The Independent Telephone Company building is a rectangular, two-story
brick building with three front bays, glazed brick and terra cotta
front façade, flat roof with centered terra cotta gabled pediment and
band, glazed brick pilasters with Corinthian style terra cotta
capitals, double-hung second story windows and fixed street level wood
frame windows, centered arched doorway with terra cotta hood, and
concrete foundation. The building is located in the central business
district in a half block that has lost much of its historic--fabric.
The upper level terra cotta pediment is molded with dentilation in
tympanum. The ornamental medallion at center of tympanum reads
"Independent Local and Long Distance Telephone." Band beneath the
lower cornice reads "Independent Telephone" in letters that are inset
in the terra cotta. Ornamental terra cotta panels with a garland design are located between the first and second floors. A flat terra cotta hood is located above the arched doorway, which is framed by ornamental tile. The doorway has a large glass fan lite above and is flanked by sidelight panels. Fixed canvas awnings are located above the centered front doorway and all façade windows. First floor window sills are terra cotta. The foundation is concrete with a front granite facing.
The east side of the building is stretcher bond red brick with modern
metal frame windows and maroon-colored canvas awnings. The windows have sandstone sills. The rear of the building is stretcher bond red brick with two large, metal frame, single-pane replacement windows on the first and second floors, each one with sandstone sills running the
length of the windows and suggesting that old windows were approximately equal in size. A wood frame fire escape has been
constructed at the rear of the building.
The Independent Telephone Company was the second of two early phone
companies to operate in Missoula. The Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone
Company operated the first, small phone exchange in 1884 (which had
only 22 phones) and the first permanent exchange in 1891. The
Independent Telephone Company opened its office in 1911, when the Rocky Mountain Bell system had 1814 phones. The new company was in business for only a few years before ceasing operations. The building was constructed during Missoula's second major post-railroad economic and building boom.
This building was constructed in 1911 as the Independent Telephone
Company Building, when the building was owned by the Intermountain
Construction Company. It probably was designed by George Shanley
because there is a building just like it in Great Falls, Montana that
was designed by Shanley. The chain of title runs from Henry C. Stiff
(1910), Intermountain Construction Company (1910), Montana Independent
Telephone Company (1912), Western Montana Building and Loan Association (1916), and the Missoula Chamber of Commerce (1932).
Occupants included the Montana Independent Telephone Company (1913, 1915), Missoula Chamber of Commerce (1917-1940), State Department of Agriculture, Division of Horticulture (1922,1925, 1929, 1932), the American Automobile Association (1929-1940), and the Western Montana Fish and Game Association (1929-1940).
(The building) was constructed during Missoula's early twentieth century building boom and is the best remaining representative example of the early communications industry in Missoula. It is also one of the best examples of commercial Neoclassical architecture in Missoula with its pedimented cornice, Corinthian capitals, and glazed brick pilasters. Like the Elks Lodge and the Masonic Lodge, it makes excellent use of terra cotta in its cornice, frieze and medallions and is only one of two downtown commercial buildings to use white enameled brick for an exterior wall. The building displays an excellent selection of materials and craftsmanship and clearly conveys the sense of commercial optimism that characterized the period in which it was constructed.
From the Nomination Form