The Iona Cafe, Butte, Montana

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Spencer Stewart

The Iona Cafe Building was built in 1914, becoming the Iona in 1915. Though the building only housed the Iona Bakery and Cafe for two years, with the building becoming the State Cafe in 1917, it still bears the name in tilework in the entryway.

A 1979 photo, with the building still bearing signage from its time as the State Cafe, from the Historic American Buildings Survey. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/mt0040.photos.101070p/

In 1971-1972, the transom windows on the second floor and the right side door (now gone, but visible in the 1979 photo) were painted by Dan G. Buller, then owner of the State and resident of the apartment above. Buller died in 1973 and the cafe closed. The cafe was opened in 1905 by his father, George Buller on East Park Street before moving to this location at 16 S. Main.

The panels read:

“The Big Sky Country Butte Montana Hello! Hello! Hello! to all the tourists and visitors welcome to our beautiful city Butte where the best Americans is Butte has the richest hill and the best copper on earth – finished July 11, 1972”

“Big Sky Country Butte Montana – Wonderful W-ful W-ful to have visitors from all over the American Adn from all over the world to visit our best city of America Butte”

“Big Sky Country Butte Montana Attention please when the visitors are visiting the famous state of Montana our capital the Helena and our city the Butte they are visiting the best places in America”

The door, which is no longer on the building, but is visible in the 1979 photos, read,
“Butte Has the Best People in American Butte has the best copper in the world Butte has the largest pit in the world Butte has the best and the richest hill on earth Big Sky Country Butte Mont 20-1/2 So. Main Street Butte Montana 59701 Mail Box Birth place the best place Always! Butte is the best city in American Butte best street is the South Main Street July 21 1971 Designed Fixed by Dan G. Buller.

A really incredible (though very damaged) interior, complete with enclosed booths for ladies.

Arco and Atomic City, Idaho

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The Washoe Theater, Anaconda, Montana

Posted on July 11, 2015 by Spencer Stewart

The Washoe was designed in 1930 by Benjamin Marcus Priteca, with interiors by Nat Smythe. It opened in 1936. My timing was off when I visited, but I need to catch a movie at it one day. The interiors are unreal, and others agree, with the Smithsonian rating as the 5th best in the country for its architectural value, and it making it on the National Register for Historic Places in 1982.

Club Moderne – Anaconda, Montana

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Spencer Stewart

The Club Moderne was designed in 1937 by architect Fred F. Willson, noted architect from here in Bozeman.

Here’s a painting of the Moderne I did last October.

Separate entrances for the Bar and Lounge on the side, in addition to the corner entrance.

The Moderne is located at 801 E Park Ave, Anaconda, MT 59711

The JFK Bar – Anaconda, MT

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Spencer Stewart

The JFK is a ’60s corner bar located at 823 E Park Ave, Anaconda, MT 59711

Great patriotic red white and blue neon. A lot of complexity to the sign’s shape.

Glass brick, cinderblock and stone veneer. I love the slant windowed door, typical of so many suburban houses of that era, reinforced with metal on the outside.

The Sladich Bar, Anaconda, Montana

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Spencer Stewart

The Sladich Bar opened in 1896 and closed in the early 2000s.

Wide factory windows for the apartment up top give the building some ’30s modernist flair, along with the glass brick, porthole windows and tile facade. The left side door skews the ground floor facade off to the right, giving the whole package a slightly unbalanced look. Awning frames are still in place, but the awnings are long gone.

From the side it becomes apparent that this is an older building with later updates. Note the brick infill of the tall, skinny original windows on the second floor.

An incredibly well preserved and original hand painted sign on the side of the Sladich Bar for Rocky Mountain Beer, brewed by the Anaconda Brewing Company. Remember – you work better refreshed!

The Anaconda Brewing Company operated from 1898 to 1958, with time off for Prohibition. Their soft drink division became the Sugrue Bottling Company.

The Ghosts of Anaconda, MT

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The College Park Little Tavern

Posted on July 6, 2015 by Spencer Stewart

The Little Tavern at 7413 Baltimore Ave College Park, MD, was built around 1940 (some sources say 1938, others 1941. Little Tavern Shops started their expansion into Maryland suburbs in the late 1930s), and is slated to come down very soon.

The College Park LT in the late 1940s, on the far left.

In the 1970s. Little Tavern fed hungry Terps for more than half a century.

After Little Tavern went out of business in the early 1990s (read about the life and death of the Little Tavern chain on some of the other posts on this blog), the building operated as a Toddle House, the Philadelphia Cheesecake Factory, Curry Express and JD’s Roadhouse Barbecue. It has been vacant nearly a decade.

As of 2011, the awning still showed signs of its stint in the early 1990s as a Toddle House. The Little Tavern’s architecture suited Toddle House, whose early buildings were a similar cottage style. Their buildings later grew- the current College Park Diner, down Rt. 1, was originally a 1960s Toddle House.

The interior of the building suffered through the tenant changes of 1990s and 2000s, with the original tilework, custom built Monel backbar, stools and counters being replaced with whatever was cheapest from the hardware store.

Now, with rapid development of the historic district of College Park, and ownership of the land by the University of Maryland, the historic structure will be demolished to make way for a “pocket park” with parking for food trucks.

Signs of Anaconda, Montana

Posted on July 6, 2015 by Spencer Stewart

Anaconda, Montana is home to the Anaconda Smelter Stack, also known as the Big Stack (for obvious reasons) at the former Washoe smelter. Standing at 585 feet tall and 87 feet across at the base, the big stack was the world’s largest chimney from 1919, when it was built until 1937, though it still holds the world record for the tallest standing non-steel structure.

The Big Stack still stands and is visible from nearly all of Anaconda. The smelter closed in 1980 and demolished in 1981, taking with it 1,500 jobs. In the past 55 years, Anaconda’s population has dwindled by a third.

Top: Bowl!

Row 2:
Lucky Lady Casino,
Wind’s Bakery and Pasties, http://www.windspasties.com/
BPOE 239

Row 3:
Carmel’s Bar and Grill. As of 2014, it was for sale for $299,900 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY8_kB3jBgU
The former Fuller Drug Co. Building
Travel trailer

Row 4:
Former Gas Station
Peppermint Patty’s Good Food. They’re known for their Pork Chop Sandwiches and gravy fries. Pork Chop Sandwiches are a Montana thing and have to be tried. https://www.facebook.com/anacondaflyingpig
Cutone’s Bar/Flying Dragon Restaurant – Built in 1917. Bar appears to be 1930s. The building is over 10,000 feet, and with all fixtures is currently for sale for $295,000. Cutone’s Bar Listing

RB Drive In – Helena, Montana

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Spencer Stewart

The RB Drive in opened around 1945 as the Root Beer stand. For some great historical photos of it, please see: http://www.helenahistory.org/rb_drive_in.htm. Originally the foam of the pouring root beer was trimmed in horizontal bands of neon and sat on much higher poles. It appears the building is the same one, but has seen many minor changes over the years which have entirely changed the look.

Every drive in I’ve been to out here has had a different set up for ordering and getting your food delivered. Mark’s in Livingston is a walk up to order, walk up pick up and then you eat in your car. Ford’s in Great Falls had car hop ordering and delivery. Scotty’s you order inside a building and eat outside. You get the idea. The RB still has those classic push to talk menu boards at each parking place. A large picnic pavilion has been built at the far end of the parking lot, but we ate in the car.

RB Drive In
932 Helena Ave, Helena, MT 59601

Children’s Cheesenurger. Also interesting that they offer a wide variety of Phosphates. Not something you see much these days.

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