Missoula in Missoula County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Patterson Building
University Area Historic District
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 7, 2022
1. Patterson Building Marker
Inscription.
Patterson Building. University Area Historic District. South Higgins Avenue saw rapid commercial growth as a business hub during the period 1915-1925. This Western Commercial style building illustrates the district’s early evolution. Missoula attorney John E. Patterson was serving as judge of the Fourth Judicial District when he developed the property circa 1915. Prominent Missoulian H. O. Bell was the first tenant, operating his early Ford automobile dealership here. Between 1915 and 1929, Bell sold 4,500 new Fords, 2,700 used cars, and many Fordson tractors from his showroom. Bell was also an aeronautical pioneer, remembered in the naming of the Missoula International Airport/Johnson-Bell Field. The Quality Market was another early tenant; its 1930s “ghost sign” remains on the façade. The Patterson family continued to own the building until 2013. Sensitive rehabilitation of this stunning slice of early Missoula exposed decorative polychromatic brick panels, a stepped parapet, pressed-metal interior ceilings, and restored the prismatic glass transoms. Introduced in the 1890s, prismatic glass transoms were a popular and practical means of directing daylight into building interiors. Their distinctive purple hue is the result of decades of exposure to sunlight.
South Higgins Avenue saw rapid commercial growth as a business hub during the period 1915-1925. This Western Commercial style building illustrates the district’s early evolution. Missoula attorney John E. Patterson was serving as judge of the Fourth Judicial District when he developed the property circa 1915. Prominent Missoulian H. O. Bell was the first tenant, operating his early Ford automobile dealership here. Between 1915 and 1929, Bell sold 4,500 new Fords, 2,700 used cars, and many Fordson tractors from his showroom. Bell was also an aeronautical pioneer, remembered in the naming of the Missoula International Airport/Johnson-Bell Field. The Quality Market was another early tenant; its 1930s “ghost sign” remains on the façade. The Patterson family continued to own the building until 2013. Sensitive rehabilitation of this stunning slice of early Missoula exposed decorative polychromatic brick panels, a stepped parapet, pressed-metal interior ceilings, and restored the prismatic glass transoms. Introduced in the 1890s, prismatic glass transoms were a popular and practical means of directing daylight into building interiors. Their distinctive purple hue is the result of decades of exposure to sunlight.
Erected by Montana Historical Society.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed
Location. 46° 51.938′ N, 113° 59.838′ W. Marker is in Missoula, Montana, in Missoula County. Marker is on South Higgins Avenue near South 4th Street East, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 610/612/614 South Higgins Avenue, Missoula MT 59801, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on December 14, 2022. It was originally submitted on December 14, 2022, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 78 times since then and 10 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on December 14, 2022, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
