The Federal Building, U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, Missoula, Montana, is a building housing various services of the United States federal government. Built between 1911 and 1913, an expansion initiated in 1927 and completed in 1929 allowed the building to serve thereafter as a courthouse of the United States District Court for the District of Montana. The building was again expanded in the 1930s, and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.Building historyMissoula began as a small village in the 1860s, but grew quickly when it became a hub of the Northern Pacific Railroad in the 1880s. By the start of the 20th century, it was an important regional trading center for western Montana, northern Idaho, and eastern Washington.Because of the growing population and the subsequent need for services, Missoula was selected as the location for a federal building. In 1907, the government purchased four lots along Cedar Street, which was later renamed Broadway Street, for $19,850. The Supervising Architect of the Treasury, James Knox Taylor, designed the new building, and construction commenced in January 1911. The building opened in 1913, and the original tenants were the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Forest Service. The Daily Missoulan called the building "a handsome structure, an ornament to the city."As Missoula continued to grow, additional space for federal functions was needed. In 1927, James A. Wetmore, acting supervising architect of the U.S. Treasury Department, designed an extension and an annex to the original building to house judicial functions. Construction was completed in 1929, and the building hosted its first session of U.S. District Court on December 5, 1929. Despite the increase in space, the building required another enlargement in the 1930s. Designed by Louis A. Simon of the U.S. Treasury Department, the second annex was dedicated on October 13, 1937.
