Theater and opera houses
Fort Peck Theater
The Fort Peck Theater in the city of Fort Peck is a historical theater from 1934. At that time it was built as a provisional building for the approximately 50,000 workers at Fort Peck Dam, but was more durable than initially thought. The building has a rather unusual style, it is reminiscent of a Swiss alpine hut.
| Contact | 200 Missouri Avenue Fort Peck, Montana 59248 www.fortpecktheatre.org |
Rialto Theater at Deer Lodge
The Rialto Theater in the city of Deer Lodge was built in 1921 in the style of Beaux-Arts architecture. The theater offers space for up to 720 visitors and impresses not only with its exterior. Inside, wall paintings and especially the painted stage background are convincing. The Rialto Theater fell victim to a fire in 2006, but was immediately rebuilt with funds from the community and reopened in 2012. The Rialto Theater has been on the list of Historic Places since 1998.
| Contact | 418 Main Street Deer Lodge, Montana 59722 www.deerlodgerialto.com |
Washoe Theater in Anaconda
The Washoe Theater in the city of Anaconda was built in 1931, but only opened in 1936 due to the Great Depression. The Washoe Theater is the last theater in the Nuevo Deco style, a sub-branch of the Art Deco style. The first film to be shown in this historic cinema was the western “The Texas Rangers”. The Washoe Theater has been on the list of Historic Places since 1982.
- See Countryaah for a full list cities and towns in Montana. Also includes counties, airports, zip codes, and public holidays of Montana.
| Contact | 305 Main Street Anaconda, Montana 59711 |
Yucca Theater in Hysham
The Yucca Theater in the city of Anaconda was built in 1931 and operated as a theater until 1936 and then as a cinema. The architectural style of the Yucca Theater is very interesting, reminiscent of a former Spanish mission. In 1957 the Yucca Theater was shut down and then connected to the Manning home. After a long restoration, it was reopened as a theater. The Yucca Theater has been on the list of Historic Places since 1994.
| Contact | 322 Elliott Avenue Hysham, Montana 59038 |
Museums and exhibitions
Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman
The Museum of the Rockies in the city of Bozeman was opened in 1957 and is known for its paleontological collection. This collection has the most dinosaur exhibits in the entire United States. The museum also has the largest tyrannosaurus skull ever found. However, the museum offers much more than dinosaurs. The focus of the museum is on the representation of the physical and cultural history of the Rocky Mountains and the museum covers a period of over 500 million years. The museum also includes the historic “Tinsley House”, which is used as a “living museum”.
| Contact | 600 West Kagy Boulevard Bozeman, Montana 59717 www.museumoftherockies.org |
American Computer Museum in Bozeman
The American Computer Museum in the city of Bozeman is a museum founded in 1990, which is dedicated to the history and development of computer science and communication. The American Computer Museum is the oldest surviving computer museum, after which the “Computer Museum” in Boston was closed in 1999. However, if you only think of “modern” computers, you are wrong, because in the American Computer Museum the period of the display begins with the mechanism of Antikythera.
| Contact | 2023 Stadium Drive Bozeman, Montana 59715 |
CM Russell Museum Complex in Great Falls
The CM Russell Museum Complex in the city of Great Falls is an art museum from 1953. The museum, named after Charles Marion Russell, also shows some of his works. The museum also shows works that deal with the flora and fauna of the American West and date from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. On the site of the museum is also the former log cabin of Charles Marion Russell, which has been a National Historic Landmark since 1965.
| Contact | 400 13th Street North Great Falls, Montana 59401 www.cmrussell.org |
Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings
The Yellowstone Art Museum in the city of Billings is a museum for contemporary art, which was founded in 1964. The Yellowstone Art Museum is the largest contemporary art museum in all of Montana. The museum is housed in the former district prison from 1884. The museum’s collection, which has a regional focus, includes over 7,000 works.
| Contact | 401 North 27th Street Billings, Montana 59101 www.artmuseum.org |
Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum in Missoula
The Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum in the city of Missoula is located on the campus of the University of Montana. The Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum is the region’s largest zoological repository and the collection includes approximately 14,500 mammal exhibits, approximately 7,000 bird exhibits and over 3,000 fish exhibits. However, it is not only a zoological repository, but also a natural history museum and the collection of wildlife from the northern Rockies is particularly good. The collection has been created by the University of Montana since the 1890s.
| Contact | 32 Campus Drive Missoula, Montana 59812 |
SpectrUM Discovery Area in Missoula
The SpectrUM Discovery Area in the city of Missoula is a science museum that covers the areas of natural sciences and technology. The museum is located on the University of Montana campus and was founded in 2007. The museum is characterized by an interactive form of exhibition and thus invites itself to “experiment”.
