Anaconda in Deer Lodge County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Pay Office Hall
Anaconda Commercial Historic District
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 11, 2021
1. Pay Office Hall Marker
Inscription.
Pay Office Hall. Anaconda Commercial Historic District. Wholesale liquor dealer John V. Collins commissioned this handsome Renaissance Revival style commercial and boardinghouse building in 1897. The store was home to several saloons during its first twenty years. Workers at Marcus Dalys Anaconda Company Smelter cashed their paychecks next door at Dalys bank and some quenched their thirst in this building or the one next door. Upstairs, various female landlords managed an ever-changing array of bachelor tenants. In 1919, the Anaconda Company bought the building and hired Bozeman architect Fred Willson to redesign the storefront and former saloon into a more refined business office and community meeting space. Pay Office Hall served smelter employees payroll needs during the day, and hosted social, civic, and labor union meetings at night. The second floor lodging rooms soon filled with labor union offices representing a wide array of blue-collar workers including butchers, railroad workers, iron workers, bricklayers, and plumbers. In 1948, the Anaconda Standard newspaper offices in the Petritz Block next door moved their advertising staff here. Since 1970, the Anaconda Leader has produced the towns weekly newspaper from this location.
Wholesale liquor dealer John V. Collins commissioned this handsome Renaissance Revival style commercial and boardinghouse building in 1897. The store was home to several saloons during its first twenty years. Workers at Marcus Dalys Anaconda Company Smelter cashed their paychecks next door at Dalys bank and some quenched their thirst in this building or the one next door. Upstairs, various female landlords managed an ever-changing array of bachelor tenants. In 1919, the Anaconda Company bought the building and hired Bozeman architect Fred Willson to redesign the storefront and former saloon into a more refined business office and community meeting space. Pay Office Hall served smelter employees payroll needs during the day, and hosted social, civic, and labor union meetings at night. The second floor lodging rooms soon filled with labor union offices representing a wide array of blue-collar workers including butchers, railroad workers, iron workers, bricklayers, and plumbers. In 1948, the Anaconda Standard newspaper offices in the Petritz Block next door moved their advertising staff here. Since 1970, the Anaconda Leader has produced the towns weekly newspaper from this location.
Erected by Montana Historical Society.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists:
Location. 46° 7.778′ N, 112° 57.161′ W. Marker is in Anaconda, Montana, in Deer Lodge County. It is on Main Street near Park Avenue, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 121 Main Street, Anaconda MT 59711, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in andspecifically outhwest Montana, in Gold West Country, in Mining 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 Ruperts Land and also the Louisiana Purchase.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 3, 2021. It was originally submitted on September 3, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 212 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on September 3, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
