East Side Historic District
As the town of Kalispell ended its first decade in 1901, the Kalispell Bee reported that the “artistic and modern” residences would well ornament a much larger city. Dozens of spacious Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, and vernacular style East Side homes had by now erased the hay meadows that once covered the townsite. Central School, designed by Great Falls architect William White and built in 1894, anchored the district’s northwest corner; Charles E. Conrad’s seventy-two-acre estate and mansion, designed and built in 1895 by Spokane architect Kirtland Cutter, sprawled along the northeastern edge. Soon the splendid Carnegie Library (1903), the Kalispell Hospital (1904), Woodland Park (created in 1910 on land donated by Conrad), and Kalispell General Hospital (1912) added diversity. During the 1920s Prairie School-inspired residences, the Foursquare form, and Craftsman style homes began to grace East Side streets, reflecting the very latest architectural trends. A 1913 history of Montana pronounced Kalispell “one of the most beautiful cities in the state,” but the district still had room for growth and refinement. In the 1920s, the Conrad carriage house and stables were moved and redesigned into five homes by architect Fred Brinkman. A 1930s Works Progress Administration project transformed Woodland Park from a “mosquito bog” into a “beauty center.” Architects of different periods such as Brinkman, Arthur Pearmain, Marion Riffo, and Joseph Gibson contributed to an eclectic combination of styles. This distinctive “layering” of ages and styles highlights the pleasant East Side streetscapes that today chronicle the town’s evolution.
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