HomeMy WebLinkAboutCobleigh Hall (24GA1867) 2025
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STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE | PO Box 201201 – Helena, MT 59620-1201 | (406) 444-7715 – mtshpo@mt.gov
Ver. 1/2023 | https://mhs.mt.gov/Shpo/docs/AERform1.pdf
New Forms and Instructions
As of July 2022, this AE-R (Architecture and Engineering Record) form replaces Montana SHPO’s HPR (Historic Property Record) form
for recording historic structures in Montana. Visit https://mhs.mt.gov/shpo/forms to download the most recent versions of SHPO
forms and instructions. If you are uncertain about which form to use, please contact Montana SHPO Cultural Records staff at
(406) 444-4724, https://directory.mt.gov/govt/state-dir/agency/historic#shpo.
REMINDERS
The Principal Investigator is responsible for ensuring that the information in this form is complete and accurate as per the Montana
SHPO’s data standards. Please consult the Montana SHPO Consultation Guide, 2023 for standards for recording cultural and
architectural resources in Montana.
1. Identification
HISTORIC / PROPERTY NAME SMITHSONIAN NUMBER (issued by SHPO)^
Engineering Science Building / Cobleigh Hall 24GA1867
PROJECT NAME PROJECT NUMBER
Cobleigh Hall Repairs PPA 23-0987
DATE FIRST RECORDED BY PHONE (000) 000-0000 EMAIL ADDRESS
7/1/2013 Jessie Nunn (406) 207-8727 600 Meadowlark Lane,
Livingston, MT 59047
DATE UPDATED BY PHONE (000) 000-0000 EMAIL ADDRESS
6/24/202
4
Lesley M. Gilmore (406) 600-0464 gilmorepreservation@g
mail.com
180 North Low Bench Road
Gallatin Gateway, MT 59730
2. Location
COUNTY LOT/BLOCK SUBDIVISION STREET ADDRESS CITY / TOWN (NEAREST)
Gallatin
UTM COORDINATES OR LAT-LONG FOR THE CENTER OF THE SITE, TO THE 6TH
DECIMAL
DATUM (E.g., NAD27, WGS84, etc.)
45 39 5946 N 111 02 45 43 W WGS84
TOWNSHIP N/S RANGE E/W SEC QTR TOWNSHIP N/S RANGE E/W SEC QTR
(tab from last cell to add rows to TRS table)
NARRATIVE / NOTES ON ACCESS (OPTIONAL)
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3. Ownership and Use
CURRENT ADMINISTRATIVE/SURFACE OWNERSHIP CURRENT USE
Montana State University Offices and Laboratories Public
Private
ORIGINAL ADMINISTRATIVE/SURFACE OWNERSHIP ORIGINAL/HISTORIC USE
Montana State University Offices and Laboratories Public
Private
4. Historic Property/Architecture Description
PROPERTY TYPE* ARCHITECTURAL STYLE TIME PERIOD
Historic Education Modern 1970
ARCHITECT NAME/FIRM ARCHITECT CITY, STATE BUILDER NAME/COMPANY BUILDER CITY, STATE CONSTRUCTION DATE
Morrison-Maierle &
Associates
Helena, MT Edsall Construction
Company
Bozeman, MT Completed August
1970
STATUS NOTES ON STATUS CHANGE
Original location
Addition/alteration Insertion of offices into original recess at first floor, front (west) façade.
Moved/relocated
Destroyed
Other
NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY
Site/Location
The Cobleigh Engineering Science Building (also referred to as Cobleigh Hall and Cobleigh) is located in the southeast corner of the main core of campus, at the site designated for engineering buildings in the 1917 master site plan for the
Montana State College of Agriculture & Mechanic Arts.1 The six-story building is currently joined by narrow four- and three-story links, respectively, to Roberts Hall to the north and to E.B. Barnard Hall to the south. South Sixth Avenue runs parallel to Cobleigh’s east elevation and the walkway along the west façade represents the prior South Seventh Avenue. Nearly square in plan, the footprint’s east-west dimension is 142’-2” and the north-south dimension is 105’-2”. Each of the four corners has a full-height recess, 14’-0” x 7’-11”, with windowless walls, resulting in a cross-shaped plan. This primary portion of the building is 77’ tall. Parapets rise to 91’ at the south and north penthouses and 101’ at the center mechanical penthouse. The four-story link to Roberts Hall is approximately 50’ tall and stylistically compatible with Cobleigh Hall. The three-story link to Barnard Hall to the south was part of the 1997 construction of what was then known as the EPS Building and styled accordingly. All of the roofs are flat, with slopes to drains and brick parapets of heights
varying from 8” to 1’-3”.
Style and Façade Articulation
As stated by Jessie Nunn in the Montana Historic Property Record for Cobleigh Hall: “The building is a significant example of Late Modernism and is one of many designs on campus from the 1970s and 1980s to exhibit a restrained form
1 George Hollis Carsley, with consul�ng architect Cass Gilbert, 9 August 1917. In MSU Special Collec�ons Collec�on 2501 #1, Drw. 14.
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of Brutalism.” Restrained is the operative word here, as the Brutalist style in its fullest form had a “weighty massiveness; rough-surfaced, exposed concrete wall; broad, expansive wall surfaces; deeply recessed windows”2 and an exploration of solid and void for all to see and experience. Not all Brutalist style buildings are of concrete – wood and brick were also
part of the vocabulary. Cobleigh Hall’s elevations are generally all symmetrical (exceptions are limited to the north and south walls’ links to its companion buildings). The plain brick walls are articulated by the corner recesses, the regular pattern of punched window openings at all but the first floor, and the soldier course of brick atop the parapets. The veneer,
set in simple running bond, is of a Tapestry brick originally specified to match the color range and texture of the brick at the adjacent Roberts Hall, constructed in 1922. The window treatment offers a nod to the vertical concrete divisions typical of many Brutalist style buildings. Each window opening is protected by a 4’-wide three-sided (top and two sides) precast concrete sunshade that is 7’ tall. The fins, which project 1’-6” out from the wall plane, are 5” wide at the wall and narrow to 3”. Within this protective envelope, the original aluminum windows sit, tall (at 5’) and narrow (at 2’). The upper, 3’-9”-high, portion of these commercial windows is an out-swinging awning; the lower, 1’-3”-high, lower windows
are in-swinging hoppers. The glass is 1/8” thick and the aluminum has an anodic oxide finish.3
Construction Type4
Cobleigh Hall’s structure is a combination of concrete and steel. The building is supported by a series of precast prestressed concrete pilings that support 3’-thick reinforced concrete pile caps that support wide flange steel columns and perimeter grade beams of concrete. The approximately 5’-tall space created between the first floor slab and the pile caps is used as a crawlspace for mechanical piping. Access is provided from each mechanical shaft in the central core of the first floor. The number of piles varies – from 12 to 25 – depending on the load and location. The size of the steel columns
decreases in size from the crawl space (14” x 14½”) to the sixth floor (9.92” x 8”), as the concomitant load decreases. Each steel column is surrounded with insulation and wrapped with an 1/8” steel jacket. The jackets are visible inside the building. The steel columns support reinforced concrete floors and the concrete roof slab.
One-foot-thick concrete grade beams – at the building perimeter and select interior locations - support the concrete floor slabs and the exterior infill walls between the columns. Approximately 4” to 6” of the height of this grade beam, and the continuous sheet metal flashing at the base of the brick veneer wall (that bears on the grade beam), are visible around the perimeter of the building, except at the later (2002) brick wall at the west façade (see description below). The exterior infill walls are comprised of concrete block, insulation, and brick. The exterior face of the 8” concrete block aligns with the exterior flange of the steel columns, allowing for the 1” of rigid insulation and the 4” of face brick to be a continuous exterior cladding. The brick is the visible exterior face of this construction, interrupted only by the concrete window hoods and the few door openings.
The interior walls are of concrete block – 8” and 4” – exposed and painted. Three of the first floor corridor walls are
finished with a veneer of brick, likely in deference to the more public nature of this ground level. The mechanical shafts are constructed of reinforced poured concrete.
The individual building elevations (walls) are described below. The west and east walls are each four bays wide, excluding the half-bay of each inset corner. The north and south walls are each five bays wide, excluding the half-bay of
2 Robinson & Associates, Judith H. Robinson, Stephanie S. Foell, Growth, Efficiency, and Modernism: GSA Buildings of the 1950s, 60s,
and 70s (GSA, Reprint December 2005), page 15.
