Twin Sisters (Davis Homes, 845-855 West Granite)

855 (left) and 845 (right) West Granite St.

Andrew Jackson Davis Home (845 West Granite)
Built: 1890-91
Map 

The builder of this residence was the second of three Butte men of the same name. The elder A. J. Davis (1819-1890) was said to have been Butte’s first millionaire and founded the predecessor to the First National Bank of Butte in 1877. His nephew Andy, the second A. J. Davis (1863-1941), started with the bank in 1882, became president in 1890, and inherited his uncle’s fortune. Andy and his brother, John E. Davis, built these twin homes in 1891. Andy’s son, the third and youngest A. J. Davis, later lived at 805 W. Broadway. The twin residences share a sidewalk entry and a roof connecting the side porches. These common features were added some time after the original construction. Hardwood floors with inlaid border designs grace four rooms of this home and one room of its twin. A portion of this residence’s third floor was finished to serve as maids’ quarters. The elaborate two-story brick carriage house to the east features an elevator used to move carriages and sleighs to and from second-floor storage, and a groomsman’s apartment spans the front of its upper floor.

Resources: Historical plaque by Montana Historical Society. Photo by Richard I. Gibson.

John E. Davis Home (855 West Granite)
Built: 1890-91
Map 

A myriad of Victorian era details makes this splendid residence and its next-door neighbor, built by brothers John E. and A. J. Davis, true period showcases. Known as the "Twin Sisters," these mirror-image homes were constructed in 1891 for the handsome sum of $7,000 each. Steeply pitched roofs with front-facing gables, bay windows, and asymmetrical facades are hallmarks of the Queen Anne style. Among the many decorative elements are fish-scale shingles, elaborate bargeboards on the gable ends, and windows framed in small square lights. Turned posts and balustrades, delicate lattice-like bases, and scrolled brackets which grace the porches are fine examples of Eastlake detailing. Matching stained glass windows on the opposing sides of each home were crafted in a Tiffany glass shop once located in Butte. The original owner, grocer and hardware merchant John Davis, was an amateur painter and taxidermist who filled the home with the fruit of his talents. Following John's untimely death in 1913, his widow lived in the home until the 1940s.

Resources: Historical plaque by Montana Historical Society. Photo by Richard I. Gibson.

Largey Flats (403-407 W. Broadway)

Built: c. 1895
Map 

Patrick A. Largey, Butte’s “fourth copper king,” got his start freighting goods into early-day Virginia City. After he settled in Butte, Largey’s many business interests included founding both the Inter-Mountain newspaper and the State Savings Bank. The Largey family, whose opulent mansion once stood next door on the corner, suffered a tragedy in 1898 when miner Thomas Riley murdered Largey at his bank. Riley had lost a leg in the cataclysmic 1895 explosion in Butte’s railroad yards that claimed 58 lives. Because Largey’s hardware company owned one of the buildings involved in the blast, Riley held Largey responsible for his injuries. The Largey family built these flats in the 1890s where many of Butte’s wealthier families stayed while looking for permanent housing. Built by contractor Moses Bassett, the stunning multi-family residence is styled after an Italian villa with tile roofs, portico, and arched entrances. Egg-and-dart moldings, corner window tiles, garland reliefs, and stained and beveled glass embellish the façade. Each of the three, two-story “townhouses” is exquisitely finished with rich wood wainscoting and an oak staircase.

The Largey home itself, much grander than Largey Flats, stood to the east until it burned down about 1965.

Resources: Historical plaque by Montana Historical Society. Photo by Richard I. Gibson.

303 West Park

Built: 1888
Use today: Beauty School
Map 

Historic maps reveal that this magnificent Renaissance Revival style building had rather humble beginnings. From 1888 to 1900, a one-story frame dwelling with a simple open-air porch spanning the front occupied this site. By 1916 the residence had received a second story and a covering of brick veneer. A handsome semicircular central bay flanked by square entrance porticos with hipped tiled roofs, elaborately detailed windows, scrolled brackets, and a decorative cornice are exemplary of the style. Butte businessman Thomas Lavell, whose home was next door at 301 West Park, was the building’s longtime owner/landlord and likely responsible for its splendid makeover. Tenant Jeremiah Flanigan, cigar dealer and vice president of the Rocky Mountain Bottling Works, lived here from 1906 to circa 1915, when the house was still a single-story residence. His household included daughter Margaret and a live-in servant. Today this neighborhood landmark appears much as it did in the 1910s. Recent efforts to restore the original interior grandeur include reproduction of the original oak wainscoting and crown moldings.


