Don't let new library destroy Milwaukee Depot

This letter is an appeal to the community to save the Milwaukee Depot on east Main. The overseers of the new library project intend to disassemble the Depot. Tragically, the Depot's historic significance would be lost forever. The guidelines for the new library sought to incorporate the Depot into the design, and certainly advertisements for the library (published in the Chronicle) suggested the same; yet that is not the reality. On Aug. 4 the city commissioners vote on whether to issue to the Library a demolition permit.

The Library assumes no responsibility for the remains of the Depot after it is disassembled. Moreover, the overseers of the library project have refused to embrace aggressive fund raising efforts to preserve the Depot. I resent my tax dollars supporting the destruction of a significant historic landmark. Bozeman was a classic example of the burgeoning prosperity in the western frontier that was fueled by the railroad around the turn of the 20th century. The Depot epitomizes that historic milieu. Its disposition on the site, in concert with its unique and charming architectural features, conjures up visions of early Bozeman.

Bozeman already has a public library, one that was designed with architectural expansion in mind. Bozeman has a university library, which is open to any Montana resident. Bozeman's historic presence however is slowly but surely disappearing. The Firestone Building on the comer of Grand and Willson was razed to make room for a bank/residential building, which was never built. Will the Depot site follow suit? There is absolutely no assurance that enough funds will be raised for the new library, yet the Library seeks the immediate dismantling of the Depot. I find a disturbing irony in the fact that the very institution that should be fostering an appreciation for Bozeman's history is instead seeking to annihilate it.

Joanne Mannell Noel,

Ph.D., Art and Architectural ffistory

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