$500,000 Grant Awarded to Restore Old Milwaukee Depot Building, Home to Boone and Crockett Club Headquarters

Missoula, Montana — The Boone and Crockett Club has received a $500,000 grant through the Montana Historic Preservation program to begin renovations of the Old Milwaukee Depot in Missoula. With its two towers and red brick facade visible along the Clark Fork River, the building is a well-known landmark in the city and has been home to the Boone and Crockett Club’s headquarters since 1992. The historic preservation grant provides the starting funds for the organization to restore the building’s structural integrity—most notably replacing the entire roof with Spanish clay tiles to replicate the original structure. Work on the building is expected to start in spring 2022.

“The Milwaukee Depot is iconically Missoula and we want to bring it back as historically accurate as we can,” commented Tony A. Schoonen, chief executive officer of the Boone and Crockett Club. “As the oldest conservation organization in the nation, started by Theodore Roosevelt in 1887, the Boone and Crockett Club values our country’s history and the legacy of our headquarters building is important not just to us but to all of Missoula. We are excited to see the improvements through this necessary exterior renovation and look forward to seeing the building look much as it did when TR visited Missoula in 1911 shortly after the Depot was completed.”

Photograph of the Depot taken in 1922 by R.M. McKay. 

Missoula’s Milwaukee Depot was built in 1910 by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. Railroad architect J. A. Lindstrand designed the Depot, building a castle-like structure complete with two observation towers, mission-style parapet walls (using brick imported from China), Romanesque windows, and a Spanish-style roof. The Depot is individually listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places as it represents the era of railroad supremacy in contemporary development of Missoula. The building’s architectural significance is evident in its exquisite proportions and Mission Style detailing, and it is one of the finest examples of early 1900 railroad station architecture in Montana. Located on the southern banks of the Clark Fork River near the Higgins Street bridge, the Milwaukee Depot stands as Missoula’s leading historical landmark.

The public can take a self-guided tour of B&C's compact, but very informative Visitor's Gallery, which includes the history of conservation in North America, the Boone and Crockett Club, its members, and has an abundance of taxidermy and biological information.

Since purchasing the Depot in 1992, the Club has completed three phases of restoration, mostly on the inside. The original ticketing and waiting area of the old train station was completely remodeled as offices, a conference room, and library and retains much of its former character with coffered ceilings and wood beams. The Club’s permanent collection of books and memorabilia can be found in the Library. In 2010, the space connecting the two historic buildings—originally a passenger/ticketing building and a baggage/mechanical building—was opened to the public as home to B&C’s Visitor’s Gallery. This welcoming entrance to the Old Milwaukee Depot now greets visitors with engaging and in-depth exhibits about B&C’s history along with the history of wildlife conservation, big game records keeping, and an in-depth look at our hunting heritage. There is also a section dedicated to the history of the Milwaukee Railroad and the historic Depot.

A glimpse at part of the Club's permanent collection of books on hunting and conservation.

An architectural firm with significant experience in historic preservation projects has been engaged for the project. The full cost of the exterior renovations, which will include replacing the current asphalt roof with Spanish tiles, repairing soffits and gutters, masonry work, and more, is expected to cost about $1.5 million. The Club is actively seeking additional grant opportunities as well as donors who are interested in supporting the preservation of the iconic Missoula landmark.

“Montana’s Historic Preservation grant is tremendously important to allow us to kick off the project next spring. However, we do still need to raise more funding to restore the Depot to its old glory,” said Jodi Bishop, development program manager for the Boone and Crockett Club. “I hope that residents of Missoula, those who love railroad history, and Boone and Crockett Club supporters will help to support the project so that we can complete the full renovations that our architect has identified.”

If interested in supporting the renovation project, please contact Jodi Bishop at (406) 542-1888 x212 or at [email protected].