The Armory-Civic Center - Livingston, MT - WPA Projects on Waymarking.com

Waymark Code: WM17EJ0

Location: Montana, United States

Date Posted: 02/07/2023

Published By: lumbricus

Views: 0

The impressive WPA-constructed Armory/Civic Center, originally built as an armory, sits on about 1.7 acres in the Miles Park portion of the district. Construction began in 1936 with the building dedication celebration held on July 1, 1937. The 1937 Armory/Civic Center is a two- story Art Deco building that features a symmetrical multiple bay façade, roughly facing north (Photos MT_ParkCounty_Sacajawea/Miles Park Historic District_0041-0046, 0048). Two large projecting full-façade height columns define the center three bays. Full-facade projecting walls bound the interior bays. To each side of the projecting full-façade walls are recessed ¾-height walls atop single-story height walls. The façade is completed by a slightly taller than single- story recessed wall that aligns with the ¾-height wall. The east and west elevations consist of single-story full-length extensions covered by dropped-shed roofs.16 The south half of the west extension elevation projects a few feet further than the northern half. The poured concrete building features yellow stucco cladding. Cultural resources consultant and historian Jessie Nunn wrote that the building “represents Depression Era cultural movements, communalism, and escapism, as well as an increasingly modernist aesthetic".

A segmental roof supported by steel trusses tops the Armory/Civic Center and shed roofs cover the dropped side extensions. The roof appears to be covered with EPDM (ethylene propylene diene terpolymer), a rubber roofing membrane.

A small, centered, two-story concrete block addition covered by a nearly flat roof projects off the south (rear) wall of the Armory/Civic Center; this addition remains associated with the National Guard. Connecting to the south side of this centered addition is a second nearly flat roof concrete block garage addition used for vehicle storage. Both the small, centered addition and garage were constructed in the late 1950s. 18 Another small single-story addition that projects off the south end of the full-length west extension connects to both the centered south addition and the concrete block garage addition; a date of construction of this small addition remains unknown, however, it is of recent construction. The west wall of the garage addition boasts a mural designed in 2014 by a local artist, Parks Reese, and painted by local artists and members of the community with help from several visiting artists from China.

Access to the Armory/Civic Center interior occurs via three sets of paired steel person doors aligned within the three centered bays in the north facade elevation; these doors open into a vestibule. Other entrance occurs through a single metal door in the south wall approached by a two-step concrete landing, a single wood door approached by a flight of eight steps covered by a small gable-roofed porch on the east wall, and a single person wood door approached by a two- step concrete landing in the west wall. A single window appears in the south wall (rear) and consists of a replacement two-light sliding unit in the far east portion of the elevation. The east wall holds eight replacement two-light sliding units in the lower story extension and five ribbons of either four or five fixed units above the extension in the main block. The west wall lacks windows.

Access to the south additions occurs via two oversized overhead garage doors and a wood person door in the east elevations, and a wood person door in the south wall, all in the cinder block garage addition. The east wall of the centered addition holds a replacement two-light sliding unit in both the upper and lower story.

The north façade originally held a variety of windows that included fixed 18-light units and fixed nine-light units; except for the replacement sliding unit in the east end of the north extension, none of the openings remain visible. The east and west elevations of the Armory/Civic Center originally displayed 24-light units and 18-lights units. None of the openings remain on the west wall and the east wall units are replaced with the above described units. Although some changes have occurred to the Armory/Civic Center since its construction by the WPA, notably to the windows and doors through the covering of much of the façade’s fenestration, resulting in a degradation of integrity of workmanship, design and materials, the Armory/Civic Center stands as a major contributing resource to the Sacajawea/Miles Park Historic District.
From the Registration Form, Pages 15-17

Sacajawea/Miles Park Historic District consists of two connected entities, Sacajawea Park to the west, and Miles Park to the east. Sacajawea Park, at approximately 15 acres (not including the lagoon acreage), is named in honor of the Shoshone woman who traveled near the island on July 15, 1806 while accompanying Captain William Clark and several members of the Lewis and Clark expedition on their return trip from the Pacific Ocean.

Miles Park, at roughly 22 acres, is named in honor of Arthur Wellington Miles, a pioneer businessman in Livingston’s early days. Together, the two parks are referred to as Sacajawea/Miles Park Historic District (the District). The property boasts numerous resources including an Armory/Civic Center, six baseball diamonds, a band shell, a large gazebo, open space, a gravity park (skate park), swimming pool, an historic bridge, and a lagoon.

The city fathers realized early the need for a park that allowed citizens the opportunity for recreation. Sacajawea Island served as the location for band concerts and barbecues long before the arrival of the WPA in 1935. Starting in 1935, plans by the WPA included connecting the two separate islands into the beautiful, unified recreation area found and enjoyed today. By the mid-1930s, WPA planning and construction began in earnest with the Armory/Civic Center.
From the NRHP Registration Form