Page 31 - Flathead Beacon // 1.8.13

FLATHEADBEACON.COM REAL ESTATE JANUARY 8, 2014 | 31

LANDMARKS 336 First Ave. E., Kalispell
City Water Department

streets – in their original form. Poring over these re-
By JAIX CHAIX
ports reveals a unique “underground” history of Ka-

lispell (a copy is available at the reference section of the It may seem a little odd that the Kalispell City Wa-
Kalispell branch of the Flathead County Library).
ter Department building is listed on the National Reg-
Architecturally, Lawrence was responsible for con- ister of Historic Places. But odd is OK. Especially since
structing “a new building” for the water department this ine example of Georgian Revival architecture is a
oices. He collaborated with local, renowned architect landmark in its own right – and one with a fascinating
Fred Brinkman (whose name should be quite familiar trove of “underground history.”
to readers of this column). In 1927, their design eforts Installing water mains and water pipes was an early

were completed by many local craftsmen.
business in Kalispell, and about as old as the town site
The unique features of the building, such as its itself.
arched windows, Corinthian capitals on the door pi- On Jan. 1, 1892, the irst Great Northern Railway lo-
lasters and a bracketed cornice are one-of-a-kind and comotive pulled into Kalispell. In heralding the prog-
should seem even more rare considering that the City ress of the era, local gunsmith George Stannard took
Water Department is the only municipal building of its nine silver dollars and made a silver railroad spike to
time still standing in the area.
commemorate the occasion. The spike was irst struck PHOTO BY JAIX CHAIX
The old City Jail, which once stood to the south of by Mrs. Mary Kimmerly, and driven home by one of of Kalispell Water & Electric Co. or the Northern Ida-

the Water Department, was converted, ironically, to a the earliest pioneers of the Flathead Valley, Nick Moon ho & Montana Power Co. (NIM&H). William H. Law-
brothel at one point, and the new structure there today (who incidentally left his original homestead since he rence, a construction supervisor for NIM&H Power
bears obviously no historical resemblance. Likewise, felt things had become “too civilized”).
Co., began working for the city of Kalispell, and helped
the old City Hall that was built in 1904 and adjoined the As the irst train pulled out, and the soot settled, established the City Water Department.
Water Department to the north was demolished in 1981.
the business of water works was well underway. And In his transition to a municipal supervisor, Law-
So while nearly everything else around it has by the mid-1890s, a couple of outits held the market on rence would serve as a rare blend of able manager and
changed dramatically, the City Water Department the water main business. This was about the same time advocate. He supervised the installation and mainte-

building remains – with much of its original character of another transportation “fad”: bicycling, or “scorch- nance of more than twenty miles of water mains and
and historical legacy all its own.
ing” (according to those who complained of the incred- connections throughout the city. And he would also
ible speeds at which people pedaled along the wooden forge an historical and architectural legacy.
plank sidewalks). And as the wooden sidewalks and Historically, it seems Lawrence preferred fastidi-
Jaix Chaix is a writer who appreciates history and muddy streets would be improved above, so too would ous record keeping. Consequently, he insisted that
architecture. You can share ideas and historical facts the water mains and pipes below.
water department records be compiled into annual
with him at [email protected]. Also visit By 1913, the water main business became a munici- reports. These reports, dating back to 1913, include
facebook.com/latheadvalleylandmarks
pal service, and no longer a free enterprise for the likes
details and photographs of the earliest buildings and

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