North Elevation Historic District
Austin and Hattie North established the North Elevation Subdivision in 1905. Within walking distance of McKinley Elementary and Billings downtown, “the Elevation” was a commonsense extension for the Yellowstone River Valley’s fastest-growing city. The Elevation Company, owned by the Norths promoted lots with panoramic views of the city and promises of living near “the best families in Billings.” Early promotional literature emphasized the subdivision’s walkability—including its concrete sidewalks—as well as a potential streetcar system that would link the neighborhood to downtown. By 1913, the neighborhood’s promoters had embraced the automobile, advertising the subdivision’s “fine auto drives” and its miles of “smooth graded roads.” With the construction of the “new” St. Vincent’s Hospital, Deaconess Hospital (now Billings Clinic), and Eastern Montana Normal School (now MSU-Billings) in the 1920s, the neighborhood became home to teachers and doctors, as well as civic leaders. The current North Elevation Historic District is defined by Twelfth Avenue to the north, Ninth Avenue to the south, Thirty-Second Street to the west and the alley behind Thirtieth Street to the east. There are over 100 contributing homes in the district and over 60 of them are in the Craftsman style. These homes are identified by their wide overhanging eaves, projecting rafters, bands of windows, and the use of natural materials. There are also two contributing commercial properties within the district.
907 North 31st Street
North Elevation Historic District
Contractor Thomas O’Neil, who lived nearby on North Thirtieth, likely built this handsome American Foursquare home as well as the smaller rental property at the back of the lot. Notable for their efficient use of space, dignified Foursquares made the most of every buildable inch, providing the most…
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917 North 31st Street
North Elevation Historic District
Built between 1923 and 1927, this building—now a triplex but originally a duplex—is a relatively late addition to the neighborhood. Several elements distinguish it, including its placement set back from the street. The choice of stucco siding—a fashionable modern material in the 1920s—flat roof,…
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1009 North 31st Street
North Elevation Historic District
Built in 1915, this Craftsman style residence was the longtime home of Ray and Olga Wise. Craftsman homes featured varied, natural materials and subtle detailing, seen here in the narrow clapboard and shingle siding, triangular brackets, exposed rafter tails, and checkerboard step risers. An open…
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1023 North 31st Street
North Elevation Historic District
Alice Bell lived in this cross-gable residence for over fifty years. She and husband Frank moved here with their two young children in 1914. Narrow clapboard siding, gable-end returns, and multipaned windows give the home an understated elegance. Frank was a prominent dentist, who brought the first…
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1024 North 31st Street
North Elevation Historic District
One of only a few Colonial Revival style homes in the historic district, this side-gable, two-story residence dates to circa 1913. Clapboard siding, a centered entry, windows with shutters, and an enclosed side porch are Colonial Revival style hallmarks. Queen Anne style spindles encircle the porch…
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1029 North 31st Street
North Elevation Historic District
Young middle-class professional families flocked to the North Elevation neighborhood after 1905 in search of modern homes in a quiet suburban setting. Rows of welcoming Craftsman bungalows with wide front porches and simple decorative details like knee braces and exposed rafter tails in the eaves…
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1102 North 31st Street
North Elevation Historic District
Noted Billings architect J. G. Link designed this two-story residence circa 1921. It is one of only four architect-designed homes in the North Elevation Historic District. A classic American Foursquare, or “Prairie Box,” the house features a symmetrical façade, low-hipped roof, wide overhanging…
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1109 North 31st Street
North Elevation Historic District
Built in 1915 at the height of Craftsman style popularity, this two-story home features the style’s characteristic exposed rafter tails and inviting front porch. Less typical is the way the porch extended over the driveway to create a sheltered place to park. The home also had a one-car garage…
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1110 North 31st Street
North Elevation Historic District
A near twin to a home designed by renowned architect Percy Bentley in La Crosse, Wisconsin, this two-story Prairie style residence was built circa 1912 for Louis and Sarah Dousman. The Dousmans had close connections to La Crosse, where Sarah was raised. Louis was from nearby Prairie Du Chien, the…
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1111 North 31st Street
North Elevation Historic District
The full-width front porch, low-pitched roof with wide overhangs, and prominent corbelled (stepped) brick chimney are key elements of this 1913 Craftsman bungalow. Multi-pane sidelights flanking the door match the transom atop the main window and dormer windows, unifying the façade. In the 1910s,…
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1114 North 31 Street
North Elevation Historic District
Samuel and Daisy McDowell built this Craftsmanstyle bungalow for $4,000 in 1913. Much of its original character remains today, embodied in the clapboard and shingle siding, front porch, and exposed rafters and knee braces in the eaves. Samuel and his brother Edward ran a successful bookstore and…
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1115 North 31st Street
North Elevation Historic District
The prominent brick chimney that dominates the façade of this one-story clapboard home pays homage to the Tudor style. The open front porch, wide overhanging eaves, and exposed roof beams are common Craftsman style features. Frieda Kohn lived here in 1920 with her husband Jerome, a cigar salesman…
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1119 North 31st Street
North Elevation Historic District
Simplicity, honesty, functionality, and efficiency were the architectural watchwords of the 1910s. Craftsman style bungalows like this one embodied the era’s minimalist aesthetic, and the style took the nation—and Billings—by storm. Characteristic of the Craftsman style, this circa 1915 home…
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1123 North 31st Street
