Dillon in Beaverhead County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Dillon City Hall Historic District
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, July 11, 2021
1. Dillon City Hall Historic District Marker
Inscription.
Dillon City Hall Historic District. . The four buildings that make up this small historic district show the growth of Dillon’s city government. Buildings include ones constructed in the Progressive Era, the New Deal, and the 1960s, when the city built a shelter for one of its water wells. The 1914 city hall displays the Progressive Era’s optimism, practicality, and belief in government as a force for good. The building housed a variety of municipal functions, including the fire and police departments, water commission, and city clerk’s office; large openings onto East Center Street mark the former fire-engine bays. The design also included a city council meeting room, living quarters for firefighters, a municipal jail, and a large public auditorium. The latter provided space for lectures, dances, fraternal meetings, boxing and wrestling matches, and theatrical productions. Bozeman architect Fred F. Willson designed the dignified Romanesque Revival style building with decorative brickwork patterns, projecting arched hood molds, and fanlight windows. The effect was a building decorative enough to instill public pride and modest enough to indicate fiscal responsibility. As Dillon grew, the city expanded on the lots behind the main building. In 1936-37, using funds from the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal federal jobs program, a shop was constructed behind city hall. It served as a police garage, shop, and storage, and included space to house the jail’s female prisoners. When the city needed more space, particularly for fire equipment, this shop was added onto, and another garage/shop was built and added onto in 1945 and again in 1975.
The four buildings that make up this small historic district show the growth of Dillon’s city government. Buildings include ones constructed in the Progressive Era, the New Deal, and the 1960s, when the city built a shelter for one of its water wells. The 1914 city hall displays the Progressive Era’s optimism, practicality, and belief in government as a force for good. The building housed a variety of municipal functions, including the fire and police departments, water commission, and city clerk’s office; large openings onto East Center Street mark the former fire-engine bays. The design also included a city council meeting room, living quarters for firefighters, a municipal jail, and a large public auditorium. The latter provided space for lectures, dances, fraternal meetings, boxing and wrestling matches, and theatrical productions. Bozeman architect Fred F. Willson designed the dignified Romanesque Revival style building with decorative brickwork patterns, projecting arched hood molds, and fanlight windows. The effect was a building decorative enough to instill public pride and modest enough to indicate fiscal responsibility. As Dillon grew, the city expanded on the lots behind the main building. In 1936-37, using funds from the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal federal jobs program, a shop was constructed behind city hall.
Click or scan to see this page online
It served as a police garage, shop, and storage, and included space to house the jail’s female prisoners. When the city needed more space, particularly for fire equipment, this shop was added onto, and another garage/shop was built and added onto in 1945 and again in 1975.
Location. 45° 13.078′ N, 112° 38.124′ W. Marker is in Dillon, Montana, in Beaverhead County. Marker is on East Center Street near North Idaho Street, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 31 East Center Street, Dillon MT 59725, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 31, 2021. It was originally submitted on August 31, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 149 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 31, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.