Missoula in Missoula County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)

Gleim Building

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 21, 2019

1. Gleim Building Marker

Inscription. Built in 1893, this is an excellent example of vernacular adaptation of Romanesque architecture, with its arched windows, checkerboard banding, and rusticated granite sills. Today the building has been restored on its façade and east and west sides to the original appearance. Historically, the building is a reminder of the effect of the railroad on Missoula in earlier days. Mary Gleim built it as a “female boarding house,” a euphemism for brothel, in the heart of what then was the city’s red light district of honky tonks and hurdy gurdy houses. Such establishments—legal under city law—had appeared along West Front Street early on, but proliferated with the arrival of railroad construction crews in the 1880s. Gleim herself owned at least eight houses of prostitution in the 1890s and early twentieth century, and was a notorious figure who assaulted people and was given to noisy outbursts during her court appearances. She sold this building in 1903, and in 1916 city officials bowed to public pressure and closed the red light district. The building housed a series of billiards parlors over the next decades.

Erected by Montana

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National Register Sign Program.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Entertainment • Industry & Commerce • Women. In addition, it is included in the Montana National Register Sign Program series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1893.

Location. 46° 52.287′ N, 113° 59.872′ W. Marker is in Missoula, Montana, in Missoula County. It is on North 1st Street West, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 265 North 1st Street West, Missoula MT 59802, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Western Montana

and in Glacier Country.

It is also in the American Mountain West

and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Gleim Building II (a few steps from this marker); Studebaker Building

Gleim Building and Marker, on the right image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 21, 2019

2. Gleim Building and Marker, on the right

(about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Lenox Flats (about 700 feet away); Headquarters Building and Daily Company Annex (about 700 feet away); The Palace Hotel (about 700 feet away); Free Speech Corner (about 700 feet away); Missoula County Courthouse (about 800 feet away); Missoula County War Memorial (about 800 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Missoula.

Also see . . . Madam of Front Street, dynamite and prison -- Harmon’s Histories. Mary Gleim is among Missoula’s most colorful historical characters. So much has been written about her, I hesitate to go down this road, except for the fact that the details of her downfall are usually glossed over in a few sentences. They deserve so much more. (Submitted on January 17, 2020, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.)

Gleim Building image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 21, 2019

3. Gleim Building

Credits. This page was last revised on January 10, 2025. It was originally submitted on January 17, 2020, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 382 times since then and 31 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 17, 2020, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.