One of the, if not THE, newest historic districts in the state, the Montana State Capitol Campus Historic District was entered in the register on February 23, 2016. Its 60 acre campus encompasses 15 contributing buildings, 3 of which are individually listed, 3 contributing sites and 9 contributing objects.
The centerpiece of the campus, naturally enough, is the capitol building, the cornerstone for which was laid in 1899, dedication taking place in 1902 and complementary wings added in 1909. In 1910 the small Capitol Annex was built, initially serving as the legislative restaurant. Other buildings were added to the campus to house the offices of various government departments, all of which were housed in the capitol building until construction of the first auxiliary building, the Livestock Building, in 1918 and the Board of Health Building in 1919-1920. Following these were the Montana Highway Department Building in 1936, the Veterans & Pioneers Memorial Building in 1950-1952 and the State Laboratory Building in 1954-1955. Many more were added, the most recent contributing building being the Justice Building & Montana State Library, built in 1980-1982. Since that time, only one building, the non-contributing Department of Natural Resources & Conservation Building, built in 1983-1985, has added to the campus streetscape.
Contributing objects include several memorials, living trees and the statue atop the capitol dome, named
Montana.
Before the district became a historic district many people worked behind the scenes to promote its registration and just do the mountain of paperwork necessary to shepherd a historic district to the National Register. Following is a story from the Helena Independent Record which provides some detail on the district, published just a few months prior to the district's registration.
State Capitol complex takes major step towards
national historic recognition
MARGA LINCOLN Independent Record | Sep 19, 2015
The Montana State Capitol Campus Historic District is one step closer to gaining national recognition by the National Register for Historic Places.
Following a vote by the Montana Preservation Review Board Saturday, the application for recognition will be forwarded to the National Park Service, which determines whether to list it on the Historic Register.
While some of the district’s buildings, such as the Capitol and the Montana Historical Society’s building (the Montana Veterans and Pioneers Memorial Building), already earned National Register recognition, others haven’t.
The district would encompass several blocks around the Capitol building -- approximately bordered by East Broadway Street, North Montana Avenue, Eighth Avenue and North Carson Street, with a historical focus of 1895 to 1982.
Many of the buildings tell the story of Montana’s history -- from the Capitol’s construction, through both World Wars, the Great Depression and New Deal, the ratifying of a new Montana Constitution and a significant government reorganization of state government in the 1970s.
In 1895 the state purchased the land to build the Capitol, and 1982 marked the completion of the final building listed in a 1972 long-range Capitol Campus master plan.
“Since the beginning of the turn of the century, it’s significant for the ongoing progression of government,” said Kate Hampton, of the Montana Historic Preservation Office.
Jessie Nunn, a cultural resources specialist from Livingston who wrote the district application, said its primary focus is how the buildings reflect dramatic changes in government and different architectural styles.
The proposed district also includes some notable architectural gems, such as the Neoclassical Revival Style State Capitol building, dedicated in 1902, and the 1918 Livestock Building, blending Neoclassical Revival and Italian Renaissance Revival styles...
Read on at the Helena Independent Record