Prominent Missoula architect A. J. Gibson designed this fine Neoclassical style residence for Joseph and Barbara Redle in 1902, and contractors completed it in 1906. A shingled pediment with a half-circle window, Doric columns, and a wide entry with leaded glass windows define its style. While Gibson’s design for the nearby Joseph Dixon residence boasts far more ornamentation, the Redle residence reflects Gibson’s ability to tailor his designs to his customers’ taste and budget. Joseph, a brewer, was treasurer of the Garden City Brewing Company, and Barbara stayed home to raise their three daughters. In 1916, after the city completed the Pine Street boulevard, the Missoula Women’s Club proposed changing the street name to Worden Way to honor civic leader Frank Worden. Barbara, with dozens of other Pine Street women signed a petition in protest, stating that “Mrs. F. L. Worden named Pine Street and we, … respectfully ask that the name … be not changed in any way.” The Redles were divorced by 1920, and Barbara sold the home in 1922 to Northern Pacific Railway machinist Eugene Wigal and his wife Anna.
Images
