I was visiting a nearby city’s park and came across this concrete building surrounded by barbed wire fencing. It looks like it was built in the 1950s or 60s, but there’s no sign saying what it is or what federal agency it belongs to. My google-fu has so far failed me. Someone may know what it is just by looking at the pictures.
I’ve visited it a half dozen times and have never seen anyone enter or leave it and the lights inside are never on. I thought it was a long-abandoned building, but why the fencing and electric gate? They must be there for a reason.
BTW, I assume it’s a federal building since there is a sign on the fence saying “WARNING! Tampering with this facility is a federal offense!”. I have no intention of tampering with it I just want to know what it is. I can imagine all kinds of nefarious purposes for that building. Pics of it are at the link below.
The address is 1000 Lawrence Park, Kalispell, Montana 59901
Looks like it’s an underground spring:
USGS 481257114184101 28N21W06DAC 01;
Possibly a local water source?
Since we’re looking, I wonder what the structures a bit west of the Buffalo Hill Golf Clubhouse are. They’re brown, one circle, the other oval and with something high in the center. The circular one is partially surrounded by …trailers? Modular buildings?
That would be my guess, and such places may be protected by Federal law. The Flathead river is nearby, but I can’t find the location on Google Maps. There is a Lawrence Park, but I don’t see a road or street by that name.
It’s here:
Also, you can use the drop-down menu on the USGS site to see the map location as well (“Available data for this site”).
It may not be federal; tampering with all kinds of infrastructure is a federal offense even if the facility isn’t owned or managed by the feds. For example, tampering with a public water system (defined as one with at least fifteen service connections or regularly serving at least twenty-five individuals) is good for up to ten years as a guest of Uncle Sam. Similar rules protect essential electrical equipment, pipelines, and so forth.
This report on the City of Kalispell Public Water system identifies it as Noffsinger Spring which is:
the oldest water source in the Kalispell PWS, having been brought into service on May 1, 1916. The springhouse and pump building are located at the base of a bluff with Buffalo Hills Golf Course at the top of the bluff forming the western Park boundary.
Thanks everyone. I wouldn’t expect such a large building to house just a spring well. It’s fairly close to the Stillwater River, and there’s a small pumping station adjacent to the river. If it’s a municipal water source it makes sense that it’s fenced and protected. It also makes sense that nobody needs to be there most of the time…
In addition to the well pump, that building probably also contains filtration systems and monitoring equipment for contaminants and such.
I looked up land ownership in the area and it’s only registered to the city.
Same with the oval building to the west, same tract of land.
The rectangular structures are golf cart storage.
The round structure maybe its also equipment storage but the grass doesn’t seem to be killed by frequent usage. maybe its a water tank, as the ground water has to be stored when there is plenty (store shallow ground water after precipitation event.)