3 Morrison-Maierle & Associates, Engineering Science Building Specifica�ons for Construc�on, 1969. Aluminum windows. In the
Nopper Archives Building at MSU campus.
4 The descrip�on of the structure is based on a study of the original construc�on drawings S-1 through S-14. Drawings, dated 5 June
1968, provided by MSU.
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each inset corner. The full height of the expansion joints at the walls joining with Roberts Hall are covered with galvanized sheet metal.
Front, West Facade
The west façade is distinct from the others, as the part of the building that faces the public. The walls from the second floor up to the flat parapet match those of the other elevations: regularly spaced window openings with concrete hoods,
running brick, and a course of soldier brick at the top face of the parapet. As with the other elevations, there are no windows at the inset corners. Slightly different treatments set this main entry aside from the other elevations: four white concrete columns, set on grade, are centered in the width of the elevation; the header of the first floor (above the columns) and the base of the wall are finished with a course of soldier brick; and narrow tube sconces are centered between the window hoods of the second floor.5 This is visible in the 1970 photographs of Features 59 and 60.
The first floor marks the main entry to the building, with a double-door vestibule at each the north and south end. These entries are further distinguished by the cantilever of the brick wall above them, and a concrete slab canopy above the covered recess to each pair of doors. The entry vestibules retain their original setting in a glazed storefront wall system with metal panels. Between the two entries, the footprint of the first floor has been extended to the west with construction of a brick veneer wall that is recessed inches behind the precast columns. A pair of wide aluminum windows in each bay
serves the two offices beyond. The windows are set within a masonry opening distinct with a header course of soldier brick, a double row of rowlock brick at the sill, a soldier course continuing the sill line, and a soldier course at the base of the wall. This 2002 construction also included metal shading devices at each of the three bays. Constructed of steel tubes
and channels, with galvanized steel grating as the actual shading mechanism, they project 3’ from the wall plane. With a powder-coated grey finish, they are unobtrusive.6
The first floor level was originally more welcoming, with an aluminum storefront recessed behind a row of four concrete-clad steel columns. The storefront featured large areas of plate glass and smaller areas of white-finished metal. A strong statement of white structure – the aluminum mullions, panels, and concrete columns – contrasted with the black recessed bands at the top and bottom of the columns (which remain today) and the dark panes of glass. This exposed structure made a statement of strength with a cantilevered building corner over each of the entries (north and south). This exposure of the concrete-clad structure and recession of the glass storefront was akin to the pilotis7 of the Modern era. The precast-clad steel columns present a white support structure in contrast to the dark brick wall finish above. Inset corners of these one-story columns reflect the inset corners of the building itself. In addition, the storefront straddled a 4’-wide x 40’-long planter that was half in the building and half outside. This concrete structure was capped with redwood planks intended to
provide seating. The storefront and planter were removed in 2002.8
The entry vestibules were originally a continuation of the storefront glazing, with solid metal panels above and beside the doors. These panels remain today and are painted reddish brown.
5 These fixtures, labeled as Type M, are depicted on the Second Floor Ligh�ng Plan Sheet E-7. “M” is scheduled as a linear bracket
rectangle with sa�n aluminum finish, to be mounted 20 feet above grade. Manufacturer Marco #B59-ASA.
6 Cobleigh Hall Rm 129 – Corridor Remodel, PPA #01-0010 by Fullerton Architects. As-built drawings dated 3 May 2002. In the MSU
Facili�es collec�on.
7 Used frequently by LeCorbusier and his cohorts, pilo�s are “The free-standing columns, posts, or piles which support a building,
raising it above ground level.” Cyril Harris, Illustrated Dictionary of Historic Architecture (New York: Dover Publica�ons, Inc., 1977),
page 420.
8 Cobleigh Hall Rm 129 – Corridor Remodel, PPA #01-0010 by Fullerton Architects. As-built drawings dated 3 May 2002. In the MSU
Facili�es collec�on.
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The connection to Roberts Hall, one-story at the west part of the link, and four-story at the east part, has unglazed brick-veneered walls up to the respective flat parapet cap faced with a course of soldier brick.
The original simple and short (in length) one-story link to the Ryon Laboratories building was replaced by the three-story longer link to Barnard Hall, when erected as the EPS Building in 1997. The simple treatment of orange brick and large aluminum windows matches that of the rest of Barnard Hall.
North Elevation
The north elevation maintains the brick and window treatment established at the west façade. The west and east end bays (1½ structural bays each) are punctuated with three windows per floor (except the first floor). The rest of the wall between them consists solely of brick and the connection to Roberts Hall. This center wall rises smoothly up to its 91’-tall parapet, interrupting the side parapets. All the parapet caps are faced with a course of soldier brick.
East Elevation
The east elevation provides the service entry to the building. The brick veneer wall is punctuated by forty windows with precast concrete hoods. At the first, windowless, floor, two overhead garage doors provide entry to Bulk Materials Storage (Room #109, currently) and to Compressed Gas Storage (Room #107, currently). The parapet, at approximately 77 feet
above grade, runs continuously along the length of the building, uninterrupted by penthouses.
The parapet of the four-story link to Roberts Hall to the north is approximately 49.5 feet above grade. The upper three
floors are punctuated with the typical window with concrete window hood, providing natural light into the offices. The parapet cap is faced with a course of soldier brick. A pair of hollow metal doors at the base of the wall leads to a corridor connecting to the main part of the building.
South Elevation
The south elevation is similar to the north elevation, with the central portion of the wall dedicated to the connection to Barnard Hall and a loading dock east of this link. The dock provides direct access to the freight elevator. A series of hollow metal doors, from east to west, provide access: from grade to the corridor and the elevator shaft, and from the loading dock to the elevator. The door west of the elevator is an exit from the stairway.
The parapet again rises uninterrupted to the greater 91’ height. The parapet caps are faced with a course of soldier brick.
The Interior
The building interior plan is in the shape of a square donut, with offices and support spaces wrapped around the exterior, and large laboratory and research rooms and mechanical shafts in the center. The 8’-wide corridor between the inner core and outer ring also connects to the links to the companion buildings at the north (Roberts Hall) and the south (Barnard Hall).
The interior finishes are simple, with painted concrete block the norm for the walls, with 8” block at the exterior wall and 4” block for the typical interior wall. This varies only on the first floor in which the south, west, and north corridor walls
are finished with face brick. The finishes in the lab spaces are plain: exposed ceiling structure and concrete floors. The offices typically have suspended acoustical tile ceilings and vinyl tile floors. The administrative offices (Room 610 & 613) and sixth floor conference room (Room #608) were carpeted ca. 2012. The restrooms retain their original small
ceramic tile floors, with coved ceramic tile at the base of the concrete block walls.
The interior was originally somewhat colorful, with large painted lettering (for department identification) on some of the corridor walls and with patterned curtains at the exterior windows, primarily in offices. The office in Room 215 retains its
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original curtains, while also displaying the typical wide frame of the precast concrete window system. (See Features 25 and 26).
The original stair finishes remain in the stair halls. As shown on Sheet A-24 of the original construction documents, the treads, risers, and landings are of reinforced concrete supported by steel angle stringers. The risers are finished with sheet metal. Aluminum safety nosings protect the vinyl tile covered treads. The birch guard and handrails (1” x 2½”) are
supported by 1” steel bars that span the 1” square balusters. At the concrete block walls, the handrails are secured by 1” bar wall brackets. This simple system has endured well over the years.
The integrity of the interior is high. The circulation and core components – stairs, restrooms, elevators, service and storage rooms, laboratories – remain in their original locations and have retained their original treatments. Minor modifications have been made to some of the rooms, with new cabinetry, new resilient flooring, and new ceiling tile. Lighting and mechanical upgrades have been made, with little impact on the experience of the spaces (except for greater comfort). The original Pyrex glass piping for transporting acid supply and waste remains visible in the core lab rooms.
HISTORY OF PROPERTY
(The following discussion of the developmental history of the Montana State University Campus, and The Permanent and Walkable Campus, have both been excerpted from the 2013 Montana Historic Property Record form for the Engineering Science Building / Cobleigh Hall)
Development of Montana State University Campus
Montana State University was founded on February 16, 1893 (four years after statehood) as Montana’s land grant college under the Morrill Act of 1862. It has the distinction of being Montana’s first legislatively-created public university, with the University of Montana in Missoula being created the following day. Initially called the Agricultural College of the State of Montana, the new college was situated on a 200-acre site, part of which had been platted as the Capital Hill Addition in a (failed) bid for the State Capital. Bozeman citizens raised funds to purchase half the land, and Gallatin County donated the other half, which included the County poor farm. The
first purpose-built building on campus was the Agricultural Experiment Station (Taylor Hall) constructed in 1894. Main Hall (or Montana Hall), the centerpiece of the campus, was completed in 1898. The construction of the Neo-classical Revival style Agricultural Building (Linfield Hall) in 1909 further illustrated the primary role of agriculture at Montana State. In 1913, the college was renamed the Montana State College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts (MSC).
