Bozeman YMCA - Bozeman, MT - YMCA / YWCA on Waymarking.com

Waymark Code: WM10EWJ

Location: Montana, United States

Date Posted: 04/25/2019

Published By: bluesnote

Views: 1

The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), founded in England in 1844, made its way to the United States in the 1850s. By the turn of the century, many American cities boasted YMCA facilities providing reasonable accommodations and physical fitness opportunities for young men. Montana was also part of this movement. By the early twentieth century, Billings, Kalispell, and Miles City had YMCA facilities. Bozeman wanted to follow suit and the community began to explore its options. Montana YMCA secretary Charles Puehler, recognizing Bozeman’s interest, arranged for the state convention to be held here in 1913. The building fund committees that formed at the meetings quickly reached their $65,000 goal. The Bozeman YMCA then formally organized on November 5, 1913, and groundbreaking for the new building took place in 1914.Designed by local architect Fred. F. Willson, the facility opened to the public in 1915. It was fully equipped and furnished thanks to an additional $1,500 donated by brothers Nelson and Byron Story. Decorative brickwork and a striking covered entry highlight the handsome building. The original Mission style interior included built-in seating in the lobby, 39 dormitory rooms that rented for an average of $10 a month, a white-tiled swimming pool, and one of state’s largest gymnasiums encircled by a banked cork running track. The building served as the YMCA until its conversion to the Boulevard Apartments in the early 1980s. Today it exemplifies the preservation of a significant community resource and its adaptive reuse.
From the NRHP plaque at the building

The Bozeman YMCA building is significant as a community-sponsored, community-oriented facility designed by local architect Fred F. Willson. Since its completion in 1915 until the building was converted into apartments in recent years, the Bozeman YMCA provided reasonably priced accommodations and organized physical fitness programs for the Protestant young men of the city. The building displays brickwork and a shaped headed entry porch typical of the 1910's. The design demonstrates the flexibility and diversity of the work of Fred F. Willson. During his practice between 1910 and 1956, Willson obtained virtually every contract for the design of large buildings in the city, ranging from residences and commercial blocks to specialized structures such as this.

On November 5, 1913, the Bozeman YMCA was formally organized. Groundbreaking for the building was on September 3, 1914, with Levesque, Flesheim and Baverly the contractors. By 1915 the building was completed. Nelson and Byron Story donated an additional $1500 to equip and furnish the building. The new facility boasted one of the largest gymnasiums in the state (49 x 74 feet) with a banked running tract, a white tile pool, and an impressive Mission style lobby.

This detached, three-story multi-family residence with a full day-light basement has an irregular plan with an enclosed projecting front entry, and concrete steps. The five-bay facade is symmetrical and consists of a central 6-paned, wooden front door and six-oversix wooden double-hung windows. A three story wing is attached to the southwest corner. The brick construction is finished in running bond pattern and rests on a concrete foundation. The flat roof is covered with built-up roofing and features a brick parapet with concrete coping and one offset brick chimney.
From the Montana Architectural Survey