The
Button Shop
Jean
Allen's Antler Artistry
1953 Log Cabin Shop Still Stands on 11th Ave.
PHOTOS
FROM "PROFITABLE HOBBIES" MAGAZINE, OCT. 1952
|
"The
Button Shop", a unique endeavor by a talented woman, operated
at two locations in Helena. The first shop, pictured below,
stood at 1520 Euclid (between Mountain View and Garrison) from
1948 to 1953. Jean Allen built a second log structure at 1807
Eleventh Avenue in 1953; it stands today.
|
A Selection
of Jean's Handiwork
Screw-back Antler Earrings by Jean Allen, circa 1948
COURTESY
OF DOUG AND KATHY LINDGREN
Lived in a Tent on Euclid Avenue for Two Years
Read
Dorothy Helton's "Profitable Hobbies" Article About Jean
 |
Clicking
on the magazine cover will open the text of the article in a
new window.
|
Button
Shop Moves to 1807 Eleventh Avnue, 1953
| Jean Allen
was granted a divorce from Floyd Allen in December of 1951. Floyd
was ordered to pay the mortgage on their Euclid Avenue home, which
may have led to the 1952 sale of that home and Jean's building
of the combination shop / residence on Eleventh Avenue in 1953. |
1807
Eleventh Avenue, 2011
Now Lay of the Land Surveying
PHOTO
BY KENNON BAIRD
Many Helenans will
recall when there was a large pile of antlers outside this building.
Huntington,
West Virgina, Gallery Show
Two
Unusual Newspaper Stories
| The last
mention of the Button Shop I find in the available online newspaper
archives is from May 1970, when items from the Button Shop were
being sold. The Saddle Rest Antique Shop opened in the building
in June of 1970. I don't know what happened to Jean. |
