Filed Under Missoula

E. S. Newton Shop

Missoula Downtown Historic District

Missoula contractor Edwin S. Newton built this brick carpentry shop and office behind his home circa 1910. The building’s large size and patterned masonry along the stepped parapet reflect Newton’s prominence as one of Missoula’s leading contractors. From his office, which was originally attached to the north wall facing Clay Street, Newton managed about twenty-five men working on various building projects. From 1890 to 1946, he helped transform Missoula from a tiny mill town into a sprawling trade center supporting the university, government, and railroad, timber, and agriculture industries. Newton’s major projects included the Chaney Block, the Eddy Block addition to the Florence Hotel, the Harnois Theater, the 1910 City Hall, and the 1913 Missoula Trust and Savings Bank. After he retired in 1937, he converted the shop into apartments, and in 1938, became the county’s first official building inspector. From age seventy-four to eighty-two, Newton authorized all new construction and remodeling in the Garden City. Many of Newton’s buildings have been demolished or radically altered, but his shop remains an unchanged symbol of his impact on Missoula’s built environment.

Images

E. S. Newton Shop, Missoula, MT
E. S. Newton Shop, Missoula, MT View of facade Creator: Creator: Google Streetview Image ~ Date: July 2018
Date: July 2018
Newton Shop
Newton Shop Facade Source: Montana Historical Society Creator: Bryan Baldwin Date: July 30, 2022

Location

237.5 E. Front St. | private

Metadata

Montana Historical Society, “E. S. Newton Shop,” Historic Montana, accessed March 29, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/3397.