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 1891 - IOGT Building - Butte, MT Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 46° 00.822 W 112° 32.225
12T E 381009 N 5096718
Built as a temperance hall, it has been quite a while since it has seen any temperance activity, though how long we have no idea.
Waymark Code: WMWFVF
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 08/29/2017
Views: 0
Butte's most prominent nineteenth-century architect, H. M. Patterson was the one responsible for the design of the Independent Order of Good Templars (IOGT) lodge, a late-Victorian building erected in 1891.
A temperance organization dedicated to ridding the world of "Demon Rum" and, of course, all alcoholic beverages, we would guess that they fought an uphill battle in Butte, as a great percentage of the population at that time consisted of single young Irish and Cornish miners, legendary for their affinity for grog.
While today the IOGT is an international organization, with lodges in many countries, the IOGT of Butte is long gone, the building housing a succession of retail outlets. Some, or many, of the businesses listed below may have inhabited the lower floor while the IOGT remained on the upper floor. As of 2017 the most recent business to occupy the building, Broadway Antiques, has closed its doors and the building is for sale.
Originally built by architect H.A. Patterson in 1891 to house the International Order of Good Templars, a fraternal organization, the building held a number of businesses over the years. In the early 1900s, a furniture store owned by George Oechsli was located there, and later George Steele’s store occupied the building for many years. Jim and Nan Troglia operated the Bronx there from the mid-1970s until the 1990s. Creighton and Nancy Barry then purchased the building and operated a restaurant named Creighton’s for several years.
Although a few developers expressed interest in the building, it remained unoccupied until the owner approached the Sargents [owners of Broadway Antiques, closed as of 2017], who decided to purchase it in 2011 with plans to relocate their business.
First, though, the building needed extensive renovation. When the Sargents bought the building in May, they hoped to move their store by that autumn. Instead, they were finally completely moved out of their old location by autumn 2012.
From Butte News
INTERNATIONAL ORDER OF GOOD TEMPLARS
Both men and women were admitted to this temperance organization, whose Montana Grand Lodge was organized in 1868. Butte Lodge #14 commissioned architect H. M. Patterson to design this appealing three-story building, completed in 1891, which served as the group’s meeting hall. While Patterson demonstrated exceptional talent in local residential design, his commercial and public commissions were the key to his considerable reputation. This was his first major commercial project. The upper floors reveal Patterson’s creative flair: graceful semi-circular arches, recessed windows with rough-faced stone sills, and fine decorative brickwork. The building’s present use as a bar defies the Templar ethic to “…never cease until the last vestige of that fearful vice … is driven from our land.”
From the NRHP plaque at the building
Year of construction: 1891
Cross-listed waymark: [Web Link]
Full inscription:
IOGT 1891
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