{"id":299,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:40:06","latitude":47.104706854195001142215915024280548095703125,"longitude":-104.7142413938499885261990129947662353515625,"title":"J.C. Penney Store","subtitle":"Merrill Avenue Historic District","fullsize":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/4b2efc7c13f4bd9a241713dd107eaaa4.jpg","address":"111 West Bell Street, Glendive, Montana","all_locations":[],"zoom":17,"creator":["Montana National Register Sign Program"],"description":"After the death of Glendive pioneer Henry Dion in 1920, his widow and children contracted with John Holm to construct this commercial building according to the specifications of the J.C. Penney Company. Built in 1929, the architecture is typical of the many Penney stores built in small rural towns. Penney stores were easily identified by their brilliant yellow tile aprons, black signs, and trim. Interior features usually included a rear sales balcony and a front balcony for the manager’s office. The cashier’s station was connected to the various departments by a system of trolleys, which carried the cash from each sale. High wattage incandescent fixtures, prism glass over the display windows, and two large skylights provided ample interior lighting. This building and four others extending east to the corner and south to 110 South Merrill Avenue are known as the Dion Block. They reflect the long history of the Dion family in Glendive, from the town’s beginning to the present day.","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"Private","lede":"","website":"","related_resources":["Read about the Merrill Avenue Historic District","See photos of the Merrill Avenue Historic District"],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/4b2efc7c13f4bd9a241713dd107eaaa4.jpg":{"id":2897,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"J.C. Penney Store","description":"J.C. Penney Store (PAc 91-51 Glendive R20 F25). Front view of the building, facing southwest on West Bell Street. B&W. | Montana State Historic Preservation Office from the Photograph Archives at the Montana Historical Society | Apr. 1987 | Bill Babcock","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/4b2efc7c13f4bd9a241713dd107eaaa4.jpg"}}}