Helena Historic District

88 Locations | Curated by Historic Montana

The crooked path of Last Chance Gulch, weaving between original mining claims, memorializes Helena’s chaotic beginning as a gold camp in 1864. Within a year of the placer gold discovery, a boomtown flourished, with homes and businesses in tents and log cabins. Fire was both constant threat and regular scourge. In 1869, the downtown burned, replaced over the next few years by brick and granite business houses. Helena survived after the placer gold played out and population declined, because pioneer entrepreneurs had made it a financial center. Helena claimed the territorial capital from declining Virginia City in 1874, and the following year received one of the nation’s five U.S. Assay Offices—acknowledgment of extensive hard-rock gold and silver mining that replaced placer mining. The arrival of the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1883, and Helena’s election as state capital in 1894, confirmed the town’s survival. Downtown buildings in a great variety of architectural styles arose, many since lost to fires, earthquakes, and urban renewal. The panic of 1893 and end of guaranteed federal silver purchases slowed Helena’s early momentum, but the gold camp that survived grew gradually as a business and government center.

Exquisite leaded and beveled glass, magnificent classical columns, a denticulated porch frieze, and arched windows with stenciled heads embellish both this 1906 Queen Anne style home and its next door neighbor. The gentle roof pitch is characteristic of the style as it evolved from the nineteenth…
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An open front porch frames the entry of this dwelling, built as a single family home in the early 1880s when the neighborhood was newly developed. John C. Curtin and his family were in residence here from 1889 to 1898. Curtin and a brother, Arthur P. Curtin, were partners in the firm of Clarke,…
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A square shape, low-pitched roof, wide bracketed eaves, and heavy window crowns suggest that this Italianate style apartment building may date to the late 1870s. Attorney George Bleecker, Mrs. Sarah Martin, and bookkeeper John Street, the first documented residents, lived here in 1890. By 1892,…
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An early one-story wooden dwelling stood here by 1884, replaced by 1888 with a two-story brick residence, set slightly back from the street. The home soon found itself ensconced in a busy commercial district. Neighbors included saloons, grocery stores, and the Iowa House Hotel (since demolished),…
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The elegant Second Empire style, rare in Helena, is beautifully expressed in this three-story residence built circa 1880 during Helena’s stint as territorial capital. Jerome and Marcia Norris, longtime resident owners, counted Helena’s social elite among their circle of friends. Jerome had cattle…
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Downtown Helena expanded in the 1940s at its north end where there had previously been little development. This two-story Art Moderne-inspired office building reflects the industrial, streamlined architectural trends of the period. E. B. Benson of the architectural firm of Haire and Benson,…
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Courthouse Square was already the busy seat of county government when the territorial capital moved to Helena in 1875. Isaac Alden, clerk of the Territorial Supreme Court and later state court commissioner, financed this circa 1880 multi-purpose brick building just steps from the courthouse.…
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Locally quarried blue-gray granite complements the shingled upper stories in this commanding nineteenth-century home. Both this residence and the one next door are stellar examples of the eclectic Shingle style. The wide porch and asymmetry are Queen Anne hallmarks while the heavy stonework is…
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An octagonal tower, decorative brickwork, one-story open porch, and hipped roof identify this appealing Queen Anne style residence built circa 1883. That year launched a period of neighborhood expansion and prosperity, kindled when the tracks of the Northern Pacific Railroad reached Helena.…
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Historic maps and early directories reveal that this splendid business block was constructed circa 1890. Morris Auerbach, in business with Israel L. Israel and Adolph Marks during the 1890s, was the original occupant. Their Boston Clothing Company carried gentlemen’s furnished goods and advertised…
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Newlyweds Isaac Boyer and Carrie Feldberg Boyer moved to their new home within a year of their 1907 marriage. The refined, hipped-roof residence may well have been built to order. The two-story house features popular Colonial Revival style details, including a symmetrical façade, Acanthus leaf…
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Irish-born William Butler came to Montana in 1866, worked in Helena as a lather and carpenter, and mined at nearby Butler (now Austin). He paid the county $50 in 1875 for this land, formerly a mining claim. In 1879 Butler brought his bride, Catherine, to the Carpenter Gothic style cottage which he…
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Longtime Helena saloon proprietor Michael Byrns, his wife Emma, and their daughter Mary were the first residents of this early West Side home, built circa 1878. Emma’s “uniform kindness and lovely traits of character” touched so many that the entire community mourned her death in 1895. After 1906,…
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Most of Helena’s earliest commercial buildings fell victim to the fires that plagued the gulch. This simple 1860s commercial building, originally a single story of stone construction, was a notable exception, surviving a disastrous conflagration in 1874. Early occupants include the Sands Brothers…
