Knight and Twining Block
Kalispell Main Steet Historic District (Addendum and Boundary Increase)
W. R. Twining, a Philadelphia construction superintendent newly arrived in Kalispell, collaborated with brother-in-law E. C. Knight on this brick business block in 1908. A reporter noted in June that “Jack Stahl, one of the swiftest men with a trowel … is piling up the brick on rush orders for Knight and Twining’s new building.” Completed in September, the stylish new block featured decorative brickwork, highlighted in a central pediment bearing the initials “K&T.” Mrs. Annie Hunter managed the second-floor rooming house, whose sixteen furnished rooms boasted “steam heat, electric light, baths and all the comforts of civilization.” In 1916, noted photographer T. J. Hileman opened a first-floor studio, which operated until 1938. Hileman remodeled the storefront in 1936, installing polished Vermont granite trim. From 1938 to 1975, the building housed Alton Pearce’s drug store. Original accoutrements including a pressed metal ceiling, wainscoting, transomed doors, and steam radiators remain intact.
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