Blue Front Rooming House

Introduction

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The historic Blue Front Rooming House building is significant primarily for its association with the Forsyth's railroading history. It was built as the Swanland Hotel by local Gustaf "Gus" Swanland in 1912 to provide much-needed, inexpensive housing to employees of the Northern Pacific Railroad, who were mostly single men. At the time, it had a bright blue front facade, which gave it its nickname "Blue Front." Architecturally, it is a typical example of an early 20th century commercial building, featuring a simple facade and a cornice topped with a pediment bearing the year 1912. It is well preserved and the interior has largely been unaltered. The bedrooms were on the second floor and the kitchen, parlor, and dining room were on the first floor.

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Built in 1912 by Gustaf Swanland, the Blue Front Rooming House offered cheap housing to railroad workers of the Northern Pacific Railroad.

Backstory and Context

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Forsyth was established in 1882. The Northern Pacific Railroad (NPC) was there from the beginning, which used the town as a base of operations and to house workers. The NPC built a rooming house called the Occidental Hotel around 1882 but a fire destroyed it in 1901. The NPC didn't rebuild it since by then private rooming houses offered housing to railroad employees and other workers.

The site where the Blue Front building stands was empty until about 1910 when a small wood-frame structure was built. Gustaf Swanland acquired the property in 1912 and started constructing the building in July. It was a simple utilitarian structure, reflecting the needs of the workers, who needed expensive housing. The bedrooms opened to a central hallway and were small and did not have closets. After Swanland died in 1935, it appears that the building was not used very much. Currently, it seems that the hardware store next door uses the old building for storage. The Blue Front building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Sources

Hufstetler, Mark A. "Blue Front Rooming House." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. February 12, 1990. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/90000085_text.

The Montana National Register Sign Program. “Blue Front Rooming House.” Montana Historical Society - Digital Vault. Accessed July 19, 2020, http://digitalvault.mhs.mt.gov/items/show/20006.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Carroll Van West, via Montana's Historic Landscapes: https://montanahistoriclandscape.com/2015/01/17/forsyths-historic-districts/

Additional Information

National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Blue Front Rooming House