Arts & Culture
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The beginning of the twentieth century brought a new and conscious emphasis on natural surroundings, expressed architecturally through the Bungalow style, and the Bedard House, built by Charles Wicksell and Ecton Browne from a pattern book design in 1912, stands as an excellent example of that form. Its broad hipped roof and narrow lap siding create the Bungalow’s characteristic low, horizontal lines, while the full-width open-air porch, originally of wood, conveys simplicity and harmony with the environment. A bay window, corbelled chimney, three hip-roofed dormers with leaded glass windows, and window boxes show the builders’ craftsmanship and their freedom to individualize the pattern design. Thomas Bedard, vice president of both the Thompson Falls Mercantile and the Thompson State Bank, lived there until 1926. In 1935 Henry Larson, a new part-owner of the Thompson Falls Mercantile, later Larson and Green, bought the home and remained there until the long-established store burned in 1968. Aside from brick replacements to the porch, the house still appears much as it did in 1912 and remains a charming and significant part of the neighborhood.
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Thompson Falls, Montana · United States
