Deer Lodge in Powell County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Larabie Brothers Bank
This Property Contributes to Deer Lodge Central Business Historic District
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 7, 2022
1. Larabie Brothers Bank Marker
Inscription.
Wide cement pilasters, a gabled pediment above the entrance, large plate-glass windows, and a roofline balustrade distinguish the Larabie Bros. Bank. The building’s solid construction, dignified façade, and luxurious interior—finished in marble and mahogany—assert stability, respectability, and permanence. Designed by Seattle architect Michael Beezer, the 1912 structure combined modern materials with neoclassical elements, presenting customers visual assurance that their money was safe. This was no small matter in the days before Federal Deposit Insurance. The reputation of the firm’s owners offered additional security. The bank grew from a Virginia City mercantile business, whose principals included S. E. Larabie and W. A. Clark, later better known as one of the Butte copper kings. In 1869, the partners operated from an adobe building on Main and Cottonwood. The firm dissolved in the 1880s, with Larabie continuing to run the Deer Lodge bank from a brick building on this corner. Half of Montana’s banks failed in 1923, but through prudent management, Larabie Bros. Bank survived the 1920s agricultural depression. Unable to
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comply with New Deal banking regulations, it closed in 1933.
Wide cement pilasters, a gabled pediment above the entrance, large plate-glass windows, and a roofline balustrade distinguish the Larabie Bros. Bank. The building’s solid construction, dignified façade, and luxurious interior—finished in marble and mahogany—assert stability, respectability, and permanence. Designed by Seattle architect Michael Beezer, the 1912 structure combined modern materials with neoclassical elements, presenting customers visual assurance that their money was safe. This was no small matter in the days before Federal Deposit Insurance. The reputation of the firm’s owners offered additional security. The bank grew from a Virginia City mercantile business, whose principals included S. E. Larabie and W. A. Clark, later better known as one of the Butte copper kings. In 1869, the partners operated from an adobe building on Main and Cottonwood. The firm dissolved in the 1880s, with Larabie continuing to run the Deer Lodge bank from a brick building on this corner. Half of Montana’s banks failed in 1923, but through prudent management, Larabie Bros. Bank survived
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 7, 2022
2. Larabie Brothers Bank and Marker
the 1920s agricultural depression. Unable to comply with New Deal banking regulations, it closed in 1933.
Location. 46° 23.928′ N, 112° 44.105′ W. Marker is in Deer Lodge, Montana, in Powell County. It is on Main Street (Business Interstate 90) near Missouri Avenue, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 401 Main Street, Deer Lodge MT 59722, 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 Rupert’s Land and also the Louisiana Purchase.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 6, 2022. It was originally submitted on November 6, 2022, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 213 times since then and 17 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on November 6, 2022, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
