Federal Building
Missoula began as a small village in the 1860s, but grew quickly when it became a hub of the Northern Pacific Railroad in the 1880s. By the start of the 20th century, it was an important regional trading center for western Montana, northern Idaho, and eastern Washington.
Because of the growing population and the subsequent need for services, Missoula was selected as the location for a federal building. In 1907, the government purchased four lots along Cedar Street, which was later renamed Broadway Street, for $19,850. The Supervising Architect of the Treasury, James Knox Taylor, designed the new building, and construction commenced in January 1911. The building opened in 1913, and the original tenants were the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Forest Service. The Daily Missoulan called the building "a handsome structure, an ornament to the city."
As Missoula continued to grow, additional space for federal functions was needed. In 1927, James A. Wetmore, acting supervising architect of the U.S. Treasury Department, designed an extension and an annex to the original building to house judicial functions. Construction was completed in 1929, and the building hosted its first session of U.S. District Court on December 5, 1929. Despite the increase in space, the building required another enlargement in the 1930s. Designed by Louis A. Simon of the U.S. Treasury Department, the second annex was dedicated on October 13, 1937.
The building, which has served as the headquarters for the Northern Region of the U.S. Forest Service since 1914, was the location of the investigation into the tragic 1949 fire at Mann Gulch in the Helena National Forest. Thirteen firefighters, who were members of an elite U.S. Forest Service team known as the smokejumpers, died when the blaze blocked their escape route. The 1952 film Red Skies of Montana was based on the Mann Gulch fire, and one of the scenes features the Federal Building, U.S. Post Office and Courthouse.
The majority of postal functions moved out of the building in 1974, but a small post office remains. Numerous federal agencies occupy the building today. The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
From the G.S.A.