The 1895 legislative act that allowed construction of Montana’s state house included provisions for heating the building. Capitol Commissioners decided a separate heating plant would be required. Built in 1901, the first plant included a brick smokestack. In 1912, a taller concrete smokestack replaced the original to accommodate the new wings and raise the plant’s emissions above the Capitol Building. Until the 1930s, the plant provided steam heat to all the campus buildings. After 1936, most new buildings housed their own boiler systems. In 1968, this building replaced the first boiler plant. Built just west of the original plant, Helena architects Morrison-Maierle and Associates designed the sleek, modern building. It features scored concrete block walls that resemble the Capitol’s rusticated foundation. An attractive metal Mansard-shaped parapet hides the plant’s utilitarian flat roof. Careful placement of the building and artful landscaping allow it to blend into the landscape and protect views of the Capitol Building. A 1998 addition, designed to exactly match the original building, doubled the plant’s capacity. It continues to heat the Capitol and several other campus buildings.
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