Resources: Historical plaque by Montana Historical Society. Photo by Richard I. Gibson.

314 West Park (Masonic Temple)

Built: 1901-02
Map 

Facade detail

The first Masonic Lodge in Butte was chartered October 3, 1876. With a membership of 550 after the turn of the twentieth century, the organization had outgrown its old quarters on West Park. The new temple, completed in 1902, provides an early example of the grandly scaled Beaux-Arts style that came to dominate Butte’s later civic structures. Link and Carter, the forerunner of the prestigious architectural firm of Link and Haire, created the new temple, enhancing its façade with Ionic columns, a cornice of lions’ heads, and decorative borders of acanthus leaves and geometric designs.

Resources: Historical plaque by Montana Historical Society. Photo by Richard I. Gibson.

832 West Park

Built: c. 1895
Map 

Jennie Tallant, a founding member of the Montana Society Daughters of the American Revolution, and her husband, Walter, were early residents of this home. Named first regent of the Silver Bow DAR chapter in 1897, Jennie became the third state regent in 1901. This home was the site of many DAR meetings, including the State Society’s first meeting in 1904. For that occasion, Mrs. Tallant decorated the home “in flags and the national colors, with a profusion of flowers.” Nationally, the DAR was founded in 1890 out of a concern that immigration was diluting American values. The society worked to promote patriotism, education, and an appreciation of American history. Among other projects, the State Society spearheaded recognition of historic sites. Important for its DAR connection, this home, built between 1890 and 1898, is also architecturally significant. Its irregular shape, leaded glass, ornate transoms, and ornamental iron fence associate it with the popular Queen Anne style. The classical style front porch was added after 1916. In 1928, painter John Redman and his wife Mary purchased the home, which remains in the Redman family.

Resources: Historical plaque by Montana Historical Society. Photo by Richard I. Gibson.

827 West Park

Built: 1897
Map 

Emerson B. Weirick purchased the land to build this home in 1897 for a total of thirty dollars. Construction of the residence began that same year. Preeminent Butte architect W. A. O’Brien designed the home and Fergus Kelley served as contractor. O’Brien and Kelley teamed up on the construction of a number of Butte’s commercial landmarks and most prestigious homes including the C. F. Kelley mansion next door to the west. Weirick’s elegant, finely detailed home fit his social status as vice president of the First National Bank. The residence is an excellent example of turn-of-the-century transitional architecture. Tuscan columns, dentils framing the porch, and wide overhanging eaves reflect the newer classical trend. The irregular floorplan, bay window, floral-patterned stained glass, and varied surface treatments are characteristic of the Victorian-era Queen Anne style. Stunning views of the city with the mountains beyond and a desirable southern exposure made this stretch of West Park Street highly preferred.

Resources: Historical plaque by Montana Historical Society. Photo by Richard I. Gibson.

825 West Park

Built: 1893
Map 

The gables, porches, and elegant detailing of the Victorian-era homes along this picturesque block compose a neighborhood streetscape reminiscent of San Francisco. This distinguished example, built circa 1893, was once the exact twin of its next door neighbor. Attorney Joseph McCaffery, who owned the property in the 1920s, remodeled the front façade in 1922. Decorative window hoods set it apart from its neighbors while an elaborately corbelled chimney and richly patterned stained glass transom reflect vintage fashion. The Tuscan columns which support the porch are a feature particularly common to the homes along this block. Interior appointments include original cut glass chandeliers in the dining room and entry hall, parquet floors, and simple but refined fireplace and stairway finishings. Butte businessman James Canty, president of the Brownfield-Canty Carpet Company, lived in the home from 1897 to circa 1915. Canty’s business was one of the state’s largest dealers in furniture, carpets, stoves, and household furnishings.

Resources: Historical plaque by Montana Historical Society. Photo by Richard I. Gibson.