Filed Under Billings

1131 North 32nd Street

North Elevation Historic District

Wayne and Ethel Gordon’s 1939 home is one of two Cape Cod style homes in the North Elevation Historic District. The steep side-gable roof, gabled dormers, and elegant front door entablature are key stylistic elements. After completing medical school and then teaching at the University of Chicago, Dr. Wayne Gordon became one of the first internists at Deaconess Hospital (now Billings Clinic) in 1936. Wayne was Deaconess chief of staff for many years and organized annual conferences as governor of the American College of Physicians Wyoming/Montana chapter. He and wife Ethel raised two boys here and were active members in the community and the First Baptist Church. Ethel was president of the Montana Baptist Woman’s Society, and board vice president of the Billings YWCA. In 1957, Ethel and Wayne founded the Friendship House, a charity serving minority children and families that still thrives today. Their son Roger and family moved into the home in 1959 when Wayne became professor of medicine, and Ethel, supervisor of photography, at Christian Medical College in Vellore, India. The house remained in the Gordon family until 1980.

Images

Untitled

Location

1131 North 32nd Street, Billings, Montana | Private

Metadata

Montana National Register Sign Program, “1131 North 32nd Street,” Historic Montana, accessed March 28, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/2788.