing non-contributing contributing contributing contributing contributing contributing contributing contributing contributing NUR1U 1KACY HISTORIC DiSnUCT Eczema , MT Red: Primary Ornnge: Contr LbutiiiR t-ppn : Pnrl' R|nr: Nnn -ron t f i hu i