2009 Re-Inventory and Evaluation of 100 Architectural Properties in the Butte-Anaconda National Historic Landmark District, Butte, Silver Bow County, Montana

Renewable Technologies, Incorporated

From introduction: "In spring 2009, the Montana State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) awarded the City-County of Butte-Silver Bow, Montana (BSB) a Preserve America matching grant to support completion of a proposed architectural inventory project in the Butte-Anaconda National Historic Landmark District (NHL). The project emphasized a re-inventory and evaluation of 100 primarily residential properties located in the Butte area of the NHL. BSB contracted with Renewable Technologies, Inc. (RTI) to complete the project, and matched its Preserve America grant with local funds and technical and clerical support services. The BSB Historic Preservation Officer selected the 100 properties for survey primarily from a pool of approximately 400 buildings which had been determined as having a "neutral" level of significance in an earlier inventory project, completed in 1981-85 (The "neutral" designation, though occasionally used in historic inventories of that era, is no longer considered an appropriate determination.) In selecting the properties, consideration was also given to resources overlooked by the original inventory or for which the inventory form was missing, properties with a known subsequent change in National Resister status from contributing to noncontributing, and contributing properties in possible threat of demolition. A majority of the properties ultimately selected lie in the district's South Central and South Butte neighborhoods, the site of numerous historic building losses and other changes to the built environment since the mid-1980s. Other selected properties are located in adjacent areas of the Butte district's southern sector, including the Southwest, West Side and East Side neighborhoods and the Central Business and Smelter districts. This report is a primary product of the re-inventory and evaluation project. Following this introduction, it begins by providing a brief background discussion of the NHL and the local historic preservation program. A discussion of the methodologies employed by the inventory and a summary of the inventory results comprise the report's main body. They are followed by the BSB Historic Preservation Offlcer's recommendations for future work. Development of additional historic context material was not a part of this project's scope, and no contextual information is therefore provided here. Neighborhood histories previously prepared by others, however, are included in the summary of results. In addition to this report, a Montana Historic Properties Record site form was completed for each of the 100 architectural properties inventoried. Copies of those forms were submitted both to BSB and to the Archaeological Research Center of the University of Montana." Funding for this project was provided in part through a Preserve America grant (30-08-PA-4024) to the City and County of Butte-Silver Bow administered by the Montana State Historic Preservation Office and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Preserve America is a federal initiative that encourages and supports community efforts to preserve and enjoy our priceless cultural and natural heritage. The goals of the program include a greater shared knowledge about the nation's past, strengthened regional identities and local pride, increased local participation in preserving the country's cultural and natural heritage assets, and support for the economic vitality of our communities.

2009 Re-Inventory and Evaluation of 100 Architectural Properties in the Butte-Anaconda National Historic Landmark District, Butte, Silver Bow County, Montana

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