The college anticipated a period of expansion after World War I, and contracted with Montana architect, George Carsley, and nationally-known landscape architect, Cass Gilbert, to develop a campus plan, now known as the “1917 George Carsley / Cass Gilbert Plan.”9 This plan, which exhibited a formal Beaux-Arts symmetry, was adopted by the Montana State Board of Education in 1920 and guided campus development until the outbreak of World War II. Its implementation was assisted by a $5 million bond to fund building development programs on all
of Montana’s campuses. At MSC this resulted in the construction of several Italian Renaissance Revival buildings, including Roberts Hall, Traphagen Hall, Lewis Hall, Harrick Hall, Romney Gymnasium and the Heating Plant.
9 Cass Gilbert was actually a building architect, awarded FAIA status in 1889. Henry F. Withey, A.I.A. and Elsie Rathburn Withey,
Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased) (Los Angeles: Hennessey & Ingalls, Inc., 1970; reprint, Detroit:
Omnigraphics, 1996), page 233-235. This has been confirmed by Paty Dean, regional expert on Cass Gilbert, conversa�on with Lesley
Gilmore, 14 June 2024.
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MSC continued to grow and evolve during the Great Depression and World War II. This was spurred in part by the growth of the Extension Service under the New Deal’s Agricultural Adjustment Administration, an increase in unemployed students who enrolled in the years from 1932 to 1939 and expanded military training (including a
flight school) during World War II. The 1935 “Quads,” a women’s dormitory financed through the Works Progress Administration, and the oldest portion of the Student Union, completed in 1940, were the era’s most significant additions to campus. Both were designed by Bozeman architect, Fred F. Willson, in the Tudor Revival style.
Slight deviations from the 1917 George Carsley / Cass Gilbert Plan during the mid-1940s resulted from a desire for new buildings alongside a need to curb paving and heating costs by reducing the space between buildings.
Along with colleges and universities across the nation, MSC expanded to accommodate students attending college under the “GI Bill” after World War II. The square footage of campus buildings doubled in the following decades. At this time, further departures were also made from the 1917 George Carsley / Cass Gilbert Plan as growth demanded expansion beyond its boundaries and within its open spaces. The Renne Library (1949) and the small Danforth Chapel (1952), MSC’s first Modern style building, were the era’s earliest additions to campus but several others followed during the 1950s and early 1960s. Four Mid-Century Modern dormitories were added to the northern end of campus and new academic buildings, including Reid Hall and the Math-Physics Building (AJM Johnson Hall), were erected in open spaces south of Garfield Street. Several older buildings also received
significant Modern style additions, including Renne Library and Linfield and Lewis Halls. The result was a campus showcasing a dynamic blend of revivalist and modernist styles.
The college was re-named Montana State University (MSU) in 1965, and the high-rise dormitories (Hedges and Roskie Halls) that would symbolize the modern era were completed by 1967. More buildings were added in the 1970s as MSU replaced all of its temporary frame buildings with permanent structures. Growth slowed during the 1980s through the beginning of the 21st century in the core campus area, although a few new buildings (Visual Communications, the EPS Building and the Chemistry & Biochemistry Building) were added. Many older buildings have also undergone significant alterations in recent decades. Perhaps the greatest addition to campus during the contemporary period was Centennial Mall along what was once Garfield Street. In providing a strong east-west linear focus, the well-landscaped pedestrian mall was actually a return to the axial arrangement of 1917 George Carsley / Cass Gilbert Plan. Today, the MSU campus represents a blend of early formal planning, post-war expansion and contemporary buildings that respond to current needs. It offers an excellent example of the evolution of campus planning in Montana. (Burlingame, in passim; Painter, Montana Property Record Form for Langford Hall.)
A Permanent and Walkable Campus: The 1968-1974 Building Campaign
In 1965, Montana State College became Montana State University (MSU), and over the next decade the campus grew to reflect its loftier name. Between 1964 and 1967 the Hedges Dormitory Complex, which included two high-rise dormitories and a round food service building, and Roskie Hall, a futuristic clover-shaped dormitory, were constructed at the very southwestern corner of campus across 11th Avenue. The modern aesthetic and elevated skyline of these buildings symbolized just how grown-up Montana State had become. However, expanding outward and upward would not be enough to keep pace with the University’s growth. Enrollment
increased from about 4,000 in 1960 to nearly 9,000 by 1975, and in 1965 MSU’s leaders decide changes to the campus’s core—including new construction, the renovation of some older buildings and the demolition of others, and the establishment of a network of paved walkways—was necessary to complete a modern, pedestrian campus.
(MSU Website, Enrollment History; Classroom-Office Building EIS, 2)
MSU’s campus architect, Andy Van Teylingen, and building coordinator, William Johnstone, introduced the new campus plan to students in the February 1968 Exponent article, “Buildings to Blossom at MSU.” Among other projects, the plan included the construction of an Engineering Science Complex, a Life Science Building and an Arts Center. Johnstone also called for a “pedestrian campus,” which would be created through an, “eight minute
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circle” with administrative buildings (Montana Hall and the newly-renovated Hamilton Hall) surrounded by general academic buildings, then professional schools and finally residence halls. A pedestrian campus, according to Johnstone, would also require the abandonment of all roads through campus in exchange for paved walkways
to serve both pedestrians and emergency vehicles. (Exponent, 2/16/1968). Eventually the plan included a new Classroom-Office Building and a Nursing Building within the campus core area, as well as a Heath [sic] & Physical Education Complex, a new Football Stadium and housing for married students. A secondary goal of the
plan included “razing of all the wooden buildings in the academic core of campus,” which included the Montana Hall Annex, a pair of World War I-era barracks near the Wool Lab and Bridger Hall, which housed Nursing and Health and Physical Education. (Classroom-Office Building EIS, 2). The frame buildings, which had always been seen as temporary solutions to MSU’s space and housing shortages, simply did not fit within the modern university campus envisioned by Van Teylingen, Jonhstone and University President Leon Johnson.
Such an ambitious building campaign naturally provided plentiful challenges and stirred occasional controversy. Funding the projects, for instance, proved difficult during the Vietnam War, but MSU cobbled together sufficient state and federal funding to complete all of its major construction projects by 1974. Unfortunately for the administration, however, several projects proceeded slowly, either due to insufficient funds or engineering problems. The confrontational mood of students during the social upheaval of the Vietnam-era only exacerbated
negative perceptions of the building campaign. When it was revealed in early 1972 that the 7th and 8th floors of the Life Science Building (Leon Johnson Hall) would remain unfinished due to lack of funds and that its foundation had a settling problem, two sophomores published a poem titled “Unfinished” in the Exponent. Their poem
revealed the frustration surrounding MSU’s construction woes, and included verses such as, “Leaning dorms, floating floors, have come to MSU. No you haven’t had too much Coors / These things happen yes they do,” and “Unfinished Reid, unfinished Library, unfinished Life Sciences Building, too. Will they ever complete a whole
building by 1982?” (Exponent, 2/29/1972). Even the Classroom-Office Building, which was completed without incident, could not escape criticism, with the Exponent lamenting the loss of campus’s “most beautiful lawn” and pointing out the building’s resemblance to the latest in “prison architecture.” (Exponent, 1/28/1975).
Van Teylingen addressed the challenges and criticisms in the Fall of 1973, telling the Exponent there was more good news to be found in, “Montana State University’s most ambitious building program in history,” than bad news. (Exponent, 9/20/1973). Indeed, the 1968-1974 building campaign did achieve its goals. It transformed the campus from one still partially dependent on temporary structures and bisected by streets to a more permanent and pedestrian-friendly environment. While the campaign did result in some lamentable losses, most notably in open space and architectural unity, it undeniably brought Montana State University into the modern era. Since that time only three major buildings have been added to the core area of campus: the Visual Communications Building
(1983), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Building (1997), which replaced the Ryon Laboratories, and the Chemistry and Biochemistry Building (2007).
