North Park in Billings in Yellowstone County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Sawyer Stores
Billings Townsite Historic District
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, September 15, 2020
1. Sawyer Stores Marker
Inscription.
Sawyer Stores. Billings Townsite Historic District. The delicious odor of roasting coffee must have added a pleasing dimension to this industrial area when Sawyer Stores, Inc. opened its plant here in 1928. The facility served as the main office of a grocery chain that operated stores in Montana and Wyoming. The brick commercial building on its prime corner featured a creamery and warehouse on the first floor and a bakery and coffee roasting equipment on the second floor. A bean mill, seed cleaner, ice plant, and a huge basement produce-and-cold-storage warehouse made this a highly diversified operation. Convenient to a railroad siding, trains could pull right up to a loading dock while a second loading dock, now the 23rd Street entrance, accommodated trucks. Sawyer Stores operated out of this location until 1963. Heavy post-and-beam construction, wood flooring, two walk-in vaults, and the still-functioning freight elevator are ample evidence of the long, useful life of this Billings landmark.
The delicious odor of roasting coffee must have added a pleasing dimension to this industrial area when Sawyer Stores, Inc. opened its plant here in 1928. The facility served as the main office of a grocery chain that operated stores in Montana and Wyoming. The brick commercial building on its prime corner featured a creamery and warehouse on the first floor and a bakery and coffee roasting equipment on the second floor. A bean mill, seed cleaner, ice plant, and a huge basement produce-and-cold-storage warehouse made this a highly diversified operation. Convenient to a railroad siding, trains could pull right up to a loading dock while a second loading dock, now the 23rd Street entrance, accommodated trucks. Sawyer Stores operated out of this location until 1963. Heavy post-and-beam construction, wood flooring, two walk-in vaults, and the still-functioning freight elevator are ample evidence of the long, useful life of this Billings landmark.
29.932′ W. Marker is in Billings, Montana, in Yellowstone County. It is in North Park. Marker is at the intersection of Montana Avenue (Business Interstate 90) and North 23rd Street, on the left when traveling east on Montana Avenue. The marker is located on the North 23rd Street side of the building. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2223 Montana Avenue, Billings MT 59101, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, September 15, 2020
2. Sawyer Stores Marker
The marker in on the building below the window and to the left of the streetlight pole.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, September 15, 2020
3. Sawyer Stores Building
Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on February 3, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 135 times since then and 17 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on February 3, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
