Helena in Lewis and Clark County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Montana Veterans and Pioneers Memorial Building
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 9, 2013
1. Montana Veterans and Pioneers Memorial Building Marker
Inscription.
Montana Veterans and Pioneers Memorial Building. . The desire to memorialize the contributions of Montana pioneers and veterans and the need for a state museum converged in 1941. That year, veterans groups, the Sons and Daughters of Montana Pioneers, and the Montana Pioneers joined together to promote construction of this building. The Sons and Daughters of Montana Pioneers purchased the site, and veterans groups contributed $48,000 toward the project. Together they lobbied the legislature to earmark money for a combined memorial, museum, and historical library. World War II delayed the project, but after the war, Governor John Bonner pushed through an additional $350,000 appropriation for the building. The groups held an architectural competition, and several Montana firms submitted plans. When the veterans and pioneers voted on the designs by secret ballot at separate conventions, the design of Great Falls architect Angus McIver emerged as the clear winner. The plan featured the sleek lines and balanced asymmetry that characterizes modern architecture at its best. Actually two separate buildings, the striking bronze-trimmed entrance creates a seamless connection between the one-story, windowless museum decorated on the exterior with tile, and the three-story building to the north, whose horizontal ribbons of windows provide the primary ornamentation. After several delays, the building was finally completed in 1953 at a cost of $638,000. The Montana Historical Society soon filled the galleries with exhibits, including a permanent display of Charles M. Russell paintings and sculpture. The state funded building additions in 1970 and 1986 to accommodate the Society's growing staff and collections.
The desire to memorialize the contributions of Montana pioneers and veterans and the need for a state museum converged in 1941. That year, veterans groups, the Sons and Daughters of Montana Pioneers, and the Montana Pioneers joined together to promote construction of this building. The Sons and Daughters of Montana Pioneers purchased the site, and veterans groups contributed $48,000 toward the project. Together they lobbied the legislature to earmark money for a combined memorial, museum, and historical library. World War II delayed the project, but after the war, Governor John Bonner pushed through an additional $350,000 appropriation for the building. The groups held an architectural competition, and several Montana firms submitted plans. When the veterans and pioneers voted on the designs by secret ballot at separate conventions, the design of Great Falls architect Angus McIver emerged as the clear winner. The plan featured the sleek lines and balanced asymmetry that characterizes modern architecture at its best. Actually two separate buildings, the striking bronze-trimmed entrance creates a seamless connection between the one-story, windowless museum decorated on the exterior with tile, and the three-story building to the north, whose horizontal ribbons of windows provide the primary ornamentation. After several delays, the building
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was finally completed in 1953 at a cost of $638,000. The Montana Historical Society soon filled the galleries with exhibits, including a permanent display of Charles M. Russell paintings and sculpture. The state funded building additions in 1970 and 1986 to accommodate the Society's growing staff and collections.
Location. 46° 35.184′ N, 112° 0.984′ W. Marker is in Helena, Montana, in Lewis and Clark County. Memorial is on Roberts Street south of East 6th Avenue, on the left when traveling south. Marker is located beside the street, along the sidewalk near the main west-side entrance to the Montana Historical Society Building. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 225 North Roberts Street, Helena MT 59620, United States of America. Touch for directions.
More about this marker. Marker is a large, framed, laser-printed metal plaque, mounted horizontally on a waist-high post.
Regarding Montana Veterans and Pioneers Memorial Building. National Register of Historic Places (#04001357) (2004)
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 9, 2013
3. Herd Bull Sculpture (located near marker; Veterans Memorial Building in background)
(from plaque beside sculpture) Herd Bull is the work of Sioux artist Benji Daniels and Billings sculptor James J. Hadcock. The two-and-a-half-ton bison skull was welded of recycled sheet metal and measures 24 feet wide by seven feet high. Completed in 1990, Herd Bull serves as an important symbol of the life-ways of Montana's first inhabitants, the spiritof the West for those who followed, and the impact of nature on all who have called Montana home.
Credits. This page was last revised on October 14, 2020. It was originally submitted on January 10, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 182 times since then and 9 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on January 10, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.