Planning for Cobleigh Hall (Engineering Science Building)
(The following discussion of the developmental history of the Cobleigh Hall has been excerpted from the 2013 Montana Historic Property Record form for the Engineering Science Building / Cobleigh Hall)
By the mid-1960s, the various engineering programs (civil, chemical, electrical, agricultural) at MSU needed space, and a new mid-rise Engineering Science Building between Roberts Hall and Ryon Labs (the Engineering
Building and Shops) was part an ambitious building program established by campus architect, Andy Van Teylingen, and building coordinator, William A. Johnstone. While classroom space sufficed through 1973, office and laboratory space was at a premium and the quality of available space also become an issue. The aging Ryon Labs (1922) needed renovation and Agricultural Engineering was located “in a wooden WWI barracks on the opposite end of campus from the rest of Engineering.” (Title III Grant Application, 3/31/1970). In short, a new general “Engineering Sciences Building” was a high priority. Funding issues, however, temporarily delayed
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construction. The Montana State Legislature authorized construction of the building during their 1965 Session, but failed to provide funding, and when they did allocate $1,373,333.00 toward construction in 1967, the amount fell approximately $800,000 short of what was needed. (Johnstone Memo, 1/12/1966; Financial Status,
8/21/1969). MSU looked elsewhere to make up the difference. Fortunately, the University was able to obtain just under $700,000 in federal Title I and Title II grants, enabling construction to begin on March 3,1969. (Exponent, 10/29/1969).
Funding and Support for Cobleigh Hall
The MSU administration reported the need for an engineering building in addition to the Ryon Laboratory and Roberts Hall as early as 1951. The minutes from the local Executive Board of the Montana State College meeting held March 12, 1951 stated a specific need for an engineering laboratory, among other buildings.10
At a local executive board meeting on 11 April 1968, William A. Johnstone stated that: “The Engineering Science Building provides an example of the time required in any academic building program under present conditions.” He referred to what was known as the Durham Report of 1958 in which the building needs of MSU were documented. “For 1957-1963 the first three priorities were: Chemistry Building, Library Addition, Engineering.” In 1958, the Regents authorized funding for the library and the new chemistry building. The Engineering Science Building project lagged
through the 1961 and 1963 legislative sessions during which no action was taken on MSU’s facility expansion needs. To counteract this inattention, “A ten-year plan was presented to the Regents on May 18, 1964. The Engineering Science Building was listed (with Life Science) as the first major academic building needed at Montana State University. The
1965 Legislature authorized the building but did not fund the project.” MSU continued on with hopes for funding, by appointing Morrison-Maierle & Associates (MMA) as the architects in September 1965, with a hasty preparation of the educational program and sketch plans sufficient to apply for Title I funds. A Title I grant of $606,067 was awarded June
14, 1966 and a Title II grant (for graduate facilities) of $80,476 was awarded on April 6, 1967. The successful planning for and funding of Cobleigh Hall continued as part of Montana State University’s (MSU’s) 1966 Master Plan. The plan was generated to meet the needs of rapidly increasing enrollment and to coordinate with city and county entities to sustain the growth without negatively impacting the school’s neighbors. MSU’s vice president, William Johnstone, estimated a student population of 8,800 students by 1970. He argued for additional funding to address “…the pressing need for buildings, to be requested in 1967 to permit construction in 1968 for buildings for engineering science, life science, nursing, computer center, art-architecture and an extension of the math-physics building, approximately 300,000 square feet of space to be financed 67 per cent by the state and the balance by the federal government.”11
The project was finally made possible by the legislature’s appropriation of $1,373,457 from the “cigarette tax” bond issued on March 16, 1967. The cigarette tax had just been approved by the state’s taxpayers via referendum (#64) in 1966,
with the proceeds (from the three cents per package tax) to be used for the construction and upgrading of all Montana institutions. (As of 1968, $22 million had been issued for such work.) Unfortunately, “the rapid rise in building costs…forced reductions in the size of the building.”12
MSU presented this master plan to the Board of Regents again in September 1968, indicating that it would be funded by three revenue streams: the state cigarette tax, student building fees, and revenue funds. Federal aid would also be used for
the buildings included in MSU’s Master Plan: a classroom building, nursing, Life Science-Plant, engineering. MSU architect, Andy Teylinsen, stated that “the last major building program at the University financed by state funds was in
10 Minutes of the Regular Board Mee�ng Held on March 12, 1951. In MSU Special Collec�ons Accession 87032, Box 2, Volume 10.
11 “Master Plan for University Building Outlined Monday,” Gallatin County Tribune and Belgrade Journal, 20 January 1966, page 1 & 8.
12 All of this informa�on and the quotes for these two paragraphs come from the Local Execu�ve Board mee�ng minutes by William
A. Johnstone. 11 April 1968. In MSU Special Collec�ons Accession 87032, Box 2, Volume 10.
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1921.”13 This last state funding provided for construction of Roberts Engineering Hall, Traphagen Chemistry Building, Lewis Hall, Ryon Labs, and Romney Gym. MSU’s student population had grown considerably since then – from approximately 1,200 students to 7,200 in 1968.14
Construction of the Engineering Sciences Building was the top priority in the 1966 Master Plan and its subsequent revisions – and had been a high priority earlier, leading to approval from the 1965 legislature (yet no funding). The 1967
state legislature funded the construction in their 1967 session. As related in the student newspaper, the Exponent, “Federal grants of nearly $700,000 were obtained to supplement State funds.”15
The student newspaper The Exponent and the local newspapers had their eyes on the MSU prize, with this rarity, the state-funded building. In May 1969, the Gallatin County Tribune and Belgrade Journal headlined with the article “Engineering Building Goes Up, Up,” complete with a construction photograph (see Feature 52). With one floor constructed – and all the concrete piles, pads, and foundation complete – the work was perceived to be proceeding quickly. Construction cost was stated to be $2 million; it ultimately rose to $2.4 million, including all the equipment and furnishings. The Exponent’s 21 May 1969 issue provided essential details:
“Construction began this spring on a new chemical, civil, and electrical engineering building that is to be ready for use by the fall of 1970. The new six-story modernistic structure will be used mainly for laboratories and Roberts Hall will be kept for classroom use. According to Dr. George Herman, assistant dean of engineering, ‘The building will contain laboratories for both undergraduate and graduate students and for faculty research.’ He also
stated that, ‘The civil, chemical, and electrical engineering research and instruction will be bolstered in the new facilities.’ The new $2.1 million structure was authorized by the 1965 legislature and was funded by the 1967 session. Nearly one-third of the cost will be borne by two grants received under the Federal Higher Education
Facilities Act of 1963. Morrison, Maierle and Associates of Helena, Montana are the architects and engineers for the project. Roberts Hall and Ryon Laboratories are the present engineering buildings.”16
The Federal Higher Education Facilities Act of 1963, referenced above, passed in December 1963, and was intended: “To authorize assistance to public and other nonprofit institutions of higher education in financing the construction, rehabilitation, or improvement of needed academic and related facilities in undergraduate and graduate institutions.” The Congress responded to the perceived need: “…for this and future generations of American youth [to be] assured ample opportunity for the fullest development of their intellectual capacities, and that this opportunity will be jeopardized unless the Nation’s colleges and universities are encouraged and assisted in their efforts to accommodate rapidly growing numbers of youth who aspire to a higher education.” These needs were deemed “so great and the steps so urgent” that positive and immediate action was required. The law appropriated $230 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1964 and each of the two succeeding years. Congress would need to authorize funding in the subsequent years.17
13 Donna Brown, “MSU Plans Ahead,” Gallatin County Tribune and Belgrade Journal, 26 September 1968, page 2.
14 Robert Rydell, Jeffrey Safford, & Pierce Mullen, In The People’s Interest: A Centennial History of Montana State University (Montana
State University Founda�on, 1992), page 33 and 101.
15 Susan Davenport, “New Buildings planned at MSU,” The Exponent, 6 December 1968, page 15. The Exponent of Montana State
University, December 6, 1968, Montana State University Exponent Newspaper Collec�on, Montana State University (MSU) Library,
Bozeman, MT, htps://arc.lib.montana.edu/msu-exponent/item/2377.
16 Carol Mar�nell, “New building progressing,” The Exponent, 21 May 1969, page 1. The Exponent of Montana State University, May
21, 1969, Montana State University Exponent Newspaper Collec�on, Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT,
htps://arc.lib.montana.edu/msu-exponent/item/2452.
17 Public Law 88-204-DEC.16, 1963, htps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-77/pdf/STATUTE-77-Pg363-2.pdf, accessed 07
April 2024.
