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 FOE Aerie No. 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.
Waymark Code: WMW4V0
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 07/10/2017
Views: 2
Bozeman's Aerie (nest or home of the eagle) was founded in 1903. The Bozeman Auxiliary was founded in 1942. Bozeman was the 326th aerie formed in the nation and carries that number within their official name, Bozeman Aerie #326. This is one of the few older Aeries which meet in their original Aerie as they, as well as other organizations, met in the building for many years before buying the building.
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
Is this an active Aerie?: yes
Aerie building's date of construction: 01/01/1901
Web URL of Aerie or with additional info: [Web Link]
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