Anaconda Historic District, Marcus Daly Hotel, 200-208 Main Street, Anaconda, Deer Lodge County, MT

See also HABS No. MT-33 for additional documentation.
Significance: The construction of the Montana Hotel (renamed The Marcus Daly Hotel) was begun in 1888 by the Montana Hotel Association. It was completed in the spring of 1889 at an estimated cost of $125,000. Designed by Chicago Architect W.W. Boyington, this building was heavily financed by Marcus Daly, mining magnate and patron of the Smelter City. Using a composite style of French Renaissance and Romanesque architecture, the hotel was a 120 feet square, four story structure built of local red brick with terra cotta ornamentation. The building sits 10 feet back from the Main Street sidewalk and features a 34 foot wide central arched entrance resting on terra cotta columns with a pediment above. The hotel interior included a full basement equipped with a servant's dining room, a laundry, boilers, and a dynamo for electric light generation. The first and second floors, finished in red oak and eastern pine, contained the main dining room, a ladies' ordinary, billiard hall, drug store, and barber shop. After Marcus Daly died in 1900, the Montana Hotel underwent extensive remodeling, costing $96,000 under the ownership of the Anaconda Company. In 1954, the building was purchased by Edison and Bell, Inc. of Kalispell, MT. The firm operated the hotel until 1959 at which time plans for demolition were considered. To combat this action, citizens of Anaconda formed the Montana Hotel Corporation and purchased the structure, renaming it the Marcus Daly Hotel. A restoration project was undertaken in 1964 and a modern motel unit was built to the rear of the original structure. In 1975, heavy financial burdens and potential bankruptcy faced the Montana Hotel Corporation and the building was sold to a local developer in 1976. An aggressive program of structural renovation was begun, including the removal of the hotel's two upper stories. The remaining space will be used for retail and office space.
Survey number: HABS MT-53-H
Building/structure dates: 1888-1889 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: ca. 1900 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1964 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: ca. 1976 Subsequent Work