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Prominent Helena investor and real estate developer Charles W. Cannon commissioned the firm of Wallace and Thornborgh to construct this building for $10,000. Completed in 1890, the building reflects expansion and urbanization in the downtown area during this period of growth. An excellent example…
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According to reminiscences of the Butts family, builders of the Pioneer Cabin next door, two cabins stood on this lot in 1865. William Davenport likely built one for his family and the William H. Parkinsons occupied the other. Sallie Davenport, later Mrs. A. J. Davidson, was eight when her family…
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Construction of Helena’s first permanent schoolhouse began in 1875 after relocation of the old mining camp cemetery that originally occupied these grounds. Opening its doors in January, 1876, it was the first public school in Montana Territory with graded classrooms, a high school curriculum, and…
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Helena entrepreneur William Chessman built these exemplary Queen Anne style townhouse apartments in 1891 while in residence across Sixth Avenue at 304 North Ewing. Gables, bays, and a rounded turret handsomely demonstrate the architectural exuberance of the period when Helena earned the nickname…
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Originally a combination residence and boarding house/hotel named the Farmer's Home, this survivor of early Helena recalls the days when the territorial capital was a busy commercial hub. In 1879, Peter J. Connor opened the Farmer’s Home on what was then the corner of Clore (now Park) and…
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Reputedly the first two-story building on Main Street and one of Helena’s few remaining structures dating to the 1860s, this stone building originally housed offices and furnished lodgings. Miner and prominent merchant E. M. Dunphy purchased the Victorian-period style structure in 1868,…
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Montana’s leading architectural firm of Link and Haire designed this attractive building for Charles George Eybel in 1922. Stuccoed walls and a raftered cornice along the roofline, reminiscent of the Spanish Colonial Style, combine with a smooth façade and multicolored detailing, characteristic of…
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A constant threat of fire during the 1870s prompted residents to move away from the gulch and settle in this outlying neighborhood. Merchant Jacob Feldberg and wife Emma, respected members of Helena’s once-dynamic Jewish community, built one of the neighborhood’s first brick homes here in 1875. Its…
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The welfare of the community depended upon this prominent landmark, strategically placed atop the town’s most prominent hill. Fire was the grim reaper that stalked all western mining camps, and Last Chance Gulch was no exception. Hastily built log cabins, crowded together along the streets, created…
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Lucy Healey kept house for her seven children in a small dwelling on this property during the 1870s. Her husband left in 1876 and was rumored to have taken up with a “lewd woman” in Deadwood, Dakota Territory. The court granted Lucy a divorce and decreed her the property owner in 1881; Lucy…
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This appealing residence was an early addition to one of Helena’s first neighborhoods, completed circa 1880 and enlarged in 1884 by prominent Helena clothing merchant Herman Gans. The bayed tower, arched windows, stained glass, and south side porch with decorative railing elegantly epitomize the…
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On July 16, 1928, a devastating fire swept between the Granite and Gold Blocks (note inscription, second story center). The structure was rebuilt by then-owner Charles Benton Power and was the last major downtown commercial building constructed by this wealthy family. The new Gold Block was…
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This building is an excellent example of transitional Western Commercial architecture before the advent of more ornate styles. The simple, narrow plan enhanced by decorative windows is typical of the 1870s and early 1880s. A pressed metal cornice crowns the top. The 1884 structure, tucked into the…
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George and Esther Grossberg built this Craftsman style bungalow in the early 1920s. The mix of multi-colored brick and stucco blends beautifully into the surrounding landscape. Tucked between two Victorian-era homes, this charming 1920s residence represents the careful infill of the neighborhood…
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The Italianate style residence of pioneer businessman George Herrmann has long presided over the north slope of Tower Hill, commanding the attention of passersby on Broadway below. Herrmann, a native of Bavaria, established his cabinet shop at 201 Broadway in 1868. By 1877, the business included…
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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…
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Senator T. C. Power met A. C. Johnson in Chicago and, taking a liking to the young man, offered him a job out west. The nineteen-year-old came to work as chief clerk at Power’s Fort Benton Mercantile in 1879. Power and Johnson became friends and both moved to Helena in 1890. Johnson rose to direct…
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Thomas Kain and his sons, Henry and John, constructed this masonry showcase as an office for the family stonecutting business circa 1912. Kain is credited with developing several Helena quarries and thus contributed greatly to local building patterns by making a variety of stone types available to…
