Acme Building, 107-111 North Broadway, ca. 1910

The building designed with stores in front and the Acme theater in rear. The theater also known as the Broadway Theater in 1913-14 and the Regent Theater from 1916-1930. Other early occupants included a jewelry shop and Tressman's Millinery. Rooms upstairs were known as the Acme Hotel.

Historic Name:
Acme Building
Current Name:
Acme Building

Builder:
unknown

Original Use:
Store, hotel, theater
Current Use:
Stores, offices

Physical Description:
The Acme Building is a three story commercial building with classical influences. The building is constructed of common red brick. The building fronts west onto N. Broadway and it is faced on that primary façade with dressed brown and gold brick, and cast stone. The building is divided into two retail spaces on the first floor, and offices above. The primary entrance is located at center in this symmetrical façade. It is enriched by cast stone pilasters, with raised cornice and decorative bracketing. The building is crowned by a bracketed metal cornice, surmounted by a stepped brick parapet bearing the name ACME. Concrete coping completes the cap.

Both storefronts have been modernized, with newer brickwork and storefront alterations. Above this, second and third story windows are tiered between brown classical pilasters with cast stone bases and capitals with simple ornamentation. Polychrome brick in diamond and rectangular panel motifs separates the second and third story windows. The windows are double-hung 1-over-1and appear to be original.

On the east, the building opens onto a rear alley. Brick is painted gray but historic segmental-arched doorways and historic windows with transoms are visible (many now bricked up). The sides abut adjacent buildings.

Historical and Architectural Significance:
The Acme Building is an important anchor in the northern portion of Billings' downtown, linked to the time when commercial area was expanded north from its origins near the NP depot. Functioning in key roles as retail space, a theater and a rooming hotel, the building is linked functionally to a range of uses which were important to growth of commerce and culture in the city.

It is also a very strong building representing the classically-influenced large commercial buildings which cropped up in this northern corridor of the downtown during the 1910s and 1920s. For all these reasons, it is an excellent rehabilitation candidate and recommended for National Register consideration.

Photo Courtesy of Paul Whiting