Here is a succinct history of the Kleinschmidt Block, courtesy of historian Ellen Baumler:

"Entrepreneur Reinhold H. Kleinschmidt built this block with five storefronts and upstairs lodging rooms circa 1892. Among his first commercial tenants was Charles Grossman, a wallpaper hanger and painter, whose business was in the corner storefront. A variety of tenants in 1900 included a U.S. bailiff, a photographer, and a Northern Pacific land examiner and their families.

In 1905, real estate developer Richard Lockey purchased the building to serve as an annex to his Grandon Hotel and changed its name to the Harvard Block. The Grandon stood just across Sixth Avenue.

By 1929, Edward Loney’s barbershop in the corner storefront was the only remaining commercial space and the rest of the building functioned as housing.

A stunning example of the flamboyant Victorian-era architecture once common in Helena, its rounded brick arches on the second story reflect the Romanesque style. Fluted iron columns and scrolled brackets frame the entry. A spectacular copper dome originally capped the second-story oriel bay at the southwest corner. These elements contrast with the utilitarian rubblestone walls on the rear and north, common in Helena’s nineteenth century buildings."

Thanks, Ellen!

In this early morning view, we can see a portion of the unusual tapered oval dome, and the corner barber pole. Note the electrical or telephone wires strung on the building.

My ex-husband and I attended Carroll College in the 70's, and we lived in the corner apartment with the turret from fall of 1975 to fall of 1976. It was fun to "look down" on downtown Helena from that distinctive apartment. At least one person running for public office asked to put a sign in our window, which we did but I can't remember who it was. I am quite sure that the dome was still there at that time.  A young couple had just purchased the building and I remember they said they sat up late into the night debating whether they should rent to an unmarried couple.