LOST TREASURES: The Rape of Butte's History
Stolen Stained Glass • Silver Bow Block • 516 Granite • Longfellow School • Stolen Gates •
 | Have you seen this stained glass panel?
If you have, be aware that it is stolen property. Two panels like this, dating to 1899, were taken from Butte's Mountain View Methodist Church about 1980. If you have information about them, please contact law enforcement authorities. |
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| Butte's Silver Bow Block, an elegant 5-story structure designed by renowned architect H.M. Patterson and erected in stages between 1890 and 1896, was destroyed by fire October 21, 1978. This treasure can't be recovered. (Image courtesy Butte-Silver Bow Archives) |  |
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 | A treasure of a different sort, this miner's cottage at 516 W. Granite was demolished in 2005. BSB offered the property to interested developers after Butte Citizens for Preservation and Revitalization (Butte CPR) mounted a high-profile campaign to halt demolition, but the campaign was unsuccessful although it did raise awareness of the value of ALL historic properties in Butte. |
Longfellow School demolished
Montana Standard article 4/11/07 • Montana Standard editorial, 11/25/07 • Hawthorne & Longfellow Letter to the Editor, 12-3-07
UPDATE November 2007: Demolition begins, and is stopped.11/8/07 ... and is authorized to continue. 11/20/07
Declared surplus property by the Butte School Board in September, 2006, this 32,703-square-foot structure sits on about 2 acres of land. The central core of the building was erected in 1917, with wings added in the 1950s and 1960s. The address is 1629 Roosevelt, west of Harrison Ave. The building was used as a school until 2001, when it closed because of declining enrolments. It is one of only 15 properties in Silver Bow County that is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places, making it eligible for various Federal Tax Credit and Abatement Programs for rehabilitation.
Another Butte school, Lincoln, was sold in 2004 for $16,000. Montana Standard article 6/23/04. The assessed value of the Longfellow School in 2006 was $41,280; the school district offered the property in 2003 for a minimum purchase price of $230,000, but there were no takers. Demolition cost is estimated at about $100,000. Montana Standard article 9/7/06. Alternatives to demolition would be preferable to Butte CPR. • Update, April 2007: The property was sold for $125,100 to a company in Nevada through a bid packet procedure with a minimum bid of $25,000. Glogam Corp. plans to rehabilitate the building. Update, May 2007: The deal fell through. More information. 5/14/07 • June 14, 2007 update: Local bidder is apparent new owner: Details 6/14/07
A 2000 asbestos report, done while the school was in use, apparently found no serious problems, although asbestos-containing materials are present in many places in the structure. This report, dated June 30, 2006, for Butte School District #1, was prepared by Maxim Technologies, Inc., and should be obtainable from the School District. Contact J.R. Richardson, Business Manager, Butte-School District #1, 406-533-2503, richardsonjr@butte.k12.mt.us
The photo at right shows the extent of the long wings at the back and sides of the structure (east wing shown), and detail of the entryway is shown below.
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Another theft reported: 2007 letter from a Butte resident
It is with great dismay and sadness that I have experienced both travesty and tragedy. Here we are on the eve of a nation-wide "economic summit," for which the entire city of Butte has been reportedly asked to 'beautify' ourselves, when at the very same time the history of our city is again being stolen away in the dead of night.
Just this past early Friday morning (27 April 2007) or very late Thursday a black wrought-iron gate was stolen from an uptown Butte yard on the 700 block of West Broadway. The gate had stood sentinel on the property for over 100 years, quietly monitoring the comings and goings of a list of families dating back to the time of the Copper Kings' Reign. Most recently it had served to keep my dogs in my own yard, and free-ranging dogs OUT of my yard. Now the gate is gone. Stolen by thieves in the night. Cowards after a few bucks - assuredly for less money than the gate is worth to the property and the owner in terms of worth to the historical integrity of the house and property. And less money than such gates and fences are worth to the overall historical integrity of the City of Butte.
This is not the first report of such losses, and, I doubt, the last. I am only one of many homeowners to whom such loss has occurred - now five in the past month - though the only one on the block Thursday evening/Friday morning.
Help stop this loss. Please provide any information you may have about such thievery to the Butte Police. A reward is being offered by the owner for any information leading to the return of the the gate. The missing gate is approximately 36" square, with two tiers of spiraled strips of wrought iron which, together, form a series of heart-shapes stacked side-by-side, one series atop the other. The finials on the gate provided another 2-3 inches of decoration at the top. The small brass 'maker's mark' , just below the finials, is inscribed: "Chas. W. Lane, Maker, Butte, Montana."
Please stop the rape of our city's history.
Please return the gate.
Please.
J. Vos-Ferneau
CPR Gate Protection Program
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