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Olive Hotel

Introduction

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Olive Hotel has been an integral part of Miles City's economic and social history since it opened in 1899. Miles City booster Joseph Leighton built it and originally named it "The Leighton." For many years, the hotel was an important gathering place for locals and visitors. It still operates today and includes a restaurant, casino, and bar. The hotel, which was enlarged in 1908 using a new design by local architect Brynjulf Rivenes, is also significant for its architecture. Its notable features include decorative brickwork, arched stained glass windows above a few windows on the first floor, and a pressed-metal cornice. The hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places and is a contributing property of the Main Street Historic District, which is also listed on the register.

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The historic Olive Hotel was built in 1899 and has been fixture on Main Street ever since.

The historic Olive Hotel was built in 1899 and has been fixture on Main Street ever since.

The lobby area

The lobby area

Backstory and Context

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By the time Joseph Leighton erected the hotel, Miles City had become the region's economic and social center. Homesteaders, merchants, cattlemen and others had been arriving in the area since the mid-1870s. Their numbers increased even more after the arrival of the Great Northern Railroad in 1881. These developments solidified the town's status as stable and thriving community. This was the context in which the hotel was built.

Joseph Leighton erected the hotel after a fire in 1897 destroyed another hotel called the McQueen House. A few years later, his son, Alvin, took over and changed the name to Olive Hotel. When it was remodeled and expanded in 1908, a barbershop and cafe were also added. A garage was built in the back of the building as well, and another was built in 1912. Apparently, an auto business (repairing and selling cars) was located in the garages, run by a man who lived at the hotel.

After 1925, drought and falling grain prices forced many people in the area to leave. As a result, Miles City's economy declined and the hotel's importance as a meeting place decreased as well. The hotel endured, however, and remains a vital part of the community today.

Sources

Goff, John & Bick, Patricia. "Olive Hotel." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. July 21, 1989. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/88001117_text.

The Montana National Register Sign Program. “The Olive Hotel.” Montana Historical Society - Digital Vault. Accessed August 5, 2020, http://digitalvault.mhs.mt.gov/items/show/21187.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Olive_Hotel

Additional Information