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 Eagles Aerie #326 - Bozeman, MT Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 45° 40.760 W 111° 01.952
12T E 497466 N 5058420
Once a trolley barn, this building housed several fraternal organizations over the years. In 1932 the Eagles bought the building and remain there to this day. Their neon sign is old enough to have become a local landmark.
Waymark Code: WMW4TZ
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 07/10/2017
Views: 1
Across the street from the Hotel Bozeman is the former car barn for Bozeman's electric streetcar system (316 E. Main). The streetcar [system] was rushed to completion in 1892 as another part of [Bozeman's bid to become State Capitol]. The Avant Courier avidly proclaimed that "the electric streetcar has come to stay and with it increased prosperity for Bozeman and eventually the acquisition of the permanent capital.
Gallatin County residents arriving in Bozeman on the electric railway found paved streets, and a streetcar network connecting distant parts of the city. The sole remnant of the streetcar system today is the former car barn and office, 316 E. Main, today the Eagles' Lodge.
From the NRHP Continuation Sheet
ELECTRIC BLOCK (EAGLES AERIE #326)
Bozeman's extensive streetcar system offered reliable transportation from 1892 until 1922. In 1901 the Gallatin Light, Power, and Railway Company built this facility as an office and barn for its trolleys. After 1904 when the second story was finished, various lodges and clubs including the Elks and the American Legion held meetings in the upstairs rooms. When streetcars had become a thing of the past, the car barn was used as an auto repair shop. By this time Eagles Aerie #326 met regularly upstairs. The group purchased the building for $5,000 from the Metals Bank and Trust Company in 1932. Prominent architect Fred Willson remodeled the storefront for them in 1945, replacing the trolley barn doors with the present brick and ornamental cinder block but leaving the fine 1901 brickwork intact. The neon sign, now a local landmark, was also installed in the 1940s. As the Eagles of Aerie #326 celebrate their centennial in 2003, this historic building is still their lodge hall. It is Bozeman's only surviving remnant of the streetcar era and a model of adaptive reuse.
From the plaque at the building
Name of business: Eagles Aerie #326
Type of business: Other
Condition of Neon Sign: Daylight - Can't tell
Physical Location:
316 East Main Street
Bozeman, MT United Stated
59715
Web Address: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
One picture of sign will suffice. Additional shots - bonus.
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