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The Denver Block, a mixed-use building, stood at 125 Broadway from 1891 to 1981, when it fell victim to arson.
It was financed by capitalists from Denver, referred to in Helena papers of the era as the Denver Syndicate. Peter Winne (1838-1916), after whom Winne Street is named, was a key player.
The building was surveyed in 1968 by architects Jacobson & Shope, for the Urban Renewal Committee of Helena, and it was found to be in good condition. It was being used for low-income housing at the time.
Three juveniles (17-18 years old) torched the vacant building on May 25, 1981. One of the youths was sent, at public expense, to an expensive private facility in Arizona with hopes of rehabilitating him; he subsequently went on to commit more crimes. One was sent to the Mountain View School for Girls in the Helena valley, and the third was sent to drug rehab at the Galen State Hospital.
Thanks primarily to a $10,000 gift from Dr. Norman Holter, the lovely stone entrance archway from the Denver Block was salvaged, and was erected in Women's Park in 1982.
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Site
of the Denver Block
1968

HISTORIC ARCHITECTURAL SURVEY, JABOSON & SHOPE ARCHITECTS
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Two 1968 Interior Views

COLORIZED AND ENHANCE INDEPENDENT RECORD PHOTO
Apartment of Building Owner Leona Jones (1889-1969)

COLORIZED AND ENHANCE INDEPENDENT RECORD PHOTO
Destroyed by Juveniles, May 25, 1981
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Denver Block Site, 2021

The Denver Block Arch in Women's Park

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Memorial
Plaques on the Arch

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