Bozeman's historic Federal Building officially became a bookcrossing zone on November 18, 2003 with the release of
Reader's Digest Condensed Books - Volume 2 1997 into the wild. The volume contains four books - The Third Twin by Ken Follett, To the Hilt by Dick Francis, Small Town Girl by LaVyrle Spencer and The Burning Man by Phillip Margolin. What became of the book we have no idea.
Opened in April 1916, the Bozeman Federal Building served as the community's post office until the mid-1960s, when it was replaced by a new federal building across Babcock Street. It then was occupied by Army Reservists for a while, after which it sat empty for several years. Later, the Human Resource Development Council, (HRDC) and a pastor simultaneously envisioned new uses for the building; the HRDC as their headquarters and the pastor as a soup kitchen and homeless shelter. After a bit of a tussle, the HRDC won out and remains in the building today. When the movie "A River Runs Through It" was shot in Montana, the building served as backdrop for certain scenes.
The building was restored by the HRDC in 1999, to the tune of $1 million plus and is in excellent condition today. They even staged an
open house to mark the building's centennial.
FEDERAL BUILDING AND POST OFFICE
Cattle baron, banker, and entrepreneur Nelson Story purchased this site in 1870 for $154. In June 1911 the United States Secretary of the Treasury took the land from Nelson Story Jr. and his family citing that public use required taking and holding the property. The stores received $7,500 in compensation and the right to move their dwelling off the site. In 1912, the U.S. government began construction of Bozeman’s first federal building. Completed in 1915, the Neoclassical style facility served as the post office until 1964. In 1999, the Human Resource Development Council renovated the building as a Community Services Center. Interior work restored the walk-in vaults, the postmaster’s hidden catwalks for monitoring postal workers, and a grand oak stairway. Original exterior features include the sandstone parapet cap and cornice molding, decorative columns beneath the two monumental arched windows, and cast-iron light posts flanking the entry. This solid, impressive structure has long been a focal point of Bozeman’s historical streetscape and recently served as a backdrop in the movie, "A River Runs Through It".
From the plaque at the building