Williams Boarding House
Architect and city building inspector Charles Lane designed this classic, brick bay-fronted boardinghouse in 1898 for miner Robert R. Williams and his wife Anna. Lane, who rented rooms from the Williamses until his death in 1910, studied architecture at the Cooper Institute in New York City. He began working in Butte and Anaconda in the late 1880s and gained prominence in the mid-1890s when he designed Anaconda’s City Hall and Daly Bank & Trust building for copper king Marcus Daly. Ornate wood decoration was Lane’s specialty, which is evident in the Romanesque style living room at No. 720. Floor-to-ceiling wainscoting, dentil (tooth-like) moulding, carved wooden arches above the fireplace, and delicate harp-motif panels reflect Lane’s skill and architectural aesthetic. After Robert died in 1912, Anna, son Frank, and daughter Mattie continued in residence, renting rooms to a variety of miners, clerks, and wage workers. Mattie married in 1915 and Anna died in 1928. Frank, who was a doctor with offices in the Metals Bank building, operated the boardinghouse until his death in 1943.
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