Main Street Historic District

About this property

The Main Street Historic District in Miles City, Montana comprises much of the central business district of the town, extending along Main Street roughly between Prairie Avenue and Fourth Street. It was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. == City Hall and Fire Station (19 South 8th Street) == The transformation of Miles City in the early 1900s into the economic, social, and governmental center of the valley precipitated the decision to build a permanent city hall. Ed Arnold, tailor and businessman, became one of the motivating forces behind the project to erect the new facility. Arriving in Miles City in 1885, Arnold served as city treasurer for two terms and achieved the position of secretary in the Custer County building. Designed by Grover C. Pruett, one of Miles City's most successful engineer/architects in the early twentieth century, this structure is Pruett's most significant landmark in the city. The two-story concrete Renaissance Revival style building faced in Hebron brick is a good example of the new "academically correct" Renaissance styling and is a symbol of Miles City as a progressive and cosmopolitan town. The words "City Hall" are carved into the sandstone frieze above the portal. The I. Orschel & Brothers clothing firm first located on this site in 1878 in a small wood-frame building. Following a disastrous fire that leveled much of the block, local businessmen formed a syndicate to build this four-part commercial building designed by Byron Vreeland, Miles City's first resident architect. Completed in the fall of 1885, John Carter's Saloon (509), I. Orschel & Brothers Clothing Store (511), Miles & Strevell's Hardware (513), and Basinski Brothers (515) were the original occupants. The combination of Romanesque Revival, Gothic Revival, and Queen Anne-style detailing carries Vreeland's architectural signature. Although the parapets and towers that originally graced the roofline have long been removed, the brownstone windowsills, polychrome tile, soft brick, and cast iron columns survive. The Orschels' landmark business catered to local cowboys at this location until 1940. The brothers let cowboys keep their trunks on the upper floor until they came to town to change clothes. Inside, the original tin ceiling remains intact. == First Presbyterian Church (1401 Main Street) == Charter members George and Helen Miles bestowed this land on the church in 1882. Since that time the First Presbyterian Church has occupied this space. Church trustees met in 1911 to discuss the construction of a larger $30,000–$40,000 (equivalent to $1,037,000–$1,382,000 in 2025) church. Pastor Reverend J. Forsythe Smith reasoned that a new house of worship would "provide better social advantages, better intellectual advantages, and better moral and spiritual advantages." In addition to a larger worship space, the modern facility would include a Sunday school and choir room. Architect Brynjulf Rivenes designed the concrete and brick edifice on the same site as the old church, which was sold and relocated to face North Prairie. Western Granite and Marble Works of Miles City donated the cornerstone, laid on November 26, 1914. C. N. Strevell gifted the main stained glass window fronting Montana Avenue. The oak finished, 871-pipe Estry organ was specially designed to fit the organ chamber. Dedicated in 1917, this Gothic Revival style church conveys a sense of stability and permanence.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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