Filed Under Hardin

James Reid's Pool Hall

Hardin Commercial Historic District

The elaborate corbelling on the front façade and the parapet above the transom evoke the glory days of this building, which long provided recreation for Hardin residents. German immigrant Anton Becker, owner of the hotel next door, constructed the one-story building in 1910, only three years after Hardin was founded. The town's earliest map shows the building as a dance hall, but by 1911, the brick structure housed the Pioneer Pool Parlor. Popular Hardin barber Matt Larkin shared the space from 1912 to 1918. In 1918, pool hall owner James Reid constructed a forty-foot addition at the back of the building and installed a double bowling alley. In the 1920s, in response to golf's rising popularity, owners installed a nine-hole indoor golf course with a sand green. In later years, the space served as a meat market, grocery store, and then the Pastime Café. The plate glass storefront, glass block transom, and aluminum awnings are later modifications, but the top of the building remains as it was during Hardin's boom years.

Images

James Reid's Pool Hall
James Reid's Pool Hall Still image capture of James Reid's Pool Hall, Hardin, Montana. Image adhered to paper with typed information. b&w print. Source: Official records of the Montana State Historic Preservation Office, Helena, Montana Creator: Unidentified photographer Date: c. 1984
James Reid's Pool Hall
James Reid's Pool Hall View of facade Source: Montanapictures.net Creator: Montanapictures.net Date: May 2004

Location

204 North Center Avenue, Hardin, Montana | Private

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “James Reid's Pool Hall,” Historic Montana, accessed April 24, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/90.