Bellows Residence

Missoula’s rapid expansion after the turn of the twentieth century created a need for new neighborhoods such as this one in the Glenwood Park Addition. The charming Neoclassical style Bellows Residence, constructed in 1909, was one of the first homes to be built this far south of the river. Its lengthwise orientation accommodated the narrow urban lot.

Stylistic details include a one-story porch spanning the front, Doric columns, and a fanlight in the front gable end. Clapboard and cast concrete simulating stone provide an unusual and attractive exterior contrast. Cast concrete block construction, although commonly found in other Montana towns, is less common in Missoula.

Workers used special machinery and molds, sold through mail-order catalogues, to prepare the concrete and cast the blocks on site. Charles Bellows, secretary/treasurer of the D. J. Donohue department store in downtown Missoula, was the first owner and resident of the home. After 1918, the Bellows family rented the property to a variety of tenants through the 1940s.

While still a residence, the home was beautifully refurbished and received the Missoula Historic Preservation Award for interior and exterior renovation. Subsequent conversion to a medical clinic between 1992 and 1994 required some interior changes, but keen sensitivity to historic elements allowed existing windows, wood trim, and fir floors to remain intact.

The original front door with its graceful oval window and the front windows with leaded glass transoms recall a quieter era when this neighborhood was on the outskirts of town.