111 North Montana (School District #1 Administration Building)

Built: 1920
Architect: William O’Brien
Map 

William A. O’Brien, architect of the Leonard Apartments and the Kelly and Hennessy mansions, designed this handsome building of brown brick veneer in 1919. In 1920, the offices of District #1 moved from their longtime quarters at Butte High School to the new facility. At that time, Superintendent W. E. Maddock administered twenty-four schools including the high school, a junior high school, an industrial school, seventeen elementary schools, and four ungraded rural schools. The 311 district employees, 286 of them women, served a total of 19,296 students.

This familiar Butte landmark, significant for its attractive architecture as well as its long service, well represents the solid foundations of Butte’s public school system. Doric columns and an eighteen-light transom frame the entrance, while glazed terra cotta finishes the multi-paned windows, cornice, and parapet. The building’s historic appearance extends to its well-maintained interior, which features the original plaster walls and oak trim.

Text from historic plaque by Montana Historical Society. Photo by Richard I. Gibson.