The medical practice remained in the building only until 1964, when it was taken over by the First State Bank of Whitefish. They remained in the building until 1980 when the bank moved to a larger building and the Frank Lloyd Wright building was converted to offices. The vault installed by the bank remains in the building as a curiosity. Today the building is occupied by a law firm.
Frank Lloyd Wright Building
This unique structure is the only Frank Lloyd Wright building in the state of Montana, and one of the last designed by the famed architect. Wright died in 1959, the same year this building opened as a medical clinic.
Drs. T L. Lockridge, John T Whalen and Bruce C. McIntyre moved into the new, 5,000 square foot building in November 1959(sic). With its indoor-outdoor circular planter, its fireplace and its floor-to-ceiling windows in the waiting room, the structure was a vast departure from the traditional medical office, and it became an instant Whitefish showplace. Although alterations have been made over the years, many of the distinctive features, including the windows and the fireplace, remain. The interior section of the circular planter was eventually removed to allow for a front entrance to a bank, and a square rooftop planter became the location of an air conditioning unit.
The building has had several uses since it opened. The doctors occupied it only until 1964, when it became the home of the First State Bank of Whitefish. The bank moved to larger quarters in 1980, and the building was remodeled into professional offices, primarily for optometrists. In 1998, Iron Horse of Whitefish, a development company, used it as a sales and administrative headquarters. Local attorneys Frank and Sharon Morrison together with Sean and Diana Frampton purchased the building in 2002 and remodeled it again for their law offices, with an eye to retaining as many of the original features as possible. Wright never got to see the building, but his signature is on the plans as well as on the unique red ceramic tile set into the brickwork.
From the Whitefish Historical Walking Tour