Sam W. Mitchell Building - Montana State Capitol Campus Historic District - Helena, MT - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

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Sam W. Mitchell Building - Montana State Capitol Campus Historic District - Helena, MT

in NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings

Posted by:  T0SHEA

12T E 422120 N 5159606

The State Office Building (Sam W. Mitchell Building) was one of three large office buildings to be constructed in the campus complex in the 1950s as government departments grew in size and grew in number.

Over the years the building housed offices for a number of departments, including the Montana Teachers’ Retirement System, Fish & Game, now in its own building, and the Unemployment Compensation Commission, from its creation in 1957 to July of 1961, when it moved into its own building. Other state agencies quickly filled the vacated space, including the Department of Public Instruction and the Fish & Game Department. Today the Mitchell Building houses the Department of Administration and the Department of Revenue.

Sam W. Mitchell Building

State Office Building / Sam W. Mitchell Building (24LC2393), 1948-1950; Addition, 1975-1977 (Contributing Building)
The Mitchell Building (originally the State Office Building) was designed in the Stripped Classical style by Helena, Montana architect, Vincent H. Walsh. It is a T-shaped, reinforced concrete structure with four stories and a full basement. The main wing, which runs north/south along N. Roberts Street, is 190’ long and 52’ wide, while the east/west rear wing is 100’ long and 52’ wide. A large addition was added to the back of the Mitchell Building in 1975-1977. The 163’ x 67’ rectilinear structure is attached to the east end of the original building’s rear wing, creating an H-shaped structure. Like the original building, the 1977 Addition is four stories with a full basement. It was designed in the Modern style by the Helena firm, Crossman, Whitney & Griffin.

The monumental stairs lead to a three-story, bronze entrance that stretches between the bottom of the building’s lower string course and the bottom of its upper string course. The central column of the bronze spandrel panels depicts an eagle perched on a branch with wings spread, while the flanking columns hold bronze panels with a pair of tall raised rectangles. The building’s historic sign, added in 1950 when the building was named for the then Secretary of State, Sam W. Mitchell, is located above the third story windows. It holds individual bronze letters that read, “SAM W. MITCHELL.”

Original Building (1948-1950)
The original portion of the Mitchell Building has a poured concrete foundation and a flat roof hidden by a parapet wall. Due to the slope of the site, the basement becomes more exposed on the north side of the building. In accordance with the Stripped Classical style of the building, there is very little ornamentation. The most notable exception is the three-story, bronze main entrance, which is adorned with spandrel panels depicting an eagle.

1977 Addition
The 1977 Addition to the Mitchell Building can be classified as a “modern box” office building with some elements of Brutalism. It consists of four to five stories (the basement is exposed on the north side of the building) that are defined by continuous recessed window bands. These are divided into bays of nine one light metal windows by “textured” concrete columns. Exterior walls of the 1977 Addition are covered with greyish “sculpted” concrete with precast vertical ribbing. It is in the extensive use of exposed concrete, and not in the overall form, that the 1977 Addition shows its Brutalist influence.
From the NRHP Continuation Sheet