{"id":2426,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-08-08 23:36:00","latitude":46.87352010000000035461198422126471996307373046875,"longitude":-113.9805162999999765816028229892253875732421875,"title":"904 Monroe","subtitle":"Lower Rattlesnake Historic District","fullsize":"https://historicmt.org/files/fullsize/da9a3a09a92c9e6c25deaa4bbc540c0d.jpg","address":"904 Monroe Street, Missoula, Montana","all_locations":[],"zoom":17,"creator":["Montana National Register Sign Program"],"description":"Newspaper pressman Portus B. Thornton and his wife Victoria were the original owners of this Colonial Revival/Folk Victorian transitional cottage built circa 1905. Thornton came to Missoula from his native Canada in 1901 and married that same year. A trained printer, Thornton went to work at the Missoulian and, in the mid-1910s, he and a partner established the Missoula Bureau of Printing. As a veteran member of the local printer’s union and its longtime secretary, Thornton was a key player in the development of the local press. The Thorntons were at home here until 1929.  Their charming home features a centered entry, front gabled roof, clapboard siding, and square Tuscan columns. These elements showcase the clean lines and classical features designed to recapture a simpler, more modest time.  Influenced by the various expositions and World’s Fairs, such classical elements began to replace the well-loved Queen Anne style of the Victorian era. The home beautifully illustrates this shift. The open porch with pedimented roofline and latticework at the foundation as well as original interior bullseye molding throughout reveal the persistence of Victorian-era details.","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"Private","lede":"","website":"","related_resources":["<a href=\"https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/18f0926e-3d37-42e5-8f60-b5af728cdfab\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Read about the Lower Rattlesnake Historic District</a>","<a href=\"https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/e5f91a2f-4896-49e2-afa1-24af9aba93e0/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">See photos of the Lower Rattlesnake Historic District</a>"],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://historicmt.org/files/fullsize/da9a3a09a92c9e6c25deaa4bbc540c0d.jpg":{"id":6751,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"904 Monroe","description":"Front to side view of facade.  | Montana Historical Society | August 2026 | Arizona Duff","alt":"alt=&quot;&quot;","thumbnail":"https://historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/da9a3a09a92c9e6c25deaa4bbc540c0d.jpg"},"https://historicmt.org/files/fullsize/0abe19d6b4ce6389ced6ccddf795760c.jpg":{"id":6752,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"904 Monroe","description":"View of facade.  | Montana Historical Society | August 2026 | Arizona Duff","alt":"alt=&quot;&quot;","thumbnail":"https://historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/0abe19d6b4ce6389ced6ccddf795760c.jpg"},"https://historicmt.org/files/fullsize/30afcfebbb4a4ac7f659408bf290e5cf.jpg":{"id":3071,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"904 Monroe","description":"904 Monroe. Front view of the house, facing east near the corner of Monroe Street and Cherry Street. Digital photograph. | Montana Historical Society | Jan. 2020 | Michael Connolly","alt":"alt=&quot;&quot;","thumbnail":"https://historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/30afcfebbb4a4ac7f659408bf290e5cf.jpg"},"https://historicmt.org/files/fullsize/336951024d35007c6d90f2428cd85a4f.jpg":{"id":3072,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"904 Monroe","description":"904 Monroe. Front to side view of the house, facing northeast on the corner of Monroe Street and Cherry Street. Digital photograph. | Montana Historical Society | Jan. 2020 | Michael Connolly","alt":"alt=&quot;&quot;","thumbnail":"https://historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/336951024d35007c6d90f2428cd85a4f.jpg"}}}