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The Architectural Design of Cobleigh Hall18
Cobleigh Hall was not the first building of the Modern era built on MSU’s Bozeman campus; it was the first funded primarily through state funding. The prior Modern era buildings - The Lewis & Clark Dormitories (1955), Brick Breeden
Field House (1958), Hapner Hall (1959), Langford Hall (1960), Reid Hall (1958-59), Gaines Hall (1961), Hedges Hall (1964-65), and Roskie Hall (1966) – were all built during the Roland Renne presidential administration. Their construction preceded Cobleigh Hall, yet funding for these earlier buildings did not rely upon the state, rather Alumni
Foundation fundraising and some research grants.19
The design of the Engineering Science Building was constrained by its location on a limited site between two existing buildings and circulation paths on either side. Thus, the building rose in height rather than girth. Design was also constrained by a tight budget. As such, the layout was concise, efficient, and stackable. The interplay of solid and void, and varied design and sculptural components expected of a building designed fully in the Brutalist style were not employed here. The original recess behind the west pilotis was a gentle nod to Modernist buildings in general and not specific to Brutalism. The concrete window hoods are of smooth concrete and not an expression of the aggregate, color, and texture typical of buildings of the Formalist style.
Like many laboratory buildings, the core contains the operations and equipment for engineering experiments. The offices,
which require natural daylight, line the perimeter walls. Much of the exterior façade design emanates from the relentless regular pattern of narrow windows at all but the first floor level (with the exception of the non-original offices inserted into the grade level recess of the west façade, in 2002). The window treatment obviously became a critical and signature
component of the façade, the singular design mechanism for adding articulation and interest, when combined with the corner insets that slightly lighten the building’s massing. The use of precast concrete hoods as sunshades at every window – all the same size – is unusual for its extreme regularity. When used as a treatment at other buildings of the time, such
shades are more sculptural and unique to a specific location on the building. I.M. Pei’s NCAR Lab in the Rockies, finished in 1967, is a prime example of a sprawling Brutalist style building with a precast concrete sunshade treatment applied as an isolated sculptural expression at what are likely five office windows (see Feature 63). A ganged shading device with fins at the University of South Florida’s science center is another way to approach this protection at windows, of which the façade holds very few (see Feature 64). Cobleigh Hall’s perimeter offices result in a more regimented and regular fenestration treatment, which is unique in its rarity.
Plenty of buildings – many federal – of the Formalist style made great use of precast concrete for regularly stacked window frames that acted as sunshades. These were typically utilized for buildings with facades comprised primarily of windows – not spaced apart such as those at Cobleigh Hall. A few exceptions to this practice stand out, for their similarity to the Cobleigh window treatment and also for their role in studying the effects of the inherent shading. The IBM Branch
Office Building in Garden City, New York was designed by Eliot Noyes & Associates and contributed to the firm’s study of the interior effect of exterior shading with precast concrete devices (see Feature 65). The 1969 Social Security Administration Building in Peru, IL is a pedestrian example of singular shading as hoods at each window (see Feature 66).
At only one story in height, the arched hoods are not repeated insistently at upper floors.
An early rendering, by CTA Architects Engineers, of the contemporary Life Sciences Building in the run for funding at the
same time as the Engineering Sciences building, is telling in terms of what the design intent was and what the reality of the building became. Originally designed with a full-height shaded enclosure around a multi-story glazed opening, the
18 An atempt to reveal the original design intent was made in an inquiry to the Helena offices of MMA, where the firm’s archives are
stored. MMA has no files remaining for Cobleigh Hall. Email from Tori J. Gleich to Lesley M. Gilmore, 1 April 2024.
19 Jessie Nunn, Montana State University Historic District (July 15, 2013), page 64.
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building would have contained an aura of light and shadow (see Feature 51). When subsequently built, as Leon Johnson Hall, this feature was not included. As with Cobleigh Hall, this might have been a matter of tight financing.
The style of Cobleigh Hall consequently is classified as being Late Modernism, the result of MMA’s functional approach to the configuration, restrained material and color selection (limited to brick, concrete, and aluminum windows), and façade composition. The unique application of the window hoods at every elevation – and their expression at both exterior
and interior – provides shadows and articulation to an otherwise severe façade. The front façade originally hovered over the recessed storefront system at the first floor behind the white pilotis. Fortunately, this expression still reads, albeit faintly, since the new brick wall is recessed behind the pilotis.
The Architects/Engineers
(The following indented biography of Morrison-Maierle and Associates has been selectively excerpted from the National
Register Nomination for the Western Life Insurance Company Helena Branch Office, designed by Morrison-Maierle and Associates in 1962.)20
Morrison-Maierle and Associates began as Morrison Engineering Company in the basement of John Morrison’s home in 1945, when he worked as chief of design in the bridge department of the Montana Highway Department.
A year later, Morrison teamed up with former co-worker and designer, Joe Maierle and renamed the company Morrison-Maierle, Inc. In 1955, the firm designed a restrained Modern-style National Guard training center on Euclid Avenue in Helena and also consulted on the expansion and remodeling of the State Capitol building.
Additionally, the firm prepared structural plans and specifications for the Anaconda Hospital addition, Men’s Dormitory at Montana State College (Montana State University, Bozeman),21 and the Western Life Insurance Company headquarters building in Helena. In 1958, Morrison-Maierle and Associates was formed to recognize its
growing staff of licensed architects, including Grant Crossman, who would go on to design major buildings and structures, such as the Libby Reservoir Bridge, Van Evans Plant, Missoula and the St. Mary’s Church, Helena.
In 1969, Grant Crossman and two partners, Wayne Whitney and Richard Griffin, split from Morrison-Maierle to form a new architectural firm named Crossman-Whitney-Griffin Architects. The firm is one of Helena’s oldest architectural firms, and still operates in the same location under the name CWG Architects.22
Today, Morrison-Maierle operates in six locations in Montana, one in each of Oregon and Washington, and four locations in Wyoming.23
Just prior to the 1969 formation of Crossman-Whitney-Griffin Architects, Griffin and Whitney were elevated to partners at
MMA. Richard J. (Dick) Griffin had been with MMA for four years. His design history was provided with the firm announcement: “Griffin’s construction includes the new Vocational-Technical High School and the Associated General Contractors building, in Helena, and an engineering science building at Montana State University at Bozeman.”24 Dick
20 Diana Painter/Chris�ne Brown, Western Life Insurance Company Helena Branch Office Na�onal Register Nomina�on Form, 15
January 2012.
21 A Morrison-Maierle design of a Men’s Dorm at MSU-Bozeman is not confirmed by the 2013 MSU Historic District Na�onal Register
Nomina�on, which includes Cobleigh Hall as the only design by the firm within the historic district (the core of the campus).
22 CWG’s website provides a history with dates that vary from the descrip�on above. The site states that the architectural arm of
Morrison-Maierle was formed in 1957 (not 1958) and that the splinter firm of Crossman-Whitney-Griffin was formed in 1966, not
1969. htps://cwg-architects.com/history/, accessed 7 April 2024.
23 htps://m-m.net/about/loca�ons/, accessed 7 April 2024.
24 “Two Named Partners At Morrison-Maierle,” The Independent-Record, 19 October 1969, page 23.
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Griffin’s obituary notes his death on 8 March 2010 at the VA Hospital at Fort Harrison, at the age of 80. He had been born in Butte on 29 September 1929. He received degrees in architecture and applied art from MSU and the University of California at Berkeley, later earning his architect’s license in both Montana and Washington. “He designed and was the
project manager for many familiar buildings in Montana, including the Helena Regional Airport Terminal.”25
The newspaper accounts indicate that Dick Griffin was the architect for Cobleigh Hall, yet he likely worked closely with
Grant Crossman on preparation and oversight of the construction documents. MMA provided both architectural and structural design for the building.
