Christmas music is already playing in all retail stores, but let’s be real: Thanksgiving comes in as a close second to being “one of the most wonderful times of the year.” Thursday will mostly be about national traditions, turkey, and football, but it’s also a lot of other important stuff too. For this holiday, we wanted to share what we, at Nelson Architects, are thankful for: Architecture. Pretty predictable, right? We searched through our previous projects and walked around our great city to find five of the best buildings we wanted to share.

Arvon Block: Arvon Hotel

Need a place for your in-laws to stay? Look no further than Arvon Hotel. Originally built by Robert Vaughn, a wealthy rancher, farmer, and businessman, the sole purpose of the original hotel was to accommodate passengers arriving via train on the Montana Central Railway. Arvon Block was constructed between 1889 to 1890, and just like Vaughn’s many titles, Arvon Block also served Great Falls community as a Livery, Freight Transfer station, and Vegetable and Fruit Market. Over the years, the building began to wear, and in 2012, Nelson Architects conducted a feasibility study. That’s when we had the opportunity to present new and modern design ideas to help preserve this historic building. We were a part of every stage of the project – from structural and design to the finishing touches and details, we were able to help this historic hotel shine. If you visit it today, you’ll be immersed into a rich blend of our modern touches with the historical elements of our city’s past.

Lofts at 503 Condominiums

The Montana Building was formerly built as a multi-level office building, but in 2005, Nelson Architects revamped the entire space into high-end, luxurious condos. First, we wanted the building to feel like a residential area on the outside. For us to do this, we designed a custom awning to be built on the exterior of the building to showcase the new, residential feeling we were after. We also wanted to create that urbanized feeling of living in a downtown district, and so, we converted existing windows into balconies to allow homeowners the option to enjoy their new downtown view in a multitude of ways. Each condo, we constructed character, value, and quality of living through each aspect of the design process, and we were also able to achieve this goal by both maximizing the space of each unit but also creating unique footprints for every one of them. It would be the perfect place to host your holiday festivities at!

C.M. Russell Museum

We love our Native Americans, farmers, ranchers, and cowboys here, and Charles Marion Russell aspired to be a true Montanan (say that three times fast) by moving here from Missouri in 1880. He is well known for creating over 4,000 pieces of artwork where they exhibited the many beauties of Montana wilderness, and, capturing the essence of culture and living in our home state. C.M. Russell Museum was constructed to honor and promote Russell’s western art, and to also “collect, preserve, research, interpret, and educate on the art and life of Charles M. Russell; the art and lives of his contemporaries; and the art of preceding and ensuing generations that depicts and focuses on the culture, life, and country of Russell’s West.”1 With any and all free time you may have over the next several weeks, a visit to this museum will be a visit you won’t regret spending time in! One of our favorite exhibits is their amazing Bison exhibit. Because, you know, we helped construct it.

Water Treatment Plant

We couldn’t write this list without including one of our city staples: the Missouri River! I mean, we’re not called Great Falls for nothing. The historic relevance of our current Water Treatment Plant starts out as early as when the City of Great Falls was founded in 1884. As the city grew during those early times, the need for public utilities to be easily accessible began to increase as well. In 1888, the construction of the plant was proposed, and after many years of back and forth, it was finished and ready to serve our community.

In 2012, the need to renovate the existing ceiling was presented to Nelson Architects. Our goal was to replace the existing ceiling panels with a new product capable of withstanding the humid environment of the facility, provide roof/ceiling insulation meeting the current International Energy Conservation Code, replace the existing lighting in this area with new energy efficient fixtures, and provide a safe means of servicing equipment and components in the attic space via ceiling access panels and catwalk structures. After the completion of this renovation, City of Great Falls/ Cascade County Preservation Office awarded us the 2013 Historic Preservation Award. We’re proud to say that they were impressed with our design ideas to expose and rehabilitate the elegant steel trusses that were already a part of this historic building.

Franklin School Apartments

Franklin Elementary School opened in 1913 to serve Great Falls community of Native American children, and the building showcases the historic structures of that time period. In 1990, the building was converted to accommodate housing needed in the community, and so the renovation from school environment to residential begun. After several years had passed, the building needed to go under a second set of renovations. In 2009, Nelson Architects was welcomed to become a part of this new construction project.
We were excited to help recreate yet another historical building, and this project presented us with both external and internal design challenges. We upgraded all wall and roof insulation, added new low-e argon-filled windows, replaced mechanical and electrical systems, and improved and replaced interior finishes, redesigned several units to meet ADA requirements, and added vestibules for proper entrances into the building. Our goal was to meet as many USGBC Green Design Practices as possible for both the occupants and the owners to enjoy. Today, the apartments accommodate low-income families, and therefore Franklin School Apartments made our grateful list. Thanksgiving is also about community, and that is our favorite aspect of this building. It serves the families and individuals of our great city, and we hope it brings everyone together over this holiday.