Ancient Order of Hibernians Hall, 321-323 East Commercial Street

City: Anaconda
Built: 1896-99
Status: lost (parking lot today)
Map

East facade

This building was the headquarters for the local chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, an Irish fraternal organization first established in Anaconda in 1885. The A.O.H. auxiliary was officially organized on May 17, 1896 with 45 charter members. Today the Anaconda A.O.H. is one of the two existing chapters west of the Mississippi. The other is in San Francisco. D.J. Hennessy, founder of Hennessy Department Store, Butte, loaned the Anaconda A.O.H. division the money to build the Hibernian Block.

The building was erected in two stages and cost a total of $30,000 to construct. In 1896, a one-story brick structure, measuring 50' x 80' was completed at the southwest corner of East Commercial Avenue and Cedar Street. The building included two storefronts at the East Commercial Avenue facade, with three additional storefronts to the rear on Cedar Street. The second building, expanding the overall structural dimension to 50' x 140', was begun in the spring of 1898 and completed in early January, 1899. Pressed brick with trimmings of sandstone, granite, and terra cotta were used in both portions of this structure. When completed, the A.O.H. Hall was equipped with electric lighting, steam heating, and other "modern" conveniences. This hall was the center of all A.O.H. activities until January 1977 when it was purchased by the Urban Renewal Department of the city of Anaconda for $50,000. In the late 1970s it was under the ownership and supervision of the Community Development Agency. It was demolished c. 1985.

Sources: Photos by Jet Lowe (HABS/HAER, c. 1979, from Library of Congress; public domain). Text modified from HABS/HAER documentation, Monica Hawley, historian. Fred Quivik, Field Team; Brian Shovers, historian. Reference: HABS document

National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 98000155

Butte Anaconda & Pacific Railway, General Offices, 300 West Commercial Avenue

City: Anaconda
Built: 1898
Map

The General Offices of the BA&P Railway formerly served as the passenger depot and dispatchers office for this rail operation. Built in 1898, the two-story brick structure has rusticated granite window lintels and sills with a continuous granite belt at the top and bottom of the second-story windows. The windows also feature overhead semicircular arch transoms. Dentilled and corbelled brickwork appears along the roofline at each building facade. The east end of the building has rounded corners, while a rectangular wing extends from the west end. The BA&P was incorporated October 1, 1892, and began hauling copper ore from the mines at Butte to the smelter at Anaconda by the close of 1893. The line also provided passenger service to Anacondans from this building location from the time of its construction until April 1955. Originally steam-powered, the BA&P Railway was, by 1916, the first fully electrified railroad in the United States, and the first heavy-haul electrified railroad in the world. In the 1960s, diesel locomotives replaced all the electric models.

Sources: Photo by Jet Lowe (HABS/HAER, c. 1979, from Library of Congress; public domain). Text modified from HABS/HAER documentation, Monica Hawley, historian. Reference: Wired for Success: The BA&P Railway, 1892-1985, by Charles V. Mutschler (Washington State University Press, 2002).

Anaconda City Hall, 401 East Commercial at Cedar Avenue

City: Anaconda
Architects: Lane & Reber
Built: 1896
Map

The Anaconda City Hall was designed by Lane and Reber, architects, and constructed in the years 1895-96. $34,000 in bonds were voted by the city for the construction of this building, and the contract was given to Jacobson and Company of Anaconda. This three-story brick building consists of three large bays at the west facade with a two-story addition to the east. The Fire Department's Engine House is located at the rear of this structure, while the front portions of the ground and second floors contain a court room, clerk's office and attorney's office.

The original plans for City Hall, prepared by Charles Lane, incorporated a 90-foot semi-enclosed tower housing a four-sided Seth Thomas illuminated clock. A 25-foot bell tower was later added to the east end of the building. Both towers are now removed. The overall building dimensions measure 53' x 102'; the main building measures 50' x 100'. The basement has 9-foot-high ceilings; the first floor, 14-foot ceilings; and the second floor 13-foot ceilings. Local materials, including Anaconda red pressed brick, monument quarry granite and Anaconda copper trim, were used to build this structure. In 1897, the county seat was moved from the town of Deer Lodge to the City Hall building in Anaconda. Deer Lodge County paid the city $2,000 annually to use this facility as the county court house until the present court house was completed in 1900.

The building is occupied in 2013 by the Copper Village Museum & Arts Center. Web site

Sources: Photo by Jet Lowe (HABS/HAER, c. 1979, from Library of Congress; public domain). Text modified from HABS/HAER documentation, Monica Hawley, historian.