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Butte's Historic Preservation Officer Moving On

Mike Smith www.mtstandard.com
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www.mtstandard.com

Uptown Butte is a unique place. Thousands of historic buildings sit in the six mile square area that runs north and south from Walkerville to Front Street, and east to west from the Berkley Pit to Montana Tech.

Jim Jarvis, who recently resigned as Butte Silver-Bow’s historic preservation officer, explains how some of the most important buildings in Uptown Butte have been re-purposed during the last few decades.

"Fortunately, it had been well-maintained through the years and is now home to numerous professional offices," Jarvis says of the Hennessy Building on the corner of North Main and Granite Streets. It rises toward the sky in red terra cotta brick splendor, replete with ornamental leaded glass, an archway entrance, and wrought iron grillwork.

Credit Cherie Newman
The Hennessy Building

"Originally [it] was the famous Hennessy Department Store, which I believe shut down in the early 1970s," he says.

"Behind the Hennessy Building was what was referred to as the Sears Building. It had shut down as well. There’d been a fire and so forth, it was a building that had been acquired by Butte Silver-Bow through back taxes. Butte-Silver Bow put a roof on it — kept it boarded-up for the better part of 15, almost 20 years. And ultimately a developer expressed interest in it about 10 years ago. And, if I remember correctly, 9-and-a-half million dollars later, it’s now the home of 34 loft apartments: the Sears Lofts in the Sears Building and then an Uptown grocery store. So that’s been a very exciting project, a major turning point here for Uptown Butte," Jarvis says.

"And then also just the confidence it’s given to the community that developers are willing to invest that kind of money in Uptown Butte. 

Jarvis points down the street, to a tall, narrow brick building with ornate columns standing between large windows on the ground floor.

It's "an example of a recent project that’s really made a difference here in the Uptown Butte commercial area," he says. 

"Hirbour Tower here at the corner of North Main and Broadway Street...had sat empty for the most part, except for the first floor, until about 5 years ago when it was acquired. And now each floor has been converted into a separate condominium apartment. So there’s 8 floors of condominiums there, and all of them sold out within a relatively short period of time."

Credit Cherie Newman

"I think the idea of getting more people to live in Uptown Butte is going to be key to the long-term survival of the Uptown area," Jarvis says. "Getting people to live here, work here, and play here is ultimately what’s gonna make or break the Uptown."

During the more than five years he worked for Butte-Silver Bow, Jarvis coordinated many satisfying projects — such as the recent restoration of the 100-year-old, stained-glass dome inside the Courthouse. 

Credit Cherie Newman
The recently restored stained glass dome inside Butte's courthouse.

He also experienced some frustration.

I asked him to name a positive and a negative about his time as Butte-Silver Bow’s historic preservation officer.

"I would have to single out the Original Mine Yard," as a positive, Jarvis said.

"When I showed up here in 2009, that had just gotten off the ground. They had planted some nice grass and they had a temporary stage, but the buildings and so forth were still kind of in rough shape. Over the last 5, going on 6 years, it’s been a lot of fun to fix up those buildings and make it more of a permanent facility, so year after year it can be used for a variety of activities."

"On the negative side, again, I think it would be coming back to creating an effective demolition program for Butte.

"There’s just too many houses here for this population and the economy as it is," Jarvis says. "So trying to come up with a program that recognizes that and, hopefully, will protect as much as can be protected, but also realize and recognize that we’re going to have to make room for the new development to occur… the fact that I haven’t been more effective or had more accomplishments in developing those programs and policies, I’d say would be the downside of this job. 

Credit Cherie Newman
Butte's courthouse

What’s next for Jim Jarvis? He and his wife plan to move to a house they own in Virginia City, where they will both pursue new careers.

Chérie Newman is a former arts and humanities producer and on-air host for Montana Public Radio, and a freelance writer. She founded and previously hosted a weekly literary program, The Write Question, which continues to air on several public radio stations; it is also available online at PRX.org and MTPR.org.
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