The Contractor
The Bozeman firm of Edsall Construction Company erected MSU’s new Engineering Science Building. The firm was established by Wayne A. Edsall in 1959, after having worked for Haggerty Messmer since 1955. According to his 2019 obituary, Wayne: “began by building spec homes, and by the time he retired in 1994 he had worked in all of the western United States, winning the U.S. Small Business Administration Award for Excellence in 1990, and winning awards for his work on the Waste Water Treatment Plant in Bozeman, the remodeling of the Old Faithful Lodge in Yellowstone National park, and the Laundry Facility in Zion National Park, among others. Perhaps the commendation he was most proud of was from the U.S. Department of the Interior for the reconstruction of Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site on the
border of Montana and North Dakota in 1982.”26 Local newspaper accounts indicate that Edsall Construction built the following projects on MSU’s Bozeman campus: Traphagen Hall fourth floor alterations, Cobleigh Hall (Engineering Sciences), 27 the Insectory Building,28 a greenhouse addition,29 the Health and Physical Education Building,30 the 64-unit
married student housing complex known as Julia Martin West in 1970,31 and the first phase of the Museum of the Rockies building in 1971.32 Edsall also constructed the Life of Montana building (in Bozeman) in the late 1970s.33
The Construction of Cobleigh Hall
(The fully indented paragraph below has been excerpted from the 2013 Montana Historic Property Record form for the Engineering Science Building / Cobleigh Hall)
MSU had previously selected Morrison-Maierle & Associates of Helena, Montana to design the building and Edsell [sic – Edsall] Construction Company of Bozeman received the $1,163,220.48 general contract in January. Interestingly, the contractor used CMP (Critical Path Method) of Billings, Montana to create the construction program. Utilizing emerging “computer” technologies, CMP, “fed everything into a computer before construction began, and the computer produced a program for scheduling each phase of construction.” (Exponent, 10/29/1969).
25 Dick Griffin (Richard J.) obituary in The Independent-Record, 11 March 2010, page 7.
26 Wayne A. Edsall obituary, The Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 16 February 2019, in the Edsall Family folder of the Galla�n History
Museum. Find-A-Grave, htps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/196898369/wayne-a-
edsall?_gl=1*1sh3ip8*_gcl_au*MzMyODA0Njk3LjE3MTc3MDA4NTM.*_ga*MTM2ODE3NzY1MC4xNzE3NzAwODYw*_ga_4QT8FMEX
30*MmQ2YjM5NjktZDY0OS00MmQ4LWIxNDAtYjFhM2Q5ZjkyNzcyLjQuMS4xNzE5MDkzNzI1LjU5LjAuMA..*_ga_LMK6K2LSJH*MmQ2
YjM5NjktZDY0OS00MmQ4LWIxNDAtYjFhM2Q5ZjkyNzcyLjQuMS4xNzE5MDkzNzI1LjAuMC4w
27 “Construc�on Ahead of Schedule,” Gallatin County Tribune and Belgrade Journal, 23 October 1969, page 6.
28 “Edsall Awarded Contract for Insectory Building, Gallatin County Tribune and Belgrade Journal, 4 January 1968, page 10.
29 “Contracts Awarded for Six Projects,” The Billings Gazette, 16 December 1969, page 30.
30 “Regents: Equal Pay for Equal Work,” The Independent-Record, 31 October 1981, page 3.
31 “Officials Announce Bids For MSU Housing Units,” Gallatin County Tribune and Belgrade Journal (Bozeman, Montana), 26 March
1970, page 7.
32 AnnaBelle Phillips, “Surge of Home Building Con�nues in Local Area,” Gallatin County Tribune and Belgrade Journal, 4 November
1971, page 4.
33 Office of Building Inspector, City of Bozeman, MT. Building Permit No. 4886 for 601 Haggerty Lane, 8 May 1978.
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The schedule listed the order and duration of each construction task, and even took into account holidays, weekends and breakdowns, and most impressively, labor strikes.
Morrison-Maierle & Associates (MMA) teamed with J.S. Gordon, a mechanical engineering firm from Billings, and Swanson-Rink & Associates, electrical engineers, also of Billings. The construction drawing set was dated 5 June 1968 and included architectural, structural, mechanical, and electrical drawings. The drawings were approved by GC (Grant
Crossman) and DG (Dick Griffin) and stamped by Crossman. A Project Manual with specifications for construction accompanied the drawings. The project was advertised for five separate bids – general construction, mechanical, electrical, elevators, and laboratory furniture – on 31 October 1968, for bids to be opened on 27 November 1968. The
bidders could obtain copies of the construction documents upon paying a deposit of $200 for each set.34
The successful bidders were, in respective order, Edsall Construction Company of Bozeman; Columbus Plumbing and Heating of Sheridan, WY; Bozeman Electric; EMAR – Elevator Maintenance and Repair – from Butte; and Colburn School Supply of Billings for lab equipment.35
Construction began officially in February 1969.36 Work began with preparation of the site and removal of a small Chemical Engineering Lab, a frame building appended to the northeast corner of the Ryon Laboratory Building. This, and the concrete piles and foundation were completed by early May, with the local newspaper reporting that: “Work is proceeding rapidly on the new $2 million dollar engineering building at MSU.”37 The article’s accompanying photograph is Feature 52 in this document. Edsall Construction – perhaps aided by the Critical Path Method, as well as the noted good
weather – was reported as being ahead of schedule in an October issue of the Gallatin County Tribune. The structure for all six floors and elevator penthouses was complete, and the brick veneer scheduled to be installed the next spring.38 Work was facilitated by use of an innovative 180-foot-high crane with hydraulic outriggers; it was able to lift 70-ton loads.39
The use of the Critical Path Method (CPM) was a new construction management tool developed in the early 1960s, resulting from the belief that “Traditional management methods in the practice of architecture are no longer equal to the task of supporting comprehensive environmental design…Network planning and analysis is one tool of creative management that can be used in any architectural office.” Such planning also benefited contractors. Of the three network diagrams systems in use by 1967, CPM used only one time estimate for each activity. CPM utilized “the critical path, which is defined as the shortest time in which the total project can be completed.” An arrow diagramming technique provided a quick and easily comprehensible graphic representation of the expectations and progress of the construction.40
The layout and assignment of spaces with the building remain consistent with the original intent, as stated in an Exponent article in 1969: “The first and second floor will house primarily civil engineering, the third floor: mostly chemical
engineering, the fourth floor: mainly electrical engineering with some chemical engineering, fifth floor: electrical engineering and some electronic research laboratories, sixth floor: mostly electronic research laboratories…On the top of the sixth story will be three penthouses, one on each end and one in the middle. The two penthouses on the ends are for
34 “Advertisement for Bids,” The Billings Gazette, 31 October 1968, page 41.
35 “New Engineering named for Cobleigh,” The Exponent, 29 October 1969, page 8. The Exponent of Montana State University,
October 29, 1969, Montana State University Exponent Newspaper Collec�on, Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT,
htps://arc.lib.montana.edu/msu-exponent/item/2515.
36 “New Building Nears Comple�on,” Gallatin County Tribune and Belgrade Journal, 2 July 1970, page 1.
37 “Engineering Building Goes Up, Up,” Gallatin County Tribune and Belgrade Journal, 10 May 1969, page 1.
38 “Construc�on Ahead of Schedule,” Gallatin County Tribune and Belgrade Journal, 23 October 1969, page 6.
39 New Engineering named for Cobleigh,” The Exponent, 29 October 1969, page 8.
40 Harry A. Golmon, “Network planning: management tool for architects,” Architectural Record, February 1967 page 93-94. Resource
for the full paragraph regarding CPM.
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the elevator equipment and storage, with the one in the center to house the air conditioning facilities.”41 The article shared that Edsall Construction’s foreman was Tom Harvey, a resident of Bozeman, and that the project inspector (for MSU) was Dave Burgess, also a resident of Bozeman.
As relayed in the 2013 Historic Property Record form:
The beginning of 1970, however, brought challenges. During a site visit in February, Verdon L. West, the project supervisor from Montana’s Division of Architecture & Engineering, took issue with the masonry, writing to the architects, “If the brick workmanship on the Penthouse is a sample of what the exterior brick work is going to be
on the building, corrective steps should be taken at once.” (West to Morrison-Maierle & Associates, 2/19/1970). Apparently, he was not the first to notice the poor workmanship. Writing to the general contractor after receiving West’s letter, Dick Griffin of Morrison-Maierle warned, “I have previously discussed the quality of this work with you.” (Griffin to Edsall, 2/23/1970). Funding the building’s completion also continued to be a problem. The University was still about $75,000 short of the building’s projected $2.2 million cost, forcing them to apply for a Title III grant under the Higher Education Facilities Act late at the end of March. (Title III Grant Application, 3/31/1970). Finally, the building was accepted as complete by the State of Montana on November 4, 1970, five years after its approved construction by the Montana Legislature. (Saxby to Morrison-Maierle & Associates,
11/9/1970).