| Contact | Skaggs Building 32 Campus Drive Missoula, Montana 59812 www.spectrum.umt.edu |
Dumas Brothel in Butte The
Dumas Brothel in the city of Butte is a historic brothel that was in operation from 1890 to 1982 and is therefore the longest continuously operating brothel in the United States. The Victorian-style Dumas Brothel, built in 1890, owes its origins to the ore finds in the region that drove Butte’s growth. In 1989, the building was converted into a museum dedicated to the history of the bread roll and its interaction with the city. However, due to legal disputes, the museum was closed from 2005 to 2008. The Dumas Brothel was located on Venus Alley, the red light district of the city. The Venus Alley, along with the red light district of Reno (Nevada), one of the last publicly tolerated red light districts in the United States before it closed in the 1970s.
| Contact | 45 E Mercury Street Butte, Montana 59701 www.thedumasbrothel.com |
Missoula Art Museum
The Missoula Art Museum in the city of Missoula was founded in 1975 and is still a free art museum. The museum offers visitors 6 exhibitions and a library. The museum is located in downtown Missoula in a historic over 100 year old building, in the style of a Carnegie Library.
| Contact | 335 North Pattee Missoula, Montana 59802 www.missoulaartmuseum.org |
Monuments and memorials
Pompeys Pillar National Monument
The Pompeys Pillar National Monument is located in the south of the state of Montana near the city of Billings. This relatively small protected area with only approx. 2,100 m² basically includes a very interesting sandstone rock that dominates the surrounding area by up to 45 m. The National Monument was founded in 2001 and is the smallest National Monument in the United States.
Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument
The Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument is located in the north of Montana near the city of Great Falls, on the upper reaches of the Missouri River. This is where the name of the area comes from, with “break” referring to the steep bank formations made of sandstone there. The reserve has only existed since 2001 and covers an area of approximately 2,005 km². Since 1976, however, smaller parts of the area have been protected as wild and scenic rivers. The area is characterized by a hilly prairie landscape in which over 230 bird species and over 60 mammal species live. Nevertheless, you can go hunting in this nature reserve with the appropriate permit.
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, formerly known as the Custer Battlefield National Monument, is a memorial managed by the National Park Service in southeast Montana, near the city of Billings. The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument commemorates the Battle of the Little Bighorn River in 1876. On July 25, 1876, the 7th Cavalry Regiment led by George A. Custer was led by the Indian tribes of the Lakota-Sioux, Arapaho and Cheyenne attacked by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse on the Little Bighorn River and beaten to death.
The history of the monument goes back almost as far as 1879, when the graves of the fallen from the 7th Cavalry Regiment were declared a National Cemetery. The area has had the title of a National Monument since 1949. The memorial has had its current name since 1991 to commemorate the victims on the Indian side.
The memorial now covers an area of approximately 3.1 km² and also includes the former Reno-Benteen Battlefield.
In addition to the Custer National Cemetery, the numerous memorial stones and the Indian Memorial, a monument consisting of 3 wire mesh figures, which should commemorate the 3 Indian tribes Lakota-Sioux, Arapaho and Cheyenne, there is also a very informative museum. The most famous place of the memorial is nevertheless the Last Stand Hill, with the US Army Memorial on it.
| Contact | Garryowen, Montana 59031 United States www.nps.gov/libi/index.htm |
Big Hole National Battlefield
The Big Hole National Battlefield is a memorial located in the far southwest of Montana, southwest of the city of Butte. Battles between the 7th Infantry Regiment and the Nez Percé Indians took place here in 1877. The Battle of the Big Hole was the largest battle between the U.S. military and the Nez-Percé Indians during the 5-month Nez-Percé War. The Big Hole National Battlefield was established as a memorial in 1883 and now covers an area of approximately 4.1 km². From 1910 to 1963 the memorial was even a national monument. Nowadays the Big Hole National Battlefield is part of the Nez Perce National Historical Park, a memorial of 38 historically significant sites dedicated to the Nez Percé tribe, located in the states of Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Montana. There is a small museum in the visitor center of the Big Hole National Battlefield.
| Contact | Garryowen, Montana 59031 United States www.nps.gov/libi/index.htm |
Our Lady of the Rockies in Butte
The statue Our Lady of the Rockies above the city of Butte is an approx. 27 m high statue of the Virgin Mary. At 27 m tall, Our Lady of the Rockies is the second tallest statue in the United States after the Statue of Liberty. The base of the statue is at a height of approx. 2594 m. Thus, the statue is about 1067 m above the city of Butte. The statue was built from 1979 to 1985 on the East Ridge and thus the North American continental divide. In summer and autumn bus tours to the statue are offered, which offer a view of up to 160 km.
| Contact | www.ourladyoftherockies.net |
Berkeley Pit in Butte
The Berkeley Pit in the city of Butte is a former copper mine or, from 1955, a former open pit mine. Copper has been mined in the area since 1881 and the mining continued until 1982. After mining was completed, the groundwater pumps were switched off and the former open pit was filled with water. However, if you now think of a beautiful artificial swimming lake, you are wrong. There is a lot of pyrite in the rock, which together with the water forms sulfuric acid. The pH of the water is approximately 2.5 (vinegar and citric acid have the same pH). As if that weren’t enough, this water containing sulfuric acid removes heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, copper and zinc from the soil. The Berkeley Pit is a sad
| Contact | 1000 George Street Butte, Montana 59701 |