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Masterful stonework of local granite in the Romanesque style creates a somber effect in this 1890 institution. The corner tower (which lost its battlements in the 1935 earthquakes), thick stone lintels, and heavy arches recall the romantic nineteenth-century notion that a structure’s appearance…
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Merchant-turned-real-estate-developer Richard Lockey built this three-story commercial building in partnership with Jacob Leiser in 1891. The brick structure features two first-floor storefronts with a central entrance providing access to the upper floor apartments. A rounded arch at the parapet…
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This grand structure reflects the prosperous 1880s and the importance of the Masons in the community. Awarded a $250 prize for their design, Helena architects Heinlein and Matthias also won the job of overseeing the building’s construction in 1885. They showcased their abilities with lavish…
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Time stands still within the quiet confines of this nationally renowned social club, the oldest in the Northwest. A group of Helena’s elite founded the Montana Club in 1885 “for gentlemen only.” Members built a seven-story building on this site in 1893, but fire consumed that landmark in 1903. A…
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Historic maps show that the area above Reeder’s Alley, known as Reeder’s Gulch, was long undeveloped and virtually inaccessible. The city gave in to local pressure in the early 1890s and began construction of this bridge, first known as the Howie Street Bridge. Cost of the work exceeded funds,…
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This was one of five structures rebuilt after the disastrous lightning-sparked fire of 1928. The original building and its replacement housed the thriving New York Store renamed Fligelman’s in 1929 from 1902 to 1958. This pioneer department store was established in 1885 as a dry goods business.…
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Jacob Opp and his sons Lawrence and Arthur worked for the longtime undertaking firm of Herrmann and Company before opening their own mortuary with partner Ralph J. Conrad in 1926. Both Lawrence and Arthur Opp were graduates of Chicago’s prestigious Worsham College of Mortuary Science. Unlike the…
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Attention to detail distinguishes this one-story brick residence, designed in 1934 by Helena architect E. B. Benson. Benson’s plan incorporates many Tudor revival style elements: an asymmetrical facade, sloping roofline, prominent chimney, arched doorway, small arched vents, and multi-paned…
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George and Anna Pascoe, both natives of England, moved to Helena from Butte in 1908. George died soon after the couple purchased this home in 1911. Although he was not long a resident of Helena, George, “with a cheery smile and a good word for everyone,” was the well-liked proprietor of a popular…
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Artist C. M. Russell illustrated the program for the formal ball, held April 12, 1913, inaugurating the largest hotel between the Twin Cities and the Coast. Built almost entirely with donations as a public enterprise, Helena felt real pride of ownership and the Placer quickly became the center of…
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The Warren Street location of this substantial brick home, built by Helena businessman William Preuitt circa 1874, offered a bird’s eye view of the growing town below. It also provided higher ground away from the fires that plagued Helena’s early commercial area. After several other owners, Isaac…
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This well-preserved commercial structure illustrates Helena’s growth from mining camp to prosperous town. The quoins and arches of the original stone building, constructed circa 1865-1872, are still visible at the rear. In 1878, the building was purchased by merchants William B. Raleigh and Charles…
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Thomas K. Dane established a hotel on this corner in 1875 when Helena became the territorial capital. On a busy thoroughfare just off Courthouse Square, the establishment had become the Rodney Hotel by 1883 and the original frame building fronting Rodney Street soon assumed its present L-shape.…
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Gambling that Helena would continue to grow, Eliza Roush purchased this lot and several others in 1869. Her bet paid off, and by 1875, Rodney Street was crowded with buildings, including a small wooden dwelling on this site. A series of wooden structures occupied this corner, and by the time real…
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Frontier lawyer Wilbur Fisk Sanders established his reputation in 1863 by courageously prosecuting Virginia City’s most dangerous outlaws. A member of the first territorial legislature and Montana’s first United States senator, Sanders was renowned for his eloquent speeches, fiery wit, and…
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Originally this was a one-story stone building erected in 1874 to accommodate the business of Morris and Julius Sands. The brothers added a second story and remodeled the façade in 1889, finishing it with alternating rows of buff sandstone and blue limestone in the popular Romanesque style.…
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The sale of bonds allowed construction of this combination two-story brick gymnasium and central heating plant, completed in 1908. Its boiler system heated the two schools, auditorium, and public library that once sprawled across the block. Attorney E. C. Day played a key role in planning the…
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Henry Sieben came to Montana a seventeen-year-old uneducated orphan and rose to pioneer Montana’s livestock industry. Honesty, integrity, fair treatment, and a love for animals earned Sieben a national reputation. He was a co-founder of the Montana Woolgrowers Association and although elected to…