The building was nearing completion in May 1970, with work proceeding on the painting, exterior brick work, and
walkways. “At one point,” according to Wayne Edsall, “there were about 17 trades working in the building.”42 The imminent move into the building would change the lives of the engineers and the abilities of the departments tremendously. More space for testing, offices (190 of them), and bigger and better equipment would expand the ability of
each department. For instance, Dean Herma, assistant dean of the College of Engineering, was pleased to report that: “A structures lab will allow for the building and testing of full-size building frames and an acoustics lab will be new for the electrical engineering department.” He also reported that the building would include no classrooms.43
On August 16, 1968, before the building construction even began, MSU’s Building Names Committee agreed upon a building name, documenting that the “New engineering science building, which will be constructed in the area between Roberts Hall and Ryon Lab, to be designated as ‘William M. Cobleigh Hall.’” The following biography of Cobleigh provided sufficient rationale for their decision:
“WILLIAM M. COBLEIGH (1872-1951) – Came to Montana State University in September 1894, the year after the college had been established, following his graduation from the College of Montana in Deer Lodge with the degree of
Engineer of Mines. He was first laboratory assistant in chemistry and physics, became Professor of Physics in 1902. Professor of Chemistry in 1907, and Professor and Head of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering in 1915. In 1929 he became Dean of Engineering and in 1942 Acting President until he retired in 1943. Mr. Cobleigh exercised a strong influence upon college policy throughout his entire period of service.”44
41 “New Engineering named for Cobleigh,” The Exponent, 29 October 1969, page 8.
42 “Building Nears Comple�on,” Gallatin County Tribune and Belgrade Journal, 14 May 1970, page 13.
43 “Cobleigh Hall opens soon,” The Exponent, 22 May 1970, page 13. The Exponent of Montana State University, May 22, 1970,
Montana State University Exponent Newspaper Collec�on, Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT,
htps://arc.lib.montana.edu/msu-exponent/item/2544.
44 The Building Names Commitee, recommenda�on to President Leon Johnson, 16 August 1968. MSU Special Collec�ons,
A.5.2.2./Boards, Building Names.
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Cobleigh Hall continues to function as it did originally, with “many sophisticated laboratories plus offices for the department of electrical, chemical, civil, mechanical, hydraulic, and electronic research.”45 As stated in 1969, the first two floors mostly housed civil engineering, the third chemical engineering, the fourth mostly electrical and some chemical
engineering, with electrical engineering on the fifth floor and electronic research labs on the sixth floor.46 This 56,000 square foot building has served the departments well and been able to accommodate the additions of the newer departments of computer and biological engineering.
5. National Register Evaluation and Assessment
HAS A FORMAL ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION BEEN PREVIOUSLY ISSUED FOR THIS SITE/PROPERTY?
No formal determination Yes, determined NOT eligible Yes, determined eligible Yes, NR listed Unknown
PROVIDE YOUR ASSESSMENT OF THE SITE’S/PROPERTY’S ELIGIBILITY FOR THE NATIONAL REGISTER
Meets criteria as an individual property Meets criteria as a contributing element to a historic district
Does not meet criteria Does not meet criteria, and is a non-contributing element to a historic district
Historic District Name:
APPLICABLE NR CRITERIA+ ARGUMENT FOR OR AGAINST EACH NR CRITERION
A – Events YES NO Historic association with the 1966 Master Plan and the 1968-1974 Building Campaign.
B – Persons YES NO No known association with significant historic engineering discoveries.
C – Characteristics YES NO Significant example of Late Modernism.
D – Information YES NO No known information associated with significance of the site itself.
COMMENTS
Cobleigh Hall does not currently contribute to the Montana State University-Bozeman Historic District due to the date of its construction. Completed in 1970, it falls just outside of the district’s period of historical significance, 1893-1968. Its contributing status should be reconsidered in any future amendments or expansions to the district.
The building, however, is a significant example of Late Modernism and is one of several designs on campus from the 1970s and 1980s to exhibit a restrained form of Brutalism. Moreover, the building is historically associated with the 1968-1974 Building Campaign, which aimed to create a permanent and walkable campus. The requirment for and design of this Engineering Science building even pre-dated the building campaign, as the need for the building was identified by the Engineering Department and MSU’s administration as early as 1951. The subsequent 1968-1974 campaign marked the
most ambitious and comprehensive period of campus development since the 1917 George Carsley / Cass Gilbert Campus plan and the six Italian Renaissance Revival building constructed between 1920 and 1926. Finally, the building represents the evolution of facilities constructed for the School of Engineering at MSU.
Thus, Cobleigh Hall is considered eligible for individual listing in the National Register of Historic Place under Criterion A, as a primary component of MSU’s industrious 1968-1974 building campaign and under Criterion C, as a noteworthy
example of Late Modernism.
45 “New Building Nears Comple�on,” Gallatin County Tribune and Belgrade Journal, 2 July 1970, page 1.
46 “New Engineering named for Cobleigh,” The Exponent, 29 October 1969, page 8.
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STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE | PO Box 201201 – Helena, MT 59620-1201 | (406) 444-7715 – mtshpo@mt.gov
Ver. 1/2023 | https://mhs.mt.gov/Shpo/docs/AERform1.pdf
INTEGRITY (LOCATION, DESIGN, SETTING, MATERIALS, WORKMANSHIP, FEELING, ASSOCIATION)
Cobleigh Hall currently retains high integrity of design, materials and workmanship. In particular, its slender windows and
precast concrete windows hoods remain intact. The most significant alteration is the 2002 infill of the recessed first-story window wall on the west façade with brick and wide, paired windows. The building also retains its historical connection to the 1922 Roberts Hall (Engineering Building). Its south elevation, however, was altered with an annex connecting it to the
1997 Engineering and Physical Science Building (EPS Building, now known as Barnard Hall).
POSSIBLE IMPACTS TO THE SITE
MSU intends to repair the precast window hoods.
6. Information Sources
LIST CITATIONS FOR INFORMATION SOURCES USED TO COMPLETE THIS FORM.
1. MSU Facilities Archives and MSU Special Collections (aerial photographs; The Montanans, The Exponents).
2. Jessie Nunn, National Register Nomination for Montana State University Historic District.
3. Jessie Nunn, Historic Property Record Form for Cobleigh Hall, 2013.
4. Robert Rydell, Jeffrey Safford, and Pierce Mullen, In the People's Interest: A Centennial History of Montana State University.
5. Montana Historical Society Research Center: MSC Bulletins.
6. Montana State University Special Collections.
7. Montana State University Facilities Records Archives. MSU Facilities files.
8. Diana Painter/Christine Brown, Western Life Insurance Company Helena Branch Office National Register Nomination Form, 15 January 2012. 9. Original construction drawings and specifications, 5 June 1968.
10. Henry F. Withey and Elsie Rathburn Withey, Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased). Los Angeles: Hennessey & Ingalls, Inc. (Detroit: Omnigraphics, 1996 reprint), page 233-235.
7. List of Photos and Maps
IMPORTANT: DO NOT insert images for photos, maps, and other figures to this document. Supporting photographs, maps, and
other figures referenced in the table below need to be formatted, saved, and submitted according to SHPO’s Guidelines and Samples
for CSR/AER Form Attachments. For more detailed mapping and photography standards, please review Montana SHPO Consultation
Guide, 2023.
FIGURE NUMBER DESCRIPTION / CAPTION PHOTOGRAPHER PHOTO DATE
Map 1 Site Overview/location map. USGS Map.
Map 2 MSU campus map.
Map 3 Site Plan of MSU campus featuring Cobleigh Engineering Hall.
