Built in 1892 by prominent local politician Lee Mantle, the Mantle Block was erected the same year he was elected mayor of Butte. We don't know that his election and the construction of the Mantle Block have any real connection whatsoever, only that they happened to occur in the same year. Mantle, born December 13, 1851 in Birmingham, England, immigrated to the U.S. about 1864 with his mother and siblings, settling in Utah. In 1877 he landed in Butte, first working as an agent for the Wells-Fargo Express Company. A Republican, he established the Inter Mountain newspaper in 1881, first entering politics by becoming an alderman. Elected to the Territorial house of representatives in 1882, 1884, and 1888, he served as speaker in 1888.
On March 4, 1893 Mantle was appointed to the U.S. Senate, but not seated. He was then elected and served in the Senate from January 16, 1895 to March 3, 1899. As part-time editor Mantle continued to manage the Inter Mountain until 1901 and, like almost every entrepreneur in Butte at the time, also dabbled in real estate and mining. In 1921, he left Butte for the warmer clime of Los Angeles, California, dying there in 1934. His remains were returned to Butte, where he was interred in Mount Moriah Cemetery. A large memorial to Lee Mantle can be found at the cemetery.
Designed by H. M. Patterson, Butte's most prominent nineteenth-century architect, the Mantle Block is typical of his predilection for late nineteenth century revival styles. Somewhat Victorian and even a bit Gothic Revival (see the Gothic arched window frames right in the centre of the façade), it is one of a small handful of surviving Butte buildings with a corner turret, this one encompassing the upper three floors.
For many years, beginning in 1916, this was the home of the Liberty Theatre, one of the many movie houses in Butte. Today it, and the adjoining Christie Block, built in 1932, house the
Piccadilly Transportation Memorabilia Museum.
MANTLE BLOCK
Prominent politician Lee Mantle had this impressive four-story masonry building constructed during 1892, the year he was elected mayor of Butte. Architect H. M. Patterson designed the commercial-residential structure, which incorporates a wealth of decorative architectural forms popular at the time. The curved corner turret and the mixing of stone and brick on the façade reflect Patterson’s distinctive eclectic style. Griffins and scrolls on the capitals between the third and fourth floors enhance the lively treatment of the façade. Remodeling in 1916 to accommodate the building’s long-time occupant, the Liberty Theater, somewhat altered the original storefronts, but fragments of decorative plaster within recall this former use.
From the NRHP plaque at the building