Livingston Westside Residential Historic District

11 Locations | Curated by Historic Montana

Livingston was inextricably tied to the railroad, but its business community also influenced the town's character. After 1900, professionals and entrepreneurs built new homes on the Westside when the expansion of downtown encroached on the previous residential neighborhoods. The less pretentious homes of Livingston's lawyers, merchants, doctors, and businessmen comprise the majority of the Westside, but the district includes Livingston's most architecturally significant residences. These were home to important figures such as Charles Garnier, founder of the exclusive "Montana Sport" cigar factory whose Livingston payroll was second only to the Northern Pacific. Garnier built a residence here in 1902. The 1903 mansion of Livingston mayor and bank president Edward Talcott sprawls over six city lots on "Banker's Row." Wealthy rancher J. H. Harvat moved to town, building a home so that his children could attend school. Telephone company franchise owner Joseph Swindlehurst, banker J. C. Vilas, and renowned criminal lawyer Hugh J. Miller were other wealthy residents. Among the larger homes, examples of Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Shingle, and Prairie styles reveal an astute awareness of national architectural trends of the early twentieth century. After the 1920s, more modest homes were added to the district. The wide, inviting tree-lined streets, churches, and schools make this Livingston's preferred residential area even today.