Parmly Billings Memorial Library

Parmly Billings Memorial Library, built in 1901, is one of the few remaining older public buildings in the city. Constructed of rubble-faced square sandstone, its massive walls, along with turrets and steep roof, are designed MT NATIONAL REGISTER SIGN TEXT 1990 TO APRIL 2019 in the Romanesque style.

The original roof covering was red Spanish tile. The core building was designed by Charles S. Haire, a partner in Link and Haire, one of Montana’s most significant architectural firms during the first half of the twentieth century. With offices in Billings, Lewistown, Butte, and Helena, Link and Haire designed more than a thousand public, commercial, academic, private, and institutional buildings in the northwestern United States.

The library stands on land donated to the city on a ninety-nine-year lease in 1900 by the Northern Pacific Railroad. The building was financed by Frederick Billings, Jr., son of the city’s namesake, in memory of his brother Parmly Billings, a one-time city resident. In 1910, Frederick Billings also financed construction of the east wing, and his sister Elizabeth financed addition of the west wing in 1936.