DOWNTOWN DESIGN: Rebuilding Community In Montana
JLF Architects' design for 223 East Main Street in Bozeman, MT.
Eight springs ago, a fatal natural gas explosion leveled a Main Street block in our hometown of Bozeman. The early-morning blast claimed the life of one of our finest young art leaders and leveled five historic buildings occupied by thriving local businesses—losses that left a gaping hole in the heart of our historic downtown and wounded our collective hope of economic potential.
“Beyond the obvious destruction, the blast delivered a deep psychic blow to the business district,” wrote Jim Robbins in the March 17, 2009 New York Times.
Ever resilient, Bozeman has rebuilt itself, with several businesses like the Rocking R Bar and the American Legion rising from the rubble anew. Proudly, JLF Architects is participating in this architectural reconstruction effort by helping a local client reimagine one of the vacant lots into a mixed-use building.
Attuned to context, the JLF-designed façade of 223 East Main Street will reference the brick detailing of the site’s former occupant: the I.O.O.F Hall built in 1891. Thus revived, the ground floor will feature retail space while the second and third stories will become a residential apartment—the new home of our client, Bozeman empty-nesters keen to migrate downtown. Now all we need is the building permit… currently under consideration.
