Legislative Restaurant/Capitol Annex
Montana State Capitol Campus Historic District
During the first decade of statehood legislators met in downtown Helena where lawmakers enjoyed a variety of options for “lunch arrangements.” When lawmakers transitioned into the new Capitol in 1902, downtown Helena was a mile away. A small makeshift lunch counter in the nearby Boiler Plant temporarily filled the need, but Capitol Commissioners envisioned a separate building. Architects Link and Haire included this annex in their plans for the Capitol’s wings. Completed in 1910, the Neoclassical Revival style annex continues the tradition of academic eclecticism, popular in American architecture of the time and displayed in the other pre-1920s campus buildings. Distinctive grayish-white brick complements the sandstone and granite of the Capitol. Carved wood brackets beneath the eaves, brick corbelling between the windows, and a pedimented entrance subtly echo the Neoclassical style of the state house. The annex functioned as the legislative restaurant until 1933 when the need for office space became more essential. Later a variety of state agencies occupied the space including the Montana Highway Patrol 1935-1936, the Board of Health 1940-1964, and the Department of Agriculture 1964-1978.
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