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Gibson, Kirkemo, and Bakke Architectural Drawings, 1890-1971

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Gibson, A. J. (Albert John), 1862-1928; Kirkemo, H. E. (H. Elmer), 1894-1987; Bakke, Ole, 1889-1925
Title
Gibson, Kirkemo, and Bakke Architectural Drawings
Dates
1890-1971 (inclusive)
Quantity
429 items
Collection Number
Mss 020 (collection)
Summary
Gibson, Kirkemo, and Bakke were Missoula, Montana, residential and commercial architects. This collection of original architectural drawings and blueprints includes the plans for many prominent historical buildings in western Montana and parts of northern Idaho.
Repository
University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu
Access Restrictions

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and the University of Montana--Missoula.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Biographical Note

Albert John Gibson was born in 1862 in Savannah, Ohio. He moved to Butte, Montana, when he was twenty-one and worked there for five years. In 1888, he arrived in Missoula, Montana, and worked with E.C. Selander as a carpenter. He later formed a partnership with Robert Mentrum and began to study architecture, for which he exhibited a natural genius. Gibson designed St. Patrick's Hospital, Missoula City-County High School, the Missoula County Courthouse, Sacred Heart Academy, most of the early University of Montana buildings, the Greenough Mansion, the Ravalli County Courthouse, and many other buildings in Montana and Idaho.

Although he officially retired in 1909, Gibson remained involved in the projects of his protégé, Ole Bakke. In the 1910s, while Gibson actively pursued his interest in long-distance automobile touring, Bakke continued the Gibson architectural tradition in Western Montana and Idaho, designing numerous public and private buildings.

In 1920, Bakke hired H. E. Kirkemo as a draftsman. Kirkemo worked with Bakke on important Missoula buildings including the Wilma Theatre and Thornton Hospital. After Bakke retired, Kirkemo continued the architectural firm under his own name. Formally trained, Kirkemo created innovative designs using modern architectural theory and materials. Kirkemo designed hundreds of public and private buildings throughout Western Montana and Idaho. When he retired in the early 1960s, his son James W. Kirkemo took over the business. James Kirkemo, Sheldon Witwer, and Stuart Price are responsible for many of the prominent, modern buildings in Missoula and Western Montana.

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Content Description

This exceptional collection of original architectural drawings and blueprints include the plans for most of the prominent historical buildings in Western Montana. The importance of the collection is substantial, in that many of the drawings are the only copy ever made. Also, the artwork is an invaluable tool for architects, historians, and building owners, especially those complying with historic preservation legislation. These drawings offer students and other researchers a chronology of regional architecture and insight into the changing cultural landscape of Western Montana and Idaho.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright transferred to The University of Montana.

Preferred Citation

Gibson, Kirkemo, and Bakke Architectural Drawings, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, University of Montana—Missoula.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in fifty-two series by geographical location.

Custodial History

The collection was held by the producing architectural firm and its successors until it was donated to the Archives.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Joseph Crabtree, 1998.

Processing Note

The collection was processed for the first time in 1999. Prior to then, the architectural firm had prepared a detailed inventory of the drawings. During and subsequent to processing, a number of unidentified drawings, mostly Gibson’s, were identified by Dr. H. Rafael Chacon of the University of Montana’s Art Department. In 2017 a portion of the drawings were renumbered to eliminate confusion around duplicate plan numbers assigned by the architects. Additional descriptive information was provided and spelling corrections made to some drawing sets. In 2019, a drawing set by Kirkemo of the Eccelston's Recreation Lodge was added to the collection.

Related Materials

A database containing information about architectural drawings held by Special Collections at Montana State University and the K. Ross Toole Archives at The University of Montana is available: http://arc.lib.montana.edu/architect/index.php

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Finding aid prepared by Kathryn Hampton (1999).
1999

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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