118-122 North Montana (The Concord)

Built: 1900
Map 

Two stories and a daylight basement provided ample room for the many lodgers that lived comfortably in this spacious turn-of-the-twentieth-century rooming house. The building’s first owner, boilermaker Carl M. Swanson, lived here with this wife, Tessie, who managed The Concord between 1901 and 1907. Under a tenant proprietor in 1910, census records show forty-one residents of varied backgrounds, ranging from professionals (including a dentist, a newspaper editor, and several business managers) to clerks and The Concord’s domestic employees.

While many of Butte’s residential flats and walkups reflect similar architectural styles, The Concord’s magnificent appearance is unique to the business district. A rough-quarried stone foundation and handsome stone trim contrast sharply with dark red brick, making the building a district highlight. In the 1930s, some of The Concord’s furnished rooms were converted to ten apartments. These, along with nine individual rooms, remain today. The graceful arched entry still welcomes its residents to an elegant interior, where the original oak staircase with turned spindles and skylight above are grandly intact.

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