North Elevation Historic District
The first owner of this one-and-one-half-story home, Matthew Barry, owned the Barry Motor Company, a car garage and “livery”—or rental service. Perhaps that’s why he built a garage (recently replaced) to match the home. Both house and garage had decorative braces, exposed rafter tails, and…
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1125 North 31st Street
North Elevation Historic District
This classic example of an American Foursquare house with Prairie style details was completed by 1916 when photographer Frank Crosby was hired to capture the fashionable new North Elevation subdivision. The term Foursquare describes the house’s floorplan, which featured a central hall and four…
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1138 North 31st Street
North Elevation Historic District
Valued at $7,000 in 1930, this newly built residence was home to grocer Robert Milligan, his wife Ida Mae, their three children, a fourteen-year-old niece, and a live-in servant. The one-and-one-half story, front-gabled house features Craftsman bungalow-style details. These include exposed rafter…
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1040 North 31st Street
North Elevation Historic District
Dubbed one of Billings’ “pioneer building contractors,” Emanuel Lindstrom waited until age thirty-eight to marry twenty-two-year-old Radina Holen, a fellow immigrant from Norway. In 1913, the Lindstroms moved into this Prairie style residence, where they raised three children. The two-story…
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1142 North 31st Street
North Elevation Historic District
A visit to Los Angeles, California, in 1929 to attend the Elks Club national convention may have inspired Charles and Nora Carroll to build this distinctive Monterey style home in 1930. The style, rarely built in Montana, was popular in Texas and California in the 1930s and 1940s. Derived from…
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1143 North 31st Street
North Elevation Historic District
A pedimented entryway and multi-pane transom window are among the Greek Revival style elements that decorate this side-gable brick home, built c. 1932 for Julius and Anna Clavadetscher. A talented cellist, Julius played with the Minneapolis Symphony before moving to Billings in 1917, where he…
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1147 North 31st Street
North Elevation Historic District
Rapid changes in technology, industry, and social customs marked the Jazz Age of the 1920s. In the face of short skirts and speakeasies, many Americans longed for a supposedly simpler past. The Tudor style’s story-book charm and emblematic decorative half-timbering, prominent chimney, steeply…
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Tenth Avenue Grocery
North Elevation Historic District
One of two existing storefronts in the North Elevation Historic District, this one-story Western Commercial style grocery store features a stylized stepped parapet and large display windows. Sam Chichas, the Greek proprietor of a grocery on North Twenty-fifth Street, opened his second market here…
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901 North 32nd Street
North Elevation Historic District
The Prairie style is well represented in this two-story American Foursquare home built in 1915. A low hipped roof, extended eaves with exposed rafter tails, symmetrical façade, and lap siding emphasize horizonal lines. These architectural features especially distinguish the historic district.…
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1015 North 32nd Street
North Elevation Historic District
Not long after Lester and Mabel Punch moved to Billings in 1919, they purchased this house in the growing North Elevation subdivision. Although it now has modern windows and siding, the home’s open porch, tapered porch columns, and decorative braces under wide, overhanging eaves still recall the…
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1109 North 32nd Street
North Elevation Historic District
Lawyer Arthur J. Cunningham and his wife Edna built this remarkably well-preserved Craftsman style bungalow in 1915 for $3,300. The house retains nearly all of its original materials, including the narrow wood clapboard siding and wide wood trim, open front porch with tapered porch columns, and…
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1111 North 32nd Street
North Elevation Historic District
Built c. 1916, this one-and-one-half-story bungalow still looks much as it did when card parties and club luncheons filled its owners’ social calendars. As is typical with the Craftsman style, knee braces ornament wide overhanging eaves, and a low-pitched shed dormer efficiently expands the home’s…
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1117 North 32nd Street
North Elevation Historic District
One of sixty Craftsman style residences in the North Elevation district, this circa 1916 home features many hallmarks of the style. These include triangular knee braces, exposed rafter tails, and, at the time of construction, a full-width, open front porch. This style—popularized in…
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1121 North 32nd Street
North Elevation Historic District
Built at the height of the “bungalow craze,” this circa 1915 residence features the open eaves, exposed rafters, and triangular knee braces that characterize the Craftsman style. The home’s size (five rooms) made it affordable to finish the interior with modern plumbing, hardwood floors, and other…
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1131 North 32nd Street
North Elevation Historic District
Wayne and Ethel Gordon’s 1939 home is one of two Cape Cod style homes in the North Elevation Historic District. The steep side-gable roof, gabled dormers, and elegant front door entablature are key stylistic elements. After completing medical school and then teaching at the University of Chicago,…
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1145 North 32nd Street
North Elevation Historic District
Civil engineer Bill Lowe designed and built this house for his family circa 1940. The modest-looking home has several features more typically found in high-style homes. These include the clay tile roof, decorative chimney caps, and a bow window, placed to take advantage of the corner lot. The…
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Warner House
North Elevation Historic District
Clinton Warner and his wife Inez bought this and the adjacent lot to the west in 1919 for $1,500 from the North Elevation Company and built this Colonial Revival style home. The deed stipulated that any residence built on the lot “shall not cost less than $2,500 and be of modern design.” Clinton…
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