When Montana achieved statehood in 1889, Bozeman was more cowtown than cosmopolitan as it vied with other towns to become the state capital. Architect George Hancock of Fargo, North Dakota, put form to Bozeman’s aspirations by designing several elegant buildings to grace the unpaved, muddy streets. These included the Hotel Bozeman and its two-story annex, completed in 1890. Three real estate firms were the original annex tenants, but by 1900 the Chronicle Publishing Company occupied one of the storefront bays. The firm eventually took over the entire ground floor where, from the turn of the century until 1977, daily issues of the Bozeman Chronicle were published. Architectural motifs and ornamentation visually unify the separate annex and hotel. Rectangular storefront windows with stone lintels and sills mimic the hotel’s second- and third-story windows. The second floor of the annex features rounded windows with linked hood moldings like those on the hotel’s fourth floor. Although the annex storefronts have been redesigned, two original stained glass transoms remain intact.
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