MISSOULA — 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.
The 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, according to a news release.
“The Milwaukee Depot is iconically Missoula and we want to bring it back as historically accurate as we can,” commented Tony A. Boone and Crockett Club CEO Tony A. Schoonen.
“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,” Schoonen continued.
The Milwaukee Depot was built in 1910 by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad and is listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places.
The Boone and Crocket Club has completed three phases of restoration -- mostly on the inside – since purchasing the building in 1992.
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 looking for additional grant opportunities as well as donors who are interested in supporting the project.
“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,” Boone and Crockett Club development program manager Jodi Bishop.
“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,” Bishop continued.
People who are interested in supporting the renovation project can contact Jodi Bishop at (406) 542-1888 x212 or at jodi@boone-crockett.org.
