Filed Under Helena

Iron Front Hotel

Helena Historic District

Helena architects Heinlein and Matthias designed this elegant European-style hotel, formerly the Windsor House. Built in 1888, it is Montana’s only known example of a prefabricated iron façade. The locally pre-cast façade represents a building trend popular in larger cities during this period. In 1889, House Republicans of the state’s first legislature regularly caucused in the hotel’s meeting rooms. The fourth-story ballroom features an oak floor once billed as the best dance floor in the West.

Images

Iron Front Hotel
Iron Front Hotel Iron Front Hotel. Front to side view of the building, facing northeast on North Last Chance Gulch with the C.W. Cannon Building to the right in the photograph. Digital photograph. Source: Montana Historical Society Creator: Michael Connolly Date: Jan. 2020
Iron Front Hotel
Iron Front Hotel Iron Front Hotel. Front view of the building, facing east on North Last Chance Gulch. Digital photograph. Source: Montana Historical Society Creator: Michael Connolly Date: Jan. 2020
Iron Front Hotel
Iron Front Hotel Iron Front Hotel. Front to side view of the building, facing southeast on North Last Chance Gulch with the C.W. Cannon Building to the right in the photograph. Digital photograph. Source: Montana Historical Society Creator: Michael Connolly Date: Jan. 2020

Location

415 North Last Chance Gulch, Helena, Montana | Private

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “Iron Front Hotel,” Historic Montana, accessed April 19, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/715.