Hardin in Big Horn County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
T.E. Gay Building
Hardin Commercial Historic District
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 19, 2021
1. T.E. Gay Building Marker
Inscription.
T.E. Gay Building. Hardin Commercial Historic District. On May 4, 1917, Hardin celebrated the “formal opening of the Gay block . . . with a grand ball in the south store room of this magnificent structure.” The storage area’s hardwood floor was perfect for dancing, and construction of the two-story brick business block merited a celebration. Merchant T. E. Gay had hired the Billings architectural firm of Link and Haire to design the structure, only the second architect-designed building in Hardin. His investment in the $50,000 business block reflected his confidence in the town’s future. In the understated style of the day, Link and Haire ornamented the building with a bracketed cornice, decorative parapet, and a large glass block clerestory that visually separated the first and second floors. Recognizing that many of his customers would be farmers in town for the day, Gay had a “commodious ladies’ rest room” included in the plans. Among the five businesses occupying the first floor, Gay’s hardware and implement store was by far the largest. Tenants of the second-floor’s twenty-two offices included attorneys, physicians, and the Hardin Chamber of Commerce.
On May 4, 1917, Hardin celebrated the “formal opening of the Gay block . . . with a grand ball in the south store room of this magnificent structure.” The storage area’s hardwood floor was perfect for dancing, and construction of the two-story brick business block merited a celebration. Merchant T. E. Gay had hired the Billings architectural firm of Link and Haire to design the structure, only the second architect-designed building in Hardin. His investment in the $50,000 business block reflected his confidence in the town’s future. In the understated style of the day, Link and Haire ornamented the building with a bracketed cornice, decorative parapet, and a large glass block clerestory that visually separated the first and second floors. Recognizing that many of his customers would be farmers in town for the day, Gay had a “commodious ladies’ rest room” included in the plans. Among the five businesses occupying the first floor, Gay’s hardware and implement store was by far the largest. Tenants of the second-floor’s twenty-two offices included attorneys, physicians, and the Hardin Chamber of Commerce.
Location. 45° 43.88′ N, 107° 36.399′ W. Marker is in Hardin, Montana, in Big Horn County. It is on West Third Street (Old U.S. Highway 87) near North Central Avenue, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 10 West 3rd Street, Hardin MT 59034, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Montana’s and he Crow Nation, in Southeast Montana, in Custer Country. 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 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.
The marker is at the right corner of the building.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 2, 2022. It was originally submitted on January 2, 2022, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 222 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on January 2, 2022, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
