1927 - Beall Park Community Center - Bozeman, MT
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member T0SHEA
N 45° 41.006 W 111° 02.067
12T E 497317 N 5058876
A beautiful Craftsman style fieldstone building, this community centre, built in 1927, continues in use in its intended role to this day. It was the design of lesser known local architect, W. R. Plew, and was gifted to the city by Ella Clark Martin.
Waymark Code: WMW54X
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 07/10/2017
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member bluesnote
Views: 1
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Beall Park Community CenterThe Beall Park Community Center, the focal point of Beall Park, is an excellent example of the Craftsman style, and is the most significant of the few examples of the work of local architect W.R. Plew. Plew was a civil engineer who initiated course in architecture at Montana State College, which led to the establishmneet of a Department and later a School of Architecture. It is likely that Plew received this architectural license under the "grandfather" clause. He was one of the few architects working in early 20th Century Bozeman aside from Fred F. Willson. Willson had a virtual monopoly in his field during his career, which lasted from 1910 to 1956. Ironically, the three known examples of Plew's work in Bozeman: this building, and two residences, 1004 S. Willson and 120 W. Cleveland, located within the Bon Ton Historic District, display considerably more originality than Willson's work.

The building was donated to the city by Mrs. Ella T. Martin as a community recreation center. Her husband, E. Broox Martin, became a prominent Bozeman entrepreneur shortly after the turn of the century, and built some of the Main Street blocks still in existence including the Lovelace Building at 14 W. Main, located within the Main Street Historic District.

The Bozeman nursery school had been housed in the building from the 1950's until 1983, when it folded. In that year, the Community Art Center won use of the building, chosen from four competing projects.

Although the interior of the building has unfortunately been completely remodeled, the cobblestone and fieldstone exterior remains in original condition.
From the NRHP Architectural Inventory

BEALL PARK COMMUNITY CENTER

The Beall Park Community Center owes its existence to Ella Clark Martin, who arrived in Gallatin County in 1889. While her husband Broox helped establish the Bozeman Milling Company and became president of the Commercial National Bank, Ella raised two sons on a ranch west of Bozeman. After the couple moved into town in 1910, Ella became known as an automobile enthusiast. Stories describe her sneaking up behind parked wagons in her nearly silent electric car before laying on the horn, scaring horses and nearby pedestrians. Staunch Republicans and temperance advocates, the Martins were also devoted philanthropists. Ella, who outlived both Broox and their two sons, continued the family tradition of community giving. In 1922, she financed an outdoor skating rink at Beall Park. In 1926, she hired W. R. Plew, Bozeman professor of architectural and civil engineering, to design this recreation center. With its low pitched roof, exposed rafter tails, triangular knee braces under wide eaves, clipped gable ends, and fieldstone construction, the building exemplifies the Craftsman style. It was an inspired design choice for a park building; advocates of the style believed Craftsman designs would foster an appreciation of nature as a source of spiritual and physical reinvigoration. On its completion, Ella donated the building to the city for use as "a community center where young and old ... may gather ... and indulge in wholesome recreation." The building housed the Bozeman Nursery School (c. 1955 to 1983) and the Beall Park Art Center (1983-2007). In 2007, the city restored the structure for Recreation Department offices.
From the plaque at the building

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Year of construction: 1927

Cross-listed waymark: [Web Link]

Full inscription:
Recreation Center 1927
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