Filed Under Bozeman

National Bank of Gallatin Valley

Main Street Historic District

Impressive molded concrete blocks make this early bank building one of Bozeman’s most unique historic landmarks. Businessmen James E. Martin and Amos C. Hall (who served a term as mayor of Bozeman in 1922) established the Martin and Hall Bank, later the National Bank of Gallatin Valley, in 1903. This Classical Revival style building, constructed in 1905, features decorative brick highlights at the roofline. Solid construction and two-story fluted columns lend a visual stability symbolic of financial strength. The bank had a strong beginning, weathering a national depression in 1907, but finances could not match the building’s architectural message. The bank struggled during the depressed 1920s. Legend has it that W. S. Davidson, president of the Gallatin Trust and Savings Bank, situated across the street, would rise in his chair each morning and peer across the street to see if the National Bank would open its doors. In 1926, Davidson’s bank along with two others quietly absorbed the financially ailing institution. James Martin, longtime bank president, told neighbors that he quit banking to tend his sheep herd.

Images

National Bank of Gallatin Valley, Bozeman, MT
National Bank of Gallatin Valley, Bozeman, MT National Bank of Gallatin Valley. Front view of the building, facing north on West Main Street near the intersection of West Main and North Tracey Avenue. Digital photograph. Source: Montana Historical Society Creator: Joe Furshong Date: June-Aug. 2019
National Bank of Gallatin Valley, Bozeman, MT
National Bank of Gallatin Valley, Bozeman, MT View of entrance door arch with decorative keystone and molded ashlar surround. Digital photograph. Source: Montana Historical Society Creator: Joe Furshong, photographer Date: June - Aug. 2019
National Bank of Gallatin Valley
National Bank of Gallatin Valley National Bank of Gallatin Valley. Side view of the building, facing west to northwest on North Tracey Avenue near the intersection of North Tracey and West Main Street. Digital photograph. Source: Montana Historical Society Creator: Joe Furshong Date: June-Aug. 2019
National Bank of Gallatin Valley
National Bank of Gallatin Valley National Bank of Gallatin Valley. Close view of the front entry to the building, facing northwest near the corner of West Main Street and North Tracey Avenue. Digital photograph. Source: Montana Historical Society Creator: Joe Furshong Date: June-Aug. 2019

Location

1 West Main Street, Bozeman, Montana | Private

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “National Bank of Gallatin Valley,” Historic Montana, accessed March 29, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/567.