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Explore Helena with Montana History Foundation’s Guided Tours

Looking for a fun way to dig deeper into the rich history of Helena, Montana? The Montana History Foundation has you covered with four different tours of the Queen City! From June 15 to September 3, 2023, history enthusiasts and curious adventurers alike can delve into the past through four enthralling tours: “History on the Ambrose,” “Breweries & Brothels,” “Miners to Millionaires,” and “Pedaling through the Past.”

Let’s take a closer look at what each tour has to offer:

Get to Know the Available Walking Tours

1. miners to millionaires.

The Helena Walking Mall follows the historic “Last Chance Gulch” where gold was discovered by the Four Georgians in 1864. On this tour you will explore the history of the early mining camp and walk through how this rough town became Montana’s Capital City. As you stroll through the Walking Mall you can learn more about the rich history of the area as you hear the stories of crime, corruption and strong community spirit that transformed Helena into the charming community it is today.

Ready to dive into Helena’s history? Why not start with a deeper dive into the discovery of Gold on Last Chance Gulch with The Tale of the Four Georgians .

Tour Time: Saturdays & Sundays at 1pm Meeting Point: Helena Walking Mall in front of Ten Mile Creek Brewery Recommended for Ages 10+ 

2. Adventure on the Ambrose Trail

Did you know that there is an accessible ADA trail on Mount Helena!? On this roughly 1 mile guided walking tour you will learn about some of Helena’s early history, the wildlife that can be found in the area and even a number of flights that have made history. This tour is perfect for the entire family and you’ll even participate in a game of trail bingo for a little extra interaction throughout the tour. Plus, with adult supervision, kids walk for FREE, making it an ideal adventure for the whole family to enjoy!

Tour Time: Saturdays at 11am Meeting Point: Mount Helena Parking Lot Recommended for All Ages

3. Breweries & Brothels

Starting as a gold rush town, there is no doubt that Helena has a colorful history just waiting to be explored. On the “Breweries & Brothels” tour, you will be met with the vibrant tales of the towns booming brewery scene and illustrious captivating red-light district. The tour runs about 90 minutes and you’ll wander just over a mile through the downtown and Reeder’s Alley area. In many of the 19th century mining towns, you will find that the brewery or saloon was often the first established business in town. Beer, like eggs, or milk, was a local enterprise. Limited refrigeration and no pasteurization meant that beer had a short shelf life, and brewers couldn’t transport their beer almost any distance at all.  You’ll unveil intriguing stories of Helena’s entrepreneurs – brewmeisters and madams – shedding light on the rise and eventual decline of Helena’s enigmatic “underworld.” You might be surprised that this demise of the red-light district didn’t come until the 1970s.

As you explore Helena, it will be obvious that the brewery scene is still alive and well with 7 local breweries and a distillery . There is no shortage of craft beverages available in Montana’s Capital City – which might just be the perfect activity after your tour!

Interested in learning more about the first breweries established in Southwest Montana? Check out our blog post on the “ Early Beer .”

Tour Time: Thursdays & Fridays 5pm Meeting Point: Reeder’s Alley Recommended for Ages 12+

4. Pedaling through the Past Tour

New this year and in partnership with the Helena Chamber and the Bert and Ernie’s Pub Trolley, the “Pedaling through the Past Tour” is sure to be a favorite among visitors. On this tour, you’ll cover more ground, enjoy a luxury ride and even get a little exercise. On this ~90 minute tour you’ll see the St. Helena Cathedral , the Mansion District and Reeder’s Alley. Make sure to reserve this tour in advance – you don’t want to miss this fun filled adventure!

Tour Time: Wednesdays & Fridays 10am Meeting Point: Helena Chamber of Commerce Recommended for Ages 12+

What to Expect on Your Tour

Tour Pricing –  The three walking tours are $20 per adult with discounts available for children, seniors, and veterans. Additional discounts are available when booking 2 or 3 tours for the same participants. The newly minted “Pedaling through the Past” tour can be reserved for $30 per participant.