Map 4 Site Plan from Construction Documents. 5 June 1968
Figure 1 First Floor Plan
Figure 2 Second Floor Plan
Figure 3 Third Floor Plan
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Figure 4 Fourth Floor Plan
Figure 5 Fifth Floor Plan
Figure 6 Sixth Floor Plan
Figure 7 Roof Plan
Figure 8 First Floor Photo Key Plan
Figure 9 Second Floor Photo Key Plan
Figure 10 Third Floor Photo Key Plan
Figure 11 Fourth Floor Photo Key Plan
Figure 12 Fifth Floor Photo Key Plan
Figure 13 Sixth Floor Photo Key Plan
Figure 14 Roof Photo Key Plan
Feature 1 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing northeast, towards west entry
façade. Link to Barnard Hall at right. Lesley M. Gilmore 16 May 2023
Feature 2 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing northeast, towards main entry
at west façade. Lesley M. Gilmore 7 July 2022
Feature 3 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing east, up towards typical precast
concrete window hood. Original aluminum sconce is at the right. Lesley M. Gilmore 7 July 2022
Feature 4 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing southeast, towards link
between Cobleigh Hall at right and Roberts Hall at left. Lesley M. Gilmore 16 May 2023
Feature 5 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing southeast, towards west entry
façade. Lesley M. Gilmore 16 May 2023
Feature 6 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing southeast, towards west entry
façade, with Roberts Hall at left. Penthouses visible at rooftop. Lesley M. Gilmore 16 May 2023
Feature 7 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing east, towards link between
Cobleigh Hall at right and Roberts Hall at left. Lesley M. Gilmore 16 May 2023
Feature 8 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing west, towards link between
Roberts Hall at right and Cobleigh Hall at left. Lesley M. Gilmore 16 May 2023
Feature 9 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing northwest, towards inside
corner between Roberts Hall at right and Cobleigh Hall at left. Lesley M. Gilmore 7 July 2022
Feature 10 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing west, towards east elevation. Lesley M. Gilmore 16 May 2023
Feature 11 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing northwest, towards east
elevation at right and south elevation at left. Lesley M. Gilmore 7 July 2022
Feature 12 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing west, towards link between
Cobleigh Hall at right and Barnard Hall at left. Lesley M. Gilmore 7 July 2022
Feature 13 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing northwest, towards south
elevation, showing penthouses visible at rooftop. Lesley M. Gilmore 16 May 2023
Feature 14 Cobleigh Engineering Hall First Floor Corridor #129, facing south.
Cove lighting at left is not original and offices at right were part
of 2001 infill construction.
Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 15 Cobleigh Engineering Hall First floor, from Hall #124, towards
ramp up to Barnard Hall. Facing southwest. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 16 Cobleigh Engineering Hall First floor Corridor #126, facing north. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
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Feature 17 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Typical restroom entry, First
floor Restroom #123. Facing south. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 18 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing First floor lab, Laboratory #103
for Hydraulics & Fluid Mechanics. Facing north. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 19 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing First floor lab, #103 for
Hydraulics & Fluid Mechanics. Facing south. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 20 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing First floor, typical office
(#104A).
Facing south.
Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 21 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Second floor, typical hallway
(#243). Facing east. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 22 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Second floor, typical conference
Room (#201 – Dodge). Facing south. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 23 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Second floor, typical laboratory
(#202 – Geotechnical). Facing south. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 24 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Second floor, computer lab
(#210 – Tait). Facing south. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 25 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Second floor office, #215, with
original window treatment. Facing southwest. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 26 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Second floor office, #215, with
original window treatment. Facing southwest. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 27 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Typical stairway (#245). Facing
northeast. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 28 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Third floor, typical hallway with
sloped link down to Roberts Hall. Facing north. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 29 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Third floor, typical hallway.
Facing east. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 30 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Fourth floor Corridor #442.
Facing south. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 31 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Fourth floor Room #420. Facing
northeast, from entry at Room #420, towards east portion of
room (#414).
Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 32 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Fourth floor Men’s Room #440.
Facing northeast. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 33 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Fourth Floor Women’s Room.
Facing southwest, from entry. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 34 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Typical Fifth floor laboratory.
Facing south, within Room #501. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 35 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Fifth floor Clean Room (Room
#523A), placed in 2005. Facing southeast. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 36 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Fifth Floor Student Design Lab
Room #521. Facing southeast, towards original Pyrex glass
piping for acid waste (left riser) and acid vent (right riser).
Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 37 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Typical Sixth Floor Computer
Lab, Room #625. Facing northeast from entry,
Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
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Feature 38 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Sixth Floor LOGIC and
Electronics Lab (Room #620). Facing east, from west end of
room.
Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 39 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Sixth Floor, typical office (Room
#613), showing interior precast concrete window surround.
Facing east.
Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 40 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Sixth Floor Electrical &
Computer Engineering Offices (Room #610). Facing northeast,
from entry in Room #613.
Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 41 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Sixth Floor, typical hallway.
Facing south, towards end of corridor. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 42 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Sixth Floor, Break Room (Room
#611). Facing northwest, from southeast corner. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 43 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Sixth Floor Conference Room
(Room #608). Facing northwest, from southeast corner of room. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 44 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Rooftop.
Facing east, towards mechanical penthouse. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 45 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Rooftop. Facing northeast,
towards north elevator penthouse. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 46 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Rooftop. Facing northeast,
towards all three penthouses. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 47 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Rooftop. Facing north, towards
the Bridger Mountains and two penthouses to the right. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 48 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Rooftop.
Facing northwest, towards mechanical penthouse. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 49 Cobleigh Engineering Hall facing Rooftop.
Facing northeast and down, towards roof of link to Roberts Hall. Lesley M. Gilmore 23 June 2022
Feature 50 Rendering of the Engineering Sciences Building, by Morrison
Maierle. The Exponent, 6 December 1968.
Facing southeast, towards west elevation.
6 December
1968
Feature 51 Rendering of the Life Science Building (which will be named Leon
Johnson Hall), by CTA. The Exponent, 6 December 1968.
Facing northeast, towards the south elevation. Montana Hall at
right.
6 December
1968
Feature 52 Construction photograph by C.D. Avery, The Gallatin County
Tribune and Belgrade Journal, 10 May 1969, page 1.
Facing southeast, towards South Sixth Avenue.
10 May 1969
Feature 53 Construction photograph by C.D. Avery, The Gallatin County
Tribune and Belgrade Journal, 23 October 1969, page 6.
Facing northeast, towards west (at left) and south (at right)
elevations.
23 Oct. 1969
Feature 54 Construction photograph by Connie Dial. The Exponent, 29
October 1969, page 8.
Facing southeast, towards west elevation.
23 Oct. 1969
Feature 55 Construction photograph by Kathy Johnson. The Exponent, 29
October 1969, page 8. Facing southwest, towards east elevation.
The clay tile of Roberts Hall roof is visible at right.
23 Oct. 1969
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Feature 56 Description: Construction photograph in the 1970 Montanan,
page 272. https://arc.lib.montana.edu/msu-yearbooks/item/70,
Montanan Yearbooks Collection, Montana State University
(MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT
16 May 2023
Feature 57 Current photograph of the precast concrete window hoods, for
comparison with those shown during construction, in Feature
56. Facing west and up at the east elevation.
Lesley M. Gilmore 1 April 2024
Feature 58 Construction photograph depicting the brick veneer being
installed, from the base to the top of the building. The Exponent,
22 May 1970, page 13.
22 May 1970
Feature 59 Completion photograph of Cobleigh Engineering Building. 1970.
MSU Special Collections archival photograph parc #000599.
Facing southeast, towards the west entry façade.
1970
Feature 60 Completion photograph of Cobleigh Engineering Building. 1970.
MSU Special Collections – Montana Collegian, Volume 45-46,
1970. Facing northeast, towards the west entry façade.
1970
Feature 61 Cobleigh Engineering Hall Civil Engineering Office, with colorful
letters designated the department, seen from Corridor #234.
1970. MSU Special Collections – Montana Collegian, Volume 45-
46, 1970. Facing northeast.
1970
Feature 62 Cobleigh Engineering Hall lab. MSU Special Collections –
Montana Collegian, Volume 45-46, 1970. 1970
Feature 63 National Center for Atmospheric Research in the Rockies, 1967,
by I.M. Pei. Peter Blake, “Towers in the Sky,” Architectural
Record, October 1967, page 38.
October 1967
Feature 64 Science Center at the University of South Florida, Tampa,
designed by H. Dean Rowe. Architectural Record, January 1967,
page 41.
January 1967
Feature 65 IBM Branch Office Building in Garden City, NY, designed by Eliot
Noyes & Associates. Fenestration Study, Architectural Record,
April 1967, page 175.
April 1967
Feature 66 Social Security Administration Building in Peru, IL, designed by
Omara & Chamlin in 1969. Growth, Efficiency, and Modernism:
GSA Buildings of the 1950s, 60s, 70s (GSA, Reprinted December
2005), page 64.
1969
(tab from last cell to add rows to photos and maps table)
^ See Checklist 2: Submitting Site Records and Requesting Smithsonian Numbers (Appendix D.2) and Documenting Sites (section
2.3) of the Montana SHPO Consultation Guide, 2023.
Online: https://mhs.mt.gov/Shpo/Archaeology/ConsultingWith
* See Site/Property Types, Time Periods, and Diagnostic Types for Cultural and Architectural-Engineering Records.
Online: https://mhs.mt.gov/Shpo/docs/CSR_AER_Codes.pdf
+ See How to Apply National Register Criteria for Evaluation. National Park Service, National Register Bulletin. 1997.
Online: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/NRB-15_web508.pdf