Conveniently situated across from Whittier School in the heart of the city’s most desirable neighborhood, the Jensen Apartments attracted the families of attorneys, doctors, engineers, realtors, and businessmen. Prolific Great Falls architect George Shanley designed the building for the Power City Investment Company. The company invested $85,000 in the ultra-modern, Prairie style building, completed in 1913 and named for major stockholder R.S. Jensen. Handsome gray pressed brick with rich, cream-colored terra-cotta trim only hints at the then-revolutionary amenities tenants enjoyed. The building featured a central vacuum cleaner system, basement laundry facilities, an electric Otis elevator with 24-hour service, full kitchens with electric ranges, and a filtered water system. Every room in each of the five- or three- room apartments—even the kitchens and bathrooms—included outside windows to allow maximum light. Marble stairs and wainscoting and tile flooring embellished the elaborate entrance hall. The high-end apartments were home to sixty residents in 1920. Most tenants were young professionals, many with several small children. Also in residence was the buildings fulltime janitor along with his wife, their two toddlers, and his teenaged sister-in-law.
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