{"id":3679,"featured":1,"modified":"2026-08-06 17:34:44","latitude":45.6689678999999983943780534900724887847900390625,"longitude":-111.0430386999999967656549415551126003265380859375,"title":"Browning Residence","subtitle":"Bon Ton Historic District","fullsize":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/bd3e11231d372b08f1e45dbfc5d4ba62.jpg","address":"412 West Cleveland Street, Bozeman, MT","all_locations":[],"zoom":18,"creator":["Montana Historical Society"],"description":"In 1935, Fred and Virginia Browning hired renowned Bozeman architect Fred Willson to design their home. Willson first proposed a traditional Cape Cod style, aligned with local architectural tastes, but Fred Browning rejected it requesting a bold International Style design instead. Browning—who had attended the 1934 Chicago World’s Fair—preferred the homes showcased at the fair. These “Homes of Tomorrow” reflected a striking new vision: flat roofs, smooth stucco walls, wrap-around corner windows, and steel railings. Completed in 1936, the Browning’s house became one of Bozeman’s architectural experiments. While the International Style reshaped major urban skylines, it never took hold in Montana’s neighborhoods. With just one counterpart nearby on Arthur Street, the Browning Residence is a rare example of interwar modernism. The Brownings raised two daughters here and maintained the home for more than fifty years. Fred, a salesman, was also remembered as a member of the celebrated 1928–29 Montana State “Golden Bobcats” national championship basketball team. Virginia, a homemaker, helped preserve regional history as secretary-treasurer of the Sons and Daughters of Gallatin Pioneers. The home remains a distinctive architectural outlier representing Bozeman’s brief, elegant brush with the future.","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"private","lede":"","website":"","related_resources":["<a href=\"https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/bff6b0be-3d3a-4160-a317-f43b99605c8c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Read more about the Bon Ton Historic District</a>","<a href=\"https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/15e69ee5-fe11-4539-9a00-4e84f357ecc0/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">See pictures of the Bon Ton Historic District</a>","<a href=\"https://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/OCA/Books2009-06/officialguideboo00cent/officialguideboo00cent.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Official Guidebook to the 1934 World's Fair (see document pages 136-142 for Houses of Tomorrow)</a>"],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/bd3e11231d372b08f1e45dbfc5d4ba62.jpg":{"id":6395,"mime-type":"image/png","title":"412 W. Cleveland, Bozeman","description":"View of facade | Heather Miller | ca. June 2025 | Heather Miller, photographer","alt":"View of the front facade of 412 W. Cleveland. International style house with flat roof, white stucco walls, double-hung windows with blue and black trim, and second story balcony with steel pipe railing. ","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/bd3e11231d372b08f1e45dbfc5d4ba62.jpg"},"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/3fac8eac16aabaaa234b456ad7c9687a.jpg":{"id":6396,"mime-type":"image/png","title":"412 W. Cleveland, Bozeman","description":"Black and white survey photo. View of facade. | City of Bozeman | 1984","alt":"1984 black and white image with view of the front facade of 412 W. Cleveland. International style house with flat roof, white stucco walls, double-hung windows with blue and black trim, and second story balcony with steel pipe railing.","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/3fac8eac16aabaaa234b456ad7c9687a.jpg"},"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/726ae03e462e3c128d3595a7556f2a0b.jpg":{"id":6397,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"412 W. Cleveland, Bozeman","description":"Interior view of white tile fireplace with black tile trim.  | Heather Miller | ca. 2025 | Heather Miller, photographer","alt":"Interior view of white tile fireplace with black tile trim. ","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/726ae03e462e3c128d3595a7556f2a0b.jpg"},"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/612e074e3633fe4dccf4f74a0a96d32e.jpg":{"id":6401,"mime-type":"image/png","title":"1934 Chicago World&#039;s Fair House of Tomorrow","description":"Colorized postcard view of the House of Tomorrow | Newberry Library World&#039;s Fair Collection | 1933 | Donnelly &amp; Co.","alt":"1934 Chicago World&#039;s Fair House of Tomorrow shows a woman and child standing near a three-story circular home designed in the International style. Each story has metal railings and white walls. An airplane is parked on one side and a car on the other.","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/612e074e3633fe4dccf4f74a0a96d32e.jpg"},"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/original/6d831073560732e581f5bc79c4262727.pdf":{"id":6400,"mime-type":"application/pdf","title":"412 W Cleveland AER Form.pdf","description":"","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/6d831073560732e581f5bc79c4262727.jpg"},"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/original/e0ec409a9abd648926aad2d4fa02a433.pdf":{"id":6727,"mime-type":"application/pdf","title":"Bon Ton Historic District","description":"Nomination Documentation. This document is an accessible remediation of the original 1987 scanned nomination form.  | <a href=\"https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/bff6b0be-3d3a-4160-a317-f43b99605c8c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Original NPS Bon Ton Historic District nomination</a> | 2026 | Montana Historical Society","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/e0ec409a9abd648926aad2d4fa02a433.jpg"}}}