Montana Historical and Architectural Inventory (Site #157)

Physical Description:

A two story common bond brick commercial structure with a "stepped" triangular pediment and the annotation "1916 – Weaver Block" on the parapet. A brick rowlock coping caps the parapet and a cast-in-place concrete blocking course occurs at the roofline level of the parapet. Five double hung wood windows are ganged into a single penetration at the second level and have a combined soldier-rowlock course above the head and a concrete windowsill below. The first floor has been remodeled with ceramic tile applied around the transom area, brick facing applied to wall surfaces and used as wainscots below windows. Display glazing is contemporary with natural color aluminum frames. An aluminum sidewalk canopy extends the full width of the façade.

Although the upper façade makes a significant contribution to the masonry character of Main Street, this structure does not qualify for register listing under Criteria C.

Classification: commercial

Historical Significance:

This property is significant because it is associated with persons and events important in local history.

James A. and Samuel C. Weaver retained the services of the local firm of Wasmansdorff and Eastman to design the new Weaver Block in 1916. The new two-story brick home of the "Big Bear Buffet" saloon and dairy lunch, "the place for a man in a hurry", also had a second floor rooming house.

When A. D. Johnson, proprietor of the new rooming house, applied for a license, City Council Chambers filled with women crying their protests against granting the license. Church groups, the W. C. T. U. and the "public morals committee" (which regularly investigated rooming house activities) caused many stormy City Council sessions. It was pointed out that the entrance to the Big Bear rooming house would be between two saloons, "a significant fact".

In 1916, the City hired a woman to meet the trains and direct females to "proper rooming houses", an indication of the concern and growth of the "booming" community.

Integrity:

Impacted on the first floor; original construction above. The building is located on its original site and because of the masonry character of construction and the scale of the building, it contributes to the historic architectural associations of Main Street.