File:Fechter Hotel - Bozeman Montana - 2013-07-09.jpg

English: Looking southeast at the Fechter Hotel Building (128-134 East Main) in Bozeman, Montana.

Built in 1918 by saloon owner John Fechter, the three-and-a-half story hotel and retail building was designed by omnipresent Bozeman architect Fred Willson in the Neo-Gothic Revival style. It's one of Willson's more unique designs. The facade is white glazed terra cotta. Vertical cruciform shapes have been removed from the terra cotta, exposing the red brick beneath -- giving the building an even greater sense of height. Small faces were added to the line in the sandstone facade above the windows, and the rest of the sandstone facing intricately cared in bas relief and high relief.

The facade also has distinctive Arabian-arch windows with bronze grating over the upper portion, and a small, semi-circular iron and glass canopy over the door (any canopy is unusual for doors along the street). Over the years, "anchor" tenants like Woolworth's and J.C. Penney occupied the ground floor. The upper floors were originally hotel rooms, but over time became a mix of hotel rooms and apartments.

Although the building is located within the Main Street Historic District (listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 21, 1987), it is not a contributing property. (The canopy and main entrance have shifted from the middle of the structure to the left, sadly altering it.)