The buildings he envisioned and designed with his longtime partner, Bill Kuhr, number in the hundreds and can be found in some of the most remote places of the state.
For a while, the firm Davidson & Kuhr seemed to specialize in banks because it built so many, said Davidson's son, Scott. The firm also designed dozens of buildings that can be found on many campuses of the Montana university system.
In the heart of Missoula, there's the former bank on the corner of Pattee and Broadway, which is now the Russell Smith Federal Courthouse.
On campus, there's the Urey Lecture Hall, the former pharmacy and psychology building, which has been expanded and renamed the Skaggs Building, and the Davidson Honors College, which sits on the revered Oval and is named in honor of the architect's brother, Ian, and his wife, Nancy Davidson, who contributed $1.1 million to elevate the honors program into a full-fledged college.
Quiet, humble, practical, and a sensible Scotsman to his core, Davidson's architecture reflected the same values that guided him in his personal life, said Kuhr, who formed the business partnership with Davidson in 1956.
"One of the things we thought was very important was the design of our buildings should fit the area it was in and that we shouldn't respond to things - styles - that were most popular," Kuhr said. "We thought that was a trap, and we were very conscious of that, and very careful to fit the building site and the people who would occupy the building.
"That was what David was all about - that was what the firm was all about and we went to extremes to do that."
A favorite Davidson family story about their patriarch best reflects the architect's philosophy.
Scott Davidson explained he prefers to do his banking in buildings that his father designed, and many years ago, while visiting his parents in Great Falls, he stopped by a bank on the city's east side and walked in to cash a check.
During the transaction, the bank teller and Scott began chatting. When she learned he was the son of the man who designed the bank, she volunteered the highest praise an architect could hope for.
"She said to me, 'I have never worked in a building where I knew for a fact that the guy who designed it thought of me and where I would sit and what kind of space I would be in,' " Scott said.
"That was my dad," Scott said. "He believed that's what architects should do and he felt that responsibility. He knew that in the end, the building wasn't his, but hers and all the other people who work there and spend time in that space."
Missoula architect Jim McDonald said he never worked with Davidson directly, but he, like many young architects who were starting their careers, greatly admired the firm Davidson & Kuhr.
"It was one of the premiere architecture firms in Montana and I always felt they were mentors to me although I didn't work with them directly," said McDonald. "I worked with them a couple of times on some historic buildings in Helena and on the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse, and as a firm, they were really one of the great design firms of the state."
Architects often like to mark their work with a distinctive, signature style, but Davidson and Kuhr were not like that, McDonald said.
"They didn't have that kind of professional ego," he said. "They tended to design for the context and work their buildings into the whole context, not so that they would stand out, but so that they always looked like they belonged."
UM President George Dennison said he is deeply saddened by Davidson's passing on Jan. 23.
"For me, David was very central to what was one of the earlier projects on this campus I was involved with - the Davidson Honors College," Dennison said.
"He really took the time to design a facility that serves us very well and a facility that enhances the Oval and the campus," Dennison said. "I appreciated his sense of what is appropriate and why - and how it fits so nicely within campus.
"It is fair to say that David's work on the honors college set the tone for the other buildings we have done since then."
Though Davidson died of natural causes at his home at the age of 82, his love for buildings lives on in the countless structures he designed. His appreciation for fine art and a life well-lived were also passed on to his five children, whom he raised with his college sweetheart and wife, Marjorie.
All of them love learning and art, said Davidson's son, Craig, a graphic artist, and each has followed his or her own creative calling - Bruce is an architect, Scott is a writer, Carol is a music teacher and Marilyn is a first-grade teacher.
"Mom was a professionally trained vocalist, and Dad was a great vocalist in his own right and a self-taught piano player," Craig said. "He played the stand-up bass in a jazz combo in college.
"Growing up, everyone played music in the house because it was such a big part of our parents' life."
Davidson was also a skilled painter who specialized in landscapes. His love for buildings, however, couldn't be quelled, and even in his paintings, buildings would often make an appearance.
"He really was a kind of a Renaissance man," Craig said. "He could build, he had that engineering side and mathematician side, and he understood the art of architecture."
Although he is now gone, Craig said everything his father stood for and his artistic vision are not far away.
"He designed the Great Falls airport," he said, "and every time I go in there, I feel his spirit."
Reporter Betsy Cohen can be reached at 523-5253 or at bcohen@missoulian.com.
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Larry Henning wrote on Mar 2, 2009 8:13 AM:
If William Kuhr reads this and would like to respond, I would appreciate it and can be reached at dyne70@aol.com.
Geneology is fun.
Larry Henning
St. Louis MO. "