Helena in Lewis and Clark County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Cogswell Building
Montana State Capitol Campus Historic District
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 15, 2021
1. Cogswell Building Marker
Inscription.
Following World War II, Montana’s growing state agencies desperately needed all types of space. Consequently, in 1946 the Montana State Postwar Planning and Construction Commission recommended building a laboratory where all testing for state government programs could take place. To meet the need, Helena architect Vincent H. Walsh designed a W-shaped, three-story structure. However, lack of funding delayed construction and altered Walsh’s original design, ultimately eliminating the middle wing and third story. When the new State Laboratory finally opened in 1955, it housed the Highway Department’s Testing Division and the Board of Health’s Divisions of Bacteriology, Health Education, Public Health Nursing, and Disease Control. Almost immediately the State Laboratories Commission—created in 1945 to assess state agencies’ “present and future laboratory” needs—declared the space insufficient. Their concerns were not addressed until 1981, after the Great Falls firm of Davidson & Kuhr designed the modern addition that sits between the original two wings. In 1964, the state dedicated the building to Dr. William F. Cogswell, who
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served from 1912 to 1946 as the Executive Secretary of the State Board of Health.
Location. 46° 35.091′ N, 112° 0.938′ W. Marker is in Helena, Montana, in Lewis and Clark County. It is on East Lockey Avenue near Roberts Street, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1401 East Lockey Avenue, Helena MT 59601, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in andspecifically entral Montana in Gold West 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
Credits. This page was last revised on November 4, 2024. It was originally submitted on November 27, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 962 times since then and 53 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on November 27, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
