Miles City in Custer County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Jackson Block
Miles City Main Street Historic District
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 11, 2020
1. Jackson Block Marker
Inscription.
Jackson Block. Miles City Main Street Historic District. The Jackson Block’s spare façade bears witness to those watchwords of modern architecture, “form follows function.” The two-story building suggests ways that urban architectural trends were translated and adapted in small communities. Its main decoration derives from the pattern created by its windows; in this, the 1909 commercial block echoes the emphasis found in turn-of-the-century “Chicago-style” skyscrapers on “light, space, air, and strength” rather than ornamentation. Miles City architect Brynjulf Rivenes designed the surprisingly modern building for entrepreneur W. C. Jackson, a confectioner who owned a shop at 613 Main. With fellow Miles City businessman Ed Arnold, Jackson also invested in the next-door Arnold Block. Built in 1913, it matched the lines of the Jackson Block, and doorways connected the buildings on the second floor. From Jackson Block storefronts merchants sold pianos, office equipment, clothing, and dry goods. Second-floor tenants included Brynjulf Rivenes and the Montana Institute, a private school that offered both day and night classes in automobile engineering, bookkeeping, stenography, and penmanship.
The Jackson Block’s spare façade bears witness to those watchwords of modern architecture, “form follows function.” The two-story building suggests ways that urban architectural trends were translated and adapted in small communities. Its main decoration derives from the pattern created by its windows; in this, the 1909 commercial block echoes the emphasis found in turn-of-the-century “Chicago-style” skyscrapers on “light, space, air, and strength” rather than ornamentation. Miles City architect Brynjulf Rivenes designed the surprisingly modern building for entrepreneur W. C. Jackson, a confectioner who owned a shop at 613 Main. With fellow Miles City businessman Ed Arnold, Jackson also invested in the next-door Arnold Block. Built in 1913, it matched the lines of the Jackson Block, and doorways connected the buildings on the second floor. From Jackson Block storefronts merchants sold pianos, office equipment, clothing, and dry goods. Second-floor tenants included Brynjulf Rivenes and the Montana Institute, a private school that offered both day and night classes in automobile engineering, bookkeeping, stenography, and penmanship.
Erected by Montana Historical Society.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture
Location. 46° 24.419′ N, 105° 50.851′ W. Marker is in Miles City, Montana, in Custer County. It is on Main Street (Business Interstate 94) near South 8th Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Miles City MT 59301, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Montana, in Custer Country and in the Powder River Basin. It is also in the American Mountain West, in the Lewis & Clark Corridor, on the prairies, on the Great Plains, and specifically on the Northern Plains. Globally, it is in North America, 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.
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 11, 2020
2. Jackson Block and Marker
The marker is beneath the Saddlery sign.
Credits. This page was last revised on July 23, 2021. It was originally submitted on January 3, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 187 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on January 3, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
