Legislative Restaurant / Capitol Annex - Montana State Capitol Campus Historic District - Helena, MT
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member T0SHEA
N 46° 35.127 W 112° 01.003
12T E 422107 N 5159601
Built in 1910, this was the second building to appear in the Montana State Capitol Campus Historic District, eight years after the completion of the capitol building.
Waymark Code: WMWGAT
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 09/01/2017
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member iconions
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Given that the nearest restaurant was a mile from the capitol building, it soon became desirous for a nearer meeting and eating place. Hence the Capitol Annex, which filled the bill, serving as the Legislative Restaurant until 1933, when more office space was deemed of greater need than was a Diner for Democrats.

Architects Link and Haire design the Neoclassical Revival style annex, as they did a great many other buildings in the town, and in the state. After it was taken over as office space for other departments it became home to the Montana Highway Patrol (1935-1936), the Board of Health (1940-1964), then the Department of Agriculture (1964-1978). We can't say what role it fulfills today.
Legislative Restaurant Legislative Restaurant / Capitol Annex (24LC2377), 1910 (Contributing Building)
Located on the east side of the Capitol Grounds, the Capitol Annex is a small, one-story building designed by Link & Haire in the Neoclassical Revival style. It is a steel-framed structure clad in greyish white precast concrete bricks laid in a running bond. All wood trim on the building is painted a contrasting dark brown. The building has a rectilinear form that is approximately 62’ long and 34’ wide. Its short façade faces the Montana State Capitol located immediately to the west. The building sits on a raised concrete foundation that is visible on all elevations. The steeply-pitched hipped roof is of frame construction. It is covered in cedar shingles and has a metal ridge cap that terminates in a decorative knob at both ends.

Ornamentation on the Capitol Annex is classical inspired. Evenly-spaced, carved wood brackets (or modillions) under the overhanging roof evoke classical dentils, while brick corbelling between window bays on the side elevations creates the illusion of column or pilaster capitals. The symmetrical west façade is particularly noteworthy in this regard. It features a heavy, gable-shaped wood entrance canopy supported by brick pilasters with capitals designed to create a simplified entablature with a denticulated cornice. When combined, the pilasters and gable canopy create a pedimented entrance on the façade.
From the NRHP Continuation Sheet
LEGISLATIVE RESTAURANT / CAPITOL ANNEX

During the first decade of statehood, Montana legislators met in downtown Helena where lawmakers enjoyed a variety of options for “lunch arrangements.” When lawmakers transitioned into the new Capitol in 1902, downtown Helena was a mile away. A small makeshift lunch counter in the nearby Boiler Plant temporarily filled the need, but Capitol Commissioners envisioned a separate building. Architects Link and Haire included this annex in their plans for the Capitol’s wings. Completed in 1910, the Neoclassical Revival style annex continues the tradition of academic eclecticism, popular in American architecture of the time and displayed in the other pre-1920s campus buildings. Distinctive grayish-white brick complements the sandstone and granite of the Capitol. Carved wood brackets beneath the eaves, brick corbelling between the windows, and a pedimented entrance subtly echo the Neoclassical style of the state house. The annex functioned as the legislative restaurant until 1933 when the need for office space became more essential. Later a variety of state agencies occupied the space including the Montana Highway Patrol (1935-1936), the Board of Health (1940-1964), and the Department of Agriculture (1964-1978).
From the NRHP plaque at the building
Name of Historic District (as listed on the NRHP): Montana State Capitol Campus Historic District

Link to nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com page with the Historic District: [Web Link]

NRHP Historic District Waymark (Optional): [Web Link]

Address:
118 North Roberts Street Helena, MT 59601

How did you determine the building to be a contributing structure?: Narrative found on the internet (Link provided below)

Optional link to narrative or database: [Web Link]
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