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A pair of two-story bay windows with granite sills, decorative brickwork, corbelled cornice, and open front porch recall the prosperous Courthouse Square neighborhood during the 1880s and 1890s. This attractive brick Italianate style dwelling, constructed in 1890, originally accommodated two…
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Once connected to the old St. Louis Hotel on Jackson Street, this 1882 building in the heart of Helena’s original downtown displays the metal cornices and banded, pedimented windows typical of Italianate style architecture of the time. Pioneer businessman Frederick Gamer’s boot and shoe shop,…
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Nineteenth-century charm is well preserved in this 1883 Queen Anne style residence, built by pioneer physician William L. Steele. Its present appearance reflects additions, including a front porch and bay window, made before 1892. Stucco applied over damaged brick veneer following the 1935…
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Dwellings, bunkhouses, and stables dotted the hilltop during the 1880s, forming an extension of Louis Reeder’s housing complex downslope. One prominent stone building, now the largest portion of the present building, contained four small shotgun style apartments; its alley-facing doorways are still…
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Charles Hendrie opened Helena’s first iron foundry on this site before 1868. The property’s third owner, Benjamen K. Tatem, built this two-story residence circa 1875. Wide eaves, low hipped roof, and tall arched windows proclaim Italianate influences and accurately convey the original appearance of…
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Benjamin H. and Lydia Mears Tatem came west as newlyweds in 1869. They settled in Helena where Tatem managed the Unionville mining claims of Philadelphia investors and operated Helena Iron Works. Tatem profited from his interest in the Bald Butte Mine near Marysville. The Tatems, famous for their…
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Mining investor Joseph Russell built this brick Queen Anne-style residence circa 1887. An octagonal tower adorned with applied terra-cotta flowers, spindled porches and balconies, and multiple gabled dormers with complex ornamentation distinguish it as an exemplary Victorian-era mansion. Russell…
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During his second term of office in 1903, Montana’s first governor J. K. Toole commissioned Eugene Fisk to build this magnificent home of locally quarried red porphyry and brick. Fisk, who also designed the 1880s Unitarian Church (now Grandstreet Theatre), added exquisite interior finishings and an…
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Charles and Frances Bernier had this Minimal Traditional English cottage style home built in 1940. Contractor Bob James likely built the home, and mason Lewis Reid laid the arched white-marble doorway surround. Reid’s distinctive stonework decorates the entrances, fireplaces, and entire façades of…
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Praised for lending "an air of distinction" to "one of the handsomest residence streets in Helena," this three-story Queen Anne style home was constructed for George and Eva Tracy. The house was completed just prior to the calamitous economic collapse known as the Panic of 1893.…
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Much of the great wealth that once came from Montana soil was melted and weighed in this dignified building, constructed in 1875. U.S. Treasury Department architect A. B. Mullet drew the plans for the $75,000 building, which were modified by his successor, William Potter. The structure is of both…
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The Montana National Bank, the first bank chartered in Montana Territory, was located on this site in 1866. A housing shortage during the 1880s prompted the construction of this three-story rooming house in 1887. The French Second Empire-inspired style features a straight mansard roof with caboose…
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Broad proportions and a horizontal emphasis combine with natural colors to make this classic bungalow a handsome ambassador of that popular style. The residence is unique to the district and an excellent example of early-twentieth-century affluence. Its original brick veneer was stylistically…
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Typical of the tiny dwellings that once lined Last Chance Gulch, this sturdy log cabin was one of the last built on the heels of the gold rush circa 1870. Its original occupants are unknown. From 1876 to 1886 the Yee Wau brothers, longtime local dealers in Chinese merchandise and groceries, owned…
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As early as 1866, Rodney Street was Helena’s primary north-south connection and thus supported a variety of early businesses. It was also an area better protected from the fires that constantly threatened downtown commerce. This building, constructed circa 1880, was one of Rodney Street’s first…
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Gold-seeking miners once turned the soil in this neighborhood, but when the gold played out, residential development began. Charles K. Wells, whose downtown stationery store was well established by 1870, purchased a large tract of land on Upper Rodney Street. He sold off some of the parcels, but he…
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Newlyweds Elizabeth and Jacob Adami left their native Germany and traveled by ship, rail, and finally stagecoach to boomtown Helena in 1872. The Adamis settled here, raising seven children. Their residence, razed in the 1970s to create parking, housed family members until 1968. A freighter,…
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