Filed Under Butte

Silver Bow County Courthouse

Butte National Historic Landmark District

Prestigious architects Link and Haire designed this magnificent four-story courthouse in the Beaux Arts style. This grandiloquent form introduced at Chicago’s 1893 Columbian Exposition was often utilized in American civic buildings. Offices within are laid out around a rotunda with an elaborate stained glass dome, and a molded stone figure of blind-folded Justice presides over the façade. Dedicated in 1912, the courthouse has served as podium for such famous statesmen as William Jennings Bryan and Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1914, the courthouse became barracks for state militia when Butte was under martial law following violent labor disputes.

Images

Butte-Silver Bow County Courthouse
Butte-Silver Bow County Courthouse View looking northwest at building facade decorated for 4th of July Source: PH016.05.16, Keith and Rachel Harris Photography Collection, Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives, Butte, MT. Creator: Unknown photographer Date: ca. 1915
Courthouse-Butte
Courthouse-Butte Silver Bow County Courthouse, front/side view of the building, facing northeast on West Granite Street. Catalog #946-097 Source: Montana Historical Society Research Center Photograph Archives, Helena, MT Creator: B.E. Calkins Co. Date: Between 1911 and 1925
Butte-SilverBow County Courthouse
Butte-SilverBow County Courthouse View looking northeast at building facade Source: Montana Historical Society Creator: Christine Brown, Montana Historical Society Date: Nov 19
Butte-Silver Bow County Courthouse, Butte
Butte-Silver Bow County Courthouse, Butte View looking northwest at building facade Source: Montana Historical Society Creator: Christine Brown, Montana Historical Society Date: Nov 2019

Location

155 West Granite Street, Butte, Montana | Public

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “Silver Bow County Courthouse,” Historic Montana, accessed March 28, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/1937.