It is rare to find a historic building still serving its intended function. As technologies, work situations and human needs shift, existing structures must often be repurposed in order to survive. The most important part in this process is considering how preservation of a historic building can be accomplished in a way which allows the structure to serve a new purpose. In this manner, stewardship of historic buildings includes not just maintenance and repairs, but planning for the building’s future.

Recent work and upcoming initiatives by Montana State University prove MSU to be a good steward of historic buildings on the Bozeman campus. Over the last 18 months, MSU utilized stimulus money and maintenance funds to complete much needed masonry restoration on a number of historic buildings.

Re-pointing of deteriorated mortar between bricks at Montana Hall also included removal of lichen growing on the brick. Lead caming was applied to vertical brick joints, which will prevent future damage to mortar by flushing water away from the building. Traphagen Hall, constructed with vertical brick joints as an architectural detail, received the same improvements.

Contractors also worked to restore beautiful terra-cotta tiles surrounding the entryways of Lewis Hall. At some point the original tiles were painted over and certain architectural detail elements removed. The restoration included meticulous removal of this paint, re-installation of missing details and gentle cleaning which restored the tiles to their original salmon-pink coloring. The same tile work can be found on the main entryway at Roberts Hall.

Linfield Hall received the most extensive restoration work. As with Montana Hall, the effects of moisture and the freeze-thaw cycle of our harsh winters caused brick and sandstone deterioration. A unique feature of Linfield Hall is the concrete “bricks” with which much of the building is constructed. This concrete also needed repair and maintenance as water infiltration and subsequent freeze caused the concrete “bricks” to spall off in layers. Mortar deterioration on Linfield Hall proved so extensive that in some places the sandstone frieze (the decorative band around the top of the building) was a small earthquake from crashing to the ground!

In May of 2012 the Bozeman Historic Preservation Advisory Board recognized these projects by giving MSU an Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation. The University and its staff should be applauded for focusing attention on the preservation of historic campus buildings while in the midst of an ambitious construction season.

In the spring of 2012 MSU focused again on stewardship of historic buildings on the Bozeman campus by releasing a Request for Proposals for Romney Gym. Located along Grant Street, between South 11th Avenue and South 7th Avenue, Romney Gym demarcated the southern extent of the Bozeman Campus from 1923 until construction of the Field House in 1957.

Romney, Lewis, Traphagen and Roberts Halls, as well as the Steam Plant and the engineering shops complex, represent the Montana Legislature’s investment of over $800,000 in the Bozeman campus during the early 1920’s. While Bozeman architect Fred Willson won the award for the engineering building, later named Roberts Hall, and the engineering shops complex, the design for a new gymnasium and biology building were given to Shanley and Baker of Great Falls. In 1920 George Shanley designed the 10th Street Bridge in Great Falls, which used concrete arches to span the Missouri River. Shanley again utilized the arch form for the roof of Romney Gym, giving the building a distinct shape amongst the Italian Renaissance architectural style employed for this group of buildings.

The construction contractor selected for the gymnasium was Nelson and Pederson, of Butte. Construction began as soon as the ground thawed in 1922, with a target completion date of November 1 of that year. An October 18, 1922 Bozeman Daily Chronicle article noted the plasterers working in Lewis Hall, while the race was on to enclose the gymnasium and Roberts Hall before the arrival of inclement weather. “Fourteen bricklayers are making very apparent progress with the walls of the gymnasium, and it is expected that they will join the brick walls up with the roof regions in about three weeks time. The metal shingles will then be laid on the roof, as this part of the work has been waiting on the wall erection. As a matter of fact the work on the roof may be started within the next ten days if weather conditions remain favorable.”
Completion of the building in the early months of 1923 enabled 16 teams competing in the state basketball tournament to find overnight accommodations in the gym during the event. Over a hundred players and coaches utilized donated beds and linens arranged space later provided to physical training departments of the college, as well as the locker rooms in the new building.

Dedication of the gym was held the evening prior to the basketball tournament and drew speeches from Chancellor M. A. Brannon of the University of Montana and President Atkinson of Montana State, who presented the keys of the gymnasium to G. Ott Romney, graduate of the State College and director of physical education. Romney also served as both basketball and football coach and the gymnasium was later named in his honor. The gym was dedicated to “building of a high physical, mental and moral citizenship for the coming generations of the Treasure state.”
Between 1923 and 1957, when the Fieldhouse was built, Romney Gym served as the center of physical education and athletics on the Bozeman campus. From the pool in the south west corner, to the handball courts, and the basketball court on the third floor, the spaces of Romney clearly served unique and specific purposes. These single-function spaces, in addition to a lack of handicapped accessibility in the multi-story building, make finding a new use for the venerable building challenging, but not impossible. MSU is to be applauded in taking the first steps towards looking unblinkingly at the opportunities and challenges Romney Gym faces, and will hopefully find an appropriate new use for the historic building.

Courtney Kramer is a proud graduate of MSU’s History Department and serves as the City of Bozeman’s Historic Preservation Officer. She may be contacted at the City Planning Office, 406-582-2260 or via email at ckramer@bozeman.net. More information about Bozeman’s historic districts is available at Preserve Bozeman.