Filed Under Kalispell

Linderman School

East Side Historic District

Drought in the Midwest brought scores of new residents to Kalispell during the depression of the 1930s, severely overcrowding area schools. Seventh and eighth graders moved to Central School in 1929, but that building was far from adequate. Construction of the Linderman School a decade later was made possible through the Public Works Administration. Built as Central Junior High School, its construction and that of the Russell School provided work for 90 local men and benefited another 225 families. Kalispell architect Fred Brinkman designed the school to serve “all kinds of students” efficiently with a library, gymnasium seating 600 spectators, and special classrooms for music, art, and science. According to the local newspaper, Brinkman chose the Gothic Revival style because it was “considered to be best suited to the environment and type of instruction.” Cream-colored terra cotta against dark tapestry brick, copper-roofed towers, and an unusual chimney lend an old world atmosphere while Gothic stencils on the lobby and corridor walls originally continued the style within. In 1940, the school was renamed after noted Flathead Valley author Frank Linderman.

Images

Linderman School
Linderman School Linderman School (PAc 91-51 Kalispell R04 F03). Front view of the school entrance, facing west to southwest on 3rd Avenue East. B&W. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office from the Photograph Archives at the Montana Historical Society Creator: Alan Thompson Date: Dec. 1991
Linderman School
Linderman School Linderman School (PAc 91-51 Kalispell R04 F04). Front to side view of the building's south entrance, facing west to northwest on the corner of 3rd Avenue East and 2nd Street East. B&W. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office from the Photograph Archives at the Montana Historical Society Creator: Alan Thompson Date: Dec. 1991

Location

124 3rd Avenue East, Kalispell, Montana | Private

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “Linderman School,” Historic Montana, accessed March 28, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/441.