Glasgow, Montana - The Rundle Building

Interest in Spanish Mission architecture reached its height in 1915, after the Panama California Exposition popularized the style far beyond the Southwest. Building in the highly recognizable style allowed small town boosters to project a modern, cosmopolitan image. No wonder the premier Montana architectural firm of Link and Haire included colorful terra-cotta detailing, decorative brickwork, and high, shaped parapets—all Mission style elements—in their design for this three-story building, headquarters of the Rundle Title and Abstract Company. The firm's principal, land locator Sidney Rundle, was one of Glasgow's biggest boosters, and his fortune was tied directly to the area's ability to attract homesteaders. His up-to-date building became the center of Glasgow commerce and recreation. Its basement housed a billiards room, bowling alley, and five-chair barber shop with a Turkish bath steam cabinet and two showers, where customers could clean themselves up for a night on the town. Occupying the first floor were ten retail establishments, boasting modern display cases "after the fashion of the big office buildings in the largest cities" and electric lights that illuminated "every nook and corner." Offices, the abstract company's fireproof vault, and club rooms for the use of the city's businessmen filled the second floor. A forty-room hotel, later converted into apartments, topped the building. The Glasgow Courier moved into the business block after 1920. The renowned Sam Gilluly covered Fort Peck Dam's construction and the rise of Glasgow Air Base from his office here during his thirty-year tenure as the Courier's legendary editor.