How to Book a Tour –  Visit the Montana History Foundation website , where you will find additional information about the tour and easy booking links for each! There is limited space available on each tour, so we highly recommend booking your tour in advance!

Length of Tour (Time & Distance) –  With the exception of “Adventure on the Ambrose” (a 75 minute tour) these tours are roughly 90 minutes in duration and you’ll walk between a mile and a mile and half on your tour.

Ready to Dig Deeper into Helena’s Rich History!? Book Your Tour Today!

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Helena History Tours - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

Helena, Montana – Walking Tour

4k city walks: helena montana 4k virtual treadmill walking tour.

We take you around Montana’s capital city. We start at the Capitol building and over through some residential areas to the main downtown area and pedestrian mall. We walk past Reeders alley and down to Exploration works and the Great Northern Carousel, past several restuarants, breweries, ice cream shops, and hotels, then back over past the Cathedral. Take the opportunity to walk through this historic city and visit if you get the chance. Helena Montana is more than just the state capital. It’s a great city with great museums and restaurants and breweries and a love of the outdoors. Just minutes from the Missouri River and Canyon Ferry lake. It also has some wonderful history. I stopped off on my way to Whitefish to take a 45 minute walking tour through the city. I started at the capitol and made my way over to the walking mall and cathedral. I’m trying a new camera on this one so it’s in full 4K video.

Helena dates back to 1864 when prospectors discovered gold in Last Chance Gulch. Helena was the third or fourth Territorial / State capital and there’s a lot of history of that drama.

See links below that I mention in the video.

If you’re visiting Helena and looking for things to do, here’s a few we listed on one of our other channels: https://youtu.be/_22HkBnfSaQ

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Historic Helena Walking Tours returning

HELENA — This summer, people can take a step back in time with a knowledgeable tour guide. The annual Historic Helena Walking Tours start back up this Sunday, June 5.

“You walk by buildings and if you don't know what occurred there, who lived there, what business was in there, they don’t have as much significance to you. When you find out the people's story behind them it becomes so much more relevant. I mean, there's this connection between you and those who came before you. We're not, we don't just exist here in a vacuum,” says Heritage Preservation Officer Pam Attardo.

Each month, there will be a new tour in a different location offered by the Lewis & Clark County Historical Society. In June, the Old-South Central neighborhood. In July, the historic Last Chance Gulch. And in August, Helena’s Mansion District.

Tours are on Sundays at 4 p.m. However, groups of five or more can schedule alternative times.

There is an astounding amount of history lies within such a relatively small space as downtown Helena. For example, what now stands as the New York Block building was originally started by a Jewish immigrant who fled for his life to America. Many of the historic buildings along the Walking Mall are one-of-a-kind.

“That's what makes these buildings so special is that they are one-of-a-kind and can't be replaced... It makes a place matter when you know its history,” says Attardo.

The tours are $5 for adults and free for children. No reservations are required.

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The return of Historic Helena Walking Tours

HELENA — Historic Helena Walking Tours are coming back this summer to provide an interactive history of the Capital City.

The walking tours are a great way to get to know your city in a more interactive way. And each month a new part of the city is explored. In June the tour focuses on the South Central neighborhood, the mansion district in July, and in August, the downtown walking mall area.

Pam Attardo, Heritage Preservation officer for the city and county, and volunteer tour guide says that these tours can bring history to life.

“You know, you can read a book and look at a photograph but being in front of it is, it makes it much different. And a lot of times your tour guide knows things that they've learned for years, and it just makes it all the more interesting. And you can see details and you can touch it if you want to. Yeah, it's, it comes alive,” says Attardo.

While looking around the downtown walking mall with Attardo, she shared some pretty cool facts about our downtown area, a sampling of what tour-goers can expect this summer.

For example, the salamander statues on top of the Atlas building were put there by the Atlas Fire Insurance Company.

“According to myth, salamanders could burn in a fire and survive. And so, it's basically an advertisement for, you know, we insure your building and it won't burn just like these salamanders,” says Attardo.

Or how, what is now the oldