Looking back on 97 years of City Hall

Whitefish City Hall has stood at the center of Whitefish for nearly 100 years, but come this fall the historic building will be torn down to make way for a new building.

The city of Whitefish had only been incorporated for less than a dozen years when residents began thinking about constructing a City Hall.

The building was the topic of discussion in February of 1917, and by May that year the city council made the decisions to move forward with construction.

“Whitefish will be enabled to hold its position as an up-to-date and enterprising city,” the Pilot reported at the time.

“The new location is not yet determined, but it is understood that the corner of Second Street and Baker will be chosen. The building will in all probability be of brick.”

By January of 1918, the new City Hall was completed and the first council meeting was held in the new building in February.

The volunteer fire department followed suit and moved into the building. The headline at the time said, “Whitefish’s new city building and fire hall credit to community.”

Construction of the new City Hall and connected fire hall cost $11,000. Factoring in inflation, that equals $170,000 in today’s dollars.

The new City Hall was called “an especially creditable building in which to house the city offices.”

Council chambers were on the upper floor, reached by the front entrance, and two rooms for the offices of the city clerk. Council chambers were considerably larger than the quarters council had occupied.

On the basement floor were offices of the treasurer and water commissioner.

On street level to the rear of the building along Baker Avenue was the fire hall, for housing the firefighting equipment.

Under the fire hall was the boiler room and city jail. The building was to be heated with direct steam heat. The city jail consisted of a three compartment steel cage placed in one end of the boiler room

News of the City Hall building seemed quiet for many years until in May of 1946 when council began talk of adding to the building.

Much of this seemed to be prompted by the popularity of the public library located inside. A Pilot article just the year before noted that story hour at the library had proved so popular — 28 kids in attendance — that it was moved from the library into council chambers.

“The attendance has increased by leaps and bounds,” said Mrs. Art Engelter, city librarian, in 1945. “And we are hard-pressed for enough benches and chairs now to seat all the kiddies.”

Thus came the proposal to extend the building back to the alley and add space for a new and better city library, a remodel city jail and a general meeting place for public gatherings.

The Pilot reported that the library was inadequate and poorly located. It was overcrowded with books and had no reading rooms of any sort. The jail was in poor condition and had no facilities for women prisoners.

By November 1946 the library re-opened in a new location, to the right downstairs in City Hall.

Voters approved a remodel of City Hall and a bond in the amount of $175,000 in November of 1956. The remodel complete in December of 1957.

One of the largest visual changes that remains a part of the building today was the stucco-like facade that covered the 1917 brick building.

Mayor Roy M. Duff invited folks to an open house for City Hall in March of 1958.

“We hope that everyone who can do so, will plan to make a tour of the building,” he told the Pilot. “It is a beautiful building and one we can all be proud of.”

The police department moved into their new quarters, where the south entrance to the new building led to the police chief’s office.

A community room to accommodate 100 people was part of the remodel.

Other city offices on the second floor were remodeled. A service counter was installed, ceilings lowered, and new floor laid.

Opening from the City Council chambers was an office for the judge and an office for the mayor.

The city jail previously was described as “a damp, dark unventilated dungeon,” but the new jail was modern with a separate section for juvenile and women prisoners.

The largest quarters in City Hall were the library that was previously in a small basement room near the city jail.

Few projects since the major remodel of 1957 made the Pilot.

In 1995, the city added the former Whitefish Credit Union and another building to the City Hall complex. This created offices for the city manager, clerks and building inspector.

In 1998, the library moved out of City Hall and into its current building.

An elevator installed in 1999 to the main City Hall building made it handicap accessible. Council chambers went through a $3,000 remodel that same year with the money coming from donations.

As it expanded, the city has had to find separate space for some departments. The Parks and Recreation Department moved into the building at Depot Park.

The police and fire departments, and the municipal court, relocated to the new Emergency Services Center on Baker Avenue five years ago.