While mighty small by today's standards, the Hirbour Block was mighty tall when completed in 1901. Built by S. Emanuel Hirbour as an investment, it otherwise followed the standard scheme of the day, with commercial space on the ground floor, and in this unusual case, also the basement, with office space above.
The first steel beam framed building to be built in Butte, or anywhere in Montana, for that matter, this construction method allowed it to tower over its neighbors. It would appear that,
prior to the construction of the Hirbour Block, the property was occupied by a single storey wood framed saloon. In 1886 Hirbour was manager of a saloon which was an outlet for the Silver Bow Brewery which may be the selfsame saloon. Hirbour was also mentioned as being the bookkeeper for the brewery.
Butte's exploding population demanded more and more retail spaces, and the below-the-sidewalk storefront in the Hirbour's basement is the best preserved example. The basement was initially home to the Salvation Army. A courier company occupied the space until about 1928 when the Hirbour Barber Shop began a 35-year tenancy, probably ending about 1962 after the devastating six-month strike in all the mines in 1959 — another blow in Butte's economic decline.
Today, access to this historic underground space is preserved thanks to a Butte-Silver Bow decision in 2003 to repair the vaulted sidewalk while maintaining the stairway.
From the Montana Standard
One of the tenants of the building in 1903 was the COE Commission Company, which placed the following ad on Page 11 of the December 31, 1903 issue of
The Butte Inter Mountain
HIRBOUR BLOCK
Less than a decade after the skyscraper made its debut in Chicago, the new technology of steel frame and curtain wall construction was employed in Butte. This engineering principle, coupled with use of the elevator, allowed the Hirbour Block to tower over other masonry structures in the district. Owner S. Emanuel Hirbour constructed Butte's first skyscraper in 1901, housing a first-floor grocery with rooms to let above. "H" medal-lions at the corners, egg-and-dart moldings with dentilation and display windows in fancy metal frames enhance the façade of this eight-story showcase.
From the NRHP plaque at the building