Built in 1890, just six years after the construction of Butte's first city hall, this building is an indicator of how fast Butte was growing at that time. Much larger and much more extravagant than the
previous city hall, it is also an indicator of the great wealth pouring into the city in that era. Probably ten times the size of the first city hall, this three story Richardsonian Romanesque structure contained the police department, jail and fire department, as did the earlier city hall. At one front corner of the brick and stone building is a tall, five story clock tower.
Though several other sources have indicated that the first fire station occupied space on the ground floor of the 1884 fire hall, the quote below, though it mentions 1883, gives the address as that of the second city hall. In any event, it seems that the fire department did not long remain in city hall, but was moved to the Quartz Street station shortly after completion of this, the second city hall.
That said, a companion article to the one quoted below, also by the
Butte Fire Department, states that in 1895, at the time of Butte's worst fire related disaster, the station was still in city hall, at the time known as
Central Fire Station. We assume that they are referring to two separate fire halls below, an unnamed one, "
in back of the Kinsbury Block on Main Street", and Quartz Street Station, built in 1900, replacing this one in city hall.
1883: Central Fire Station
The first fire station was located on the first floor of city Hall at 24 E. Broadway St. The Demand for more room and office space left the alternative of providing accommodations elsewhere. Thus, the big Quartz Street Station became Headquarters instead of a secondary station. In 1889, the Fire Department purchased a lot and began building a Hose House 20’ x 50’ in size. It was located in back of the Kinsbury Block on Main Street. It had all the modern improvements and room for 10 men who would be stationed there around the clock. It was later replaced by the Quartz Street Station.
1900: Quartz Street Station
Quartz Street Station, known as “Number One”, served as Headquarters for the Fire Chief and 14 men. It was a 4 bay station and besides its extensive equipment, it was said to have a vast Library of fire literature. It served as Headquarters until 1976. Present day, it houses the Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives and is said to be haunted by Louisa Sanger, widow of Chief Peter Sanger.
From the Butte Fire Department
With a much longer tenure than its predecessor, this city hall remained in use as a city hall until 1977, at which time city and county governments were amalgamated, with all departments thereafter housed in the Silver Bow County Courthouse.
Today a city of about 35,000, Butte's population peaked at around 60,000 in the 1920s. Butte had grown so quickly in its formative years that, by 1920, the city was essentially complete, with little new construction taking place for many years. As a result, the city has retained a vast number of historic structures. In fact, the Butte Anaconda Historic District, which also takes in the smaller (population ˜ 9,000) city of Anaconda, contains about 6,000 contributing structures. This makes it the largest Historic District in the nation, in terms of the number of contributing buildings, structures and objects within.
Italics above are taken from the
Butte Anaconda Historic District Registration Form
CITY HALL
Butte had over eighty working mines and a teeming population by 1890. The resulting flurry of industrial and commercial activity initiated a building boom, prompting Mayor Henry Mueller to oversee the construction of this handsome three-story Richardsonian Romanesque-inspired municipal building in 1891. The tall, narrow edifice of brick and stone features a clock tower, arched entrance, and arched windows with stained glass transoms. Butte’s last standing example of nineteenth-century civic architecture, this noble hall served as the seat of city government from 1891 until consolidation of city-county governments in 1977.
From the NRHP plaque at the building