This location was originally established in 1871 with the purchase of 160 acres parcel north of the city of Helena which was operated as a Poor Farm, in which destitute infirm and elderly citizens were housed. The farm grew and raised much of its own food, with residents supplying much of the labor. A hospital, designed by local architect M. Bakker, was constructed on the property in 1895. In 1899 it was expanded, the expansion designed by premiere Montana architect C.S. Haire. In 1901 a small detention hospital was added to the property, also designed by C.S. Haire. The oldest building within the complex is the superintendent's residence, which was built in 1891.
Smaller ancillary buildings were damaged and the hospital destroyed in the 1935 earthquake, leading to the construction of the present Art Deco hospital building, completed in 1939. 1n 1984
it became vacant and derelict until its purchase by
David and Freide Ameson in 1999. The site was restored, the main hospital building now serving as offices for
Mountain-Pacific Quality Health, a nonprofit healthcare organization.
While the building has been both restored and renovated, the exterior retains essentially all of its Art Deco detailing. Inside, much of the woodwork and other architectural details remain, including chair rails. The architects for this building were J. G. Link & Company, successor of
Link & Haire, the architectural firm formed by the partnership of John Gustave Link and Charles S. Haire.
Lewis and Clark County Hospital
Construction began in 1937 in the same location as the 1885 hospital. This time it was constructed of concrete, for its earthquake resistant qualities. The sleek building was completed in 1939, and contained a surgery room, maternity room, and a north wing to replace the Pest House. The late Deco/early Moderne design building cost $140,000 to build.
The main hospital building on the property is an excellent example of late Deco, early Moderne style. Elements of the Moderne style include massive, blocky buildings with minimal decoration, including buttresses, rounded corners, strong horizontal massing, multiple horizontal banding in rows or lines. Characteristics of Art Deco included vertical elements of geometric ornamentation, tall and narrow casement windows, strong vertical stone buttresses projecting upward, and gabled and/or set back walls. The Lewis and Clark County Hospital displays more of a Moderne design - concrete construction with its horizontal massing emphasized by decorative bands, yet it contains elements of the earlier Art Deco design in its detailing - a recessed central bay, vertical emphasis at the entry, and reverse step panels and terra cotta tiles under the windows.
From the NRHP Registration Form