Filed Under Butte

Metals Bank Building

Butte National Historic Landmark District

The strength of Butte’s early financial community is well represented in this monumental steel, brick, and stone skyscraper completed in 1906. Copper king F. Augustus Heinze financed the $325,000 bank building, incorporating the newest steel-frame and curtain-wall construction techniques. Nationally renowned architect Cass Gilbert 1859-1934 drew the blueprints and Montana architects Link and Haire supervised the local work. Gilbert’s best known work is New York City’s sixty-story Woolworth Building 1913 and the U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. 1932-1935. One of Montana’s first skyscrapers, the Metals’ eight floors add significantly to Butte’s urban skyline. A copper-trimmed entry complements the gray stone. Above, brick walls and stone arches culminate at the sixth floor. Ornate wrought iron balconies punctuate the second and seventh floors. An open wrought-iron staircase carries this element inside, where copper-trimmed windows with African mahogany frames and a marble-walled elevator lobby reflect 1906 Butte’s wealth. A huge polished steel bank vault recalls the building’s first use.

Images

Metals Bank Building
Metals Bank Building Metals Bank Building (PAc 91-51 B1 RollCBD09 F32). Front to side view of the building, facing south to southwest on the corner of West Park Street and North Main Street. B&W. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office from the Photograph Archives at the Montana Historical Society Creator: Photographer unidentified Date: 1985
Metals Bank Building
Metals Bank Building Metals Bank Building (PAc 91-51 B1 RollCBD09 F33). Front view of the building, facing south on West Park Street near the corner of West Park and North Main Street. Close shot of the building's entrance to show the text on the building, "Metals Bank and Trust Co." B&W. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office from the Photograph Archives at the Montana Historical Society Creator: Photographer unidentified Date: 1985
Metals Bank
Metals Bank Photo of building corner. Source: Montana Historical Society Creator: Tom Ferris, photographer Date: 3 August, 2021
Metals Bank
Metals Bank Photo of front entrance of building. Source: Montana Historical Society Creator: Tom Ferris, photographer Date: 3 August, 2021
Metals Bank
Metals Bank Photo of front entrance. Source: Montana Historical Society Creator: Tom Ferris, photographer Date: 3 August, 2021

Location

8 West Park Street, Butte, Montana | Private

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “Metals Bank Building,” Historic Montana, accessed March 28, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/2379.