Robworth Apartments, Listed!

Built at a time of relative prosperity for the town, the Robworth Apartments represent the optimism of the post-World War I era in Deer Lodge.

In 1919, Joseph Whitworth, President of the US National Bank in Deer Lodge, and William Robertson, a building contractor from Butte, collaborated to construct the first apartment building in Deer Lodge. The two-store building was constructed over a daylight basement and originally contained 15 units. Robertson acted as the architect and builder of this Restrained Neo-Classical style multi-family unit, which includes the economical use of decorative elements typical of Classical or Neo-Classical buildings.

POWELL COUNTY, Robworth Apartments, 625 Main St., Deer Lodge, SG100009074, LISTED, 6/20/2023 

The Robworth Apartments was built in 1919 for $50,000 during Deer Lodge’s post-World War I development boom. The fact that the local paper described it as Deer Lodge’s “newest and only apartment house” indicates it was the first of its kind and an alternative to residential hotels and boarding houses. 

The name Robworth derives from its designer-builder William Robertson, who had built numerous hotels in Butte, and project financier Joseph Whitworth, President of the US National Bank in Deer Lodge. The two-story, 15-unit building, constructed over a daylight basement, exhibits a Restrained Neo-Classical style. Its owners are pursuing State and Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits to help capitalize their substantial rehab of the building.

Janene Caywood wrote this nomination.