Fancy arches and other fine detailing highlight the façade of this commercial building, constructed as an investment in 1905 by pioneer Henry Dion. The outer walls are of softer, locally produced “Glendive brick” while quality imported brick covers the façade. In 1907, during Dion’s term as mayor, Glendive’s first water plant was constructed and water was piped to users in wooden mains. Dion constructed a two-story frame addition, providing his commercial and residential tenants with running water and bathroom facilities. Historic maps show the post office and a print shop, equipped with a noisy “hit-and-miss” one-cylinder gasoline engine, as the original first-floor tenants. William Ryan operated a saloon here in 1912 and during the 1920s, this was Lee’s Pool Hall. Many a youngster received his first haircut on the raised platform in Lee’s front corner barbershop. Frederic Dion, later owner of the five family buildings in this block, remembers it as a “frightening experience.”
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