Old Main
Old Main (Home Building, Headquarters Building). Built in 1896, Old Main is the original building on the site. It is a two-story brick building with a T-shaped plan. The main section is 76x34', and it has a 50x34' rear extension. A one-story flat-roofed brick annex (35x132') built in 1956 flanks the building on the south and runs parallel to it. Old Main was designed by C. S. Haire, a Helena architect who designed many of the state's prominent public buildings (he was chosen over six other architects who submitted plans for the job). The building was constructed by prominent Montana builder and politician, Fred Whiteside, at a cost of $10,350, and the superintendent of construction was R. F. Tate of Kalispell.
The three-story central porch exhibits Queen Anne-style features, while the general massing, balanced symmetry and central cupola suggest a Federal-style influence. The building was designed to house 50 men. Because of the limitation of funds, a local newspaper reported in 1896 that "Less thought had to be given to the beauty of the structure than would otherwise have been done."
Old Main has a T-shaped hipped roof. Its front facade is composed of two hip-roofed wings perpendicular to and leading away from the top of the T. The wings are joined by a first-story porch and a second-story balcony. The balcony is covered by a gable-ended wing which also is perpendicular to and leading away from the top of the T. A large semicircular opening in the gable end encloses a second balcony. Both balconies are balustraded and supported by four columns rising from the porch. A flagpole rises from the peak of the gable-ended roof above the second balcony. The porch was originally painted white and buff, and the roof was stained black. The first-floor porch is now glazed in. At the intersection of the main roof lines is a large, octagonal, tent-roofed cupola. The cupola is windowed and provides a panorama of the surrounding countryside.
Three of the building's four tall brick chimneys have been removed. The roof eaves are bracketed, and two brick string courses circle the building between the first and second levels. The building has a random rubble native rock foundation and a lattice screen below the porch. The building's first-floor walls are 16" thick, and the second floor walls are 12" thick.
A description of Old Main in November of 1896, before it was occupied, is as follows:
The main entrance to the Home building is on the east. A short flight of steps leads up to a wide portico from which double doors open into a large hall. On the left, facing the rolling Flathead, are the reading room and parlor. On the right, in the same wing, are the hospital and drug rooms. The large room facing the river in the stem of the T...is the dining room. Off from this pleasant apartment are the kitchen, butler's pantry and a lavatory.
On the second floor are the apartments of the commandant and other sleeping rooms with another large lavatory. The third floor, which is still in an unfinished state, contains a large receiving tank. This
primitive system of water works will obtain for the present but later a more elaborate apparatus, with constant pressure, will be put in.
The building is wired for electric lights and furnished with all the requisites for heating with hot air or water. The large rooms on the north side of the structure are made additionally cozy by commodious
fireplaces.
Native wood, principally larch, has been used almost entirely in finishing the interior. The deep set windows, with their wide ledges, constitute an attractive feature, making most desirable corners for tete-a-tetes or talks over old times.
The Women's Relief Corps of Butte, Helena, and Deer Lodge (and possibly of Columbia Falls) each furnished a room at the new Home. The building originally had plumbing for five water closets, three bath tubs, 11 wash bowls, and flues for stoves in all rooms except "the middle bed room." A 1500-gallon water tank was located in the attic. In 1897 part of the basement under the kitchen was converted to a laundry.
In addition to the 1956 annex, another alteration of the original design of the building was the enclosure of the front porch (date unknown). Although it covers an attractive arched doorway, the enclosure does not dramatically change the appearance of the building, and an open porch could readily be restored. The impact of the 1956 annex is diminished by its low profile (10') and its location on the least visible side of Old Main.
From the NRHP Registration Form