Filed Under Anaconda

Cohen Block/Park Motors

Anaconda Commercial Historic District

This building began as a one-story, wood-frame grocery store on Main Street in 1883. In 1885, owner David Cohen Sr. sided it with brick veneer, giving it a more permanent appearance. Soon after, a fire broke out, destroying nearly everything on the west side of Main, except for Cohen’s brick-clad store. To make way for a new fireproof brick store on Main, Cohen split this building in two and moved it here. By 1891, Cohen’s Commercial Street store offered clothing, liquor, and meats. A steam laundry, blacksmith shop, and, later, a carriage repair shop occupied the space in the early 1900s. The Commercial Garage car dealership opened here in 1916. In 1918, it became the Trail Garage, which catered to wealthy motorists touring the country on the Yellowstone Trail. After 1920, an array of garages and used car businesses cycled through the building. Then, in 1941 Charles G. Johnson moved Park Motors auto and farm implement dealership here. Johnson added a second story and remodeled the exterior in the sleek Streamlined Moderne style. Park Motors remained an Anaconda fixture for more than seventy years.

Images

300 E Commercial, Anaconda, MT
300 E Commercial, Anaconda, MT View of facade, facing North Source: Map Data: Google Maps 2021 Creator: Google Street View image capture Date: July 2019

Location

300 E. Commercial, Anaconda, MT | public

Metadata

Montana National Register Sign Program, “Cohen Block/Park Motors,” Historic Montana, accessed April 25, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/3316.