1200 West Steel Street

Copper was a primary component in warships, ammunition casing, and tanks. No wonder Butte’s economy boomed during World War I. The city’s population more than doubled between 1910 and 1918, and real estate developers scrambled to meet the demand for housing, building over 700 residences between 1915 and 1918.

Not all of Butte’s new residents were miners, and among the middle-class enclaves that grew up during the war was the Corona Addition, surveyed by James King in 1915. Most of the new homes were Craftsman style bungalows, but there were exceptions, including this grand Colonial Revival house, prominently situated on a corner lot.

The singular gambrel-roofed residence features shuttered windows, two shed dormers, and a welcoming gable-roofed entryway. Attorney Joseph Griffin lived here in 1918, but from 1926 through 1944, the distinctive residence was home to Lee and Myrtle Smith, their three children, and a live-in housekeeper.

A prominent ear, nose, and throat doctor, and vice president of Murray Hospital, Dr. Smith was also an “ardent sportsman,” a “scattergun artist,” and devoted member of the Butte Trap and Skeet Club.