Historical Treasure Hunt in Ft Benton, MT

What's better than designing a new building from scratch? Working with a beautiful old building! Just a few weeks ago I got to spend a beautiful summer afternoon in Fort Benton, Montana. After lunch at "Wakeup Cup" (highly recommended), I met up with a local building owner to walk and crawl through the 1912 J.J. McGraw Buidling. What a beautiful location downtown, overlooking the Missouri River where  steamboats once finished their journey up the river. Like many historic buildings this one had experienced many lives and additions, with more than  a few Wild West and Prohibition stories. Only a few years after starting as the J.J. McGraw Club it was turned into a theater, with a number of modifications. Currently we're on the quest to uncover as much of the original as possible.

Wanted: If you have any old pictures of Downtown Fort Benton in this era, or know of more stories about this building, please let us know!

Current Storefront:

 Original Storefront?

Some hidden treasures from within the structure:

And an old postcard (too far west to see this building)

Great Falls Strength and Weaknesses

What are the strengths and weaknesses of Great Falls?

The City of Great Falls, MT  is engaging citizens and groups throughout the community to formulate a new Growth policy "Imagine Great Falls 2025". We attended both the Public Open House and Downtown Chick presentation, and have been following the results with great interest. There still is plenty opportunity to get involved. The summary below highlights a number of recurring themes. The illustrations are word clouds, font size reflects the frequency of certain terms within the published lists. For more detailed information, review the full report on the City website.


Great Falls Strengths:

All groups placed emphasis on River's Edge Trail, which has been developed in based on the previous Growth policy. Besides Recreation, Health care and Schools received positive votes. Events such as Farmers Market and Alive@Five were amongst several  lists. Groups pointed out downtown, symphony, museums, and historical assets, with development potential in tourism and growth. Military is recognized as an asset for the community. Friendliness was a recurring positive characteristic of the community.

Great Falls Needs:

 The section on weaknesses and threats includes a number of wishlist items that are "needed" , or "lack", as well as unpopular aspects of the community. Better Dining and Shopping opportunities, free parking, and alternative transportation, including non-motorized options are amongst the "most wanted" features of the sample groups. Casinos and the appearance of 10th Ave South, are widely criticized. Vacancies downtown and in other areas were associated with a lack of safety and failed development opportunities. Better support for small, diverse, or local businesses is listed repeatedly.

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