Commercial Block

Miles City Main Street Historic District

By The Montana National Register Sign Program

View of 500 Block of Main Street, Miles City, Montana Still image capture of the 500 Block of Main Street, looking northeast at the Olive Hotel, the Commercial Block, The First National Bank, and the Bullard Block. Image information drawn from related files at the State Historic Preservation Office. b&w print. Source: Official records of the Montana State Historic Preservation Office, Helena, Montana Creator: Susan McDaniel Date: January, 1989

The I. Orschel & Brothers clothing firm first located on this site in 1878 in a small wood-frame building. Following a disastrous fire that leveled much of the block, local businessmen formed a syndicate to build this four-part commercial building designed by Byron Vreeland, Miles City’s first resident architect. Completed in the fall of 1885, John Carter’s Saloon (509), I. Orschel & Brothers Clothing Store (511), Miles & Strevell’s Hardware (513), and Basinski Brothers (515) were the original occupants. The combination of Romanesque, Gothic Revival, and Queen Anne style detailing carries Vreeland’s architectural signature. Although the parapets and towers that originally graced the roofline have long been removed, the brownstone windowsills, polychrome tile, soft brick, and cast iron columns survive. The Orschels’ landmark business catered to local cowboys at this location until 1940. The brothers let cowboys keep their trunks on the upper floor until they came to town to change clothes. Inside, the original tin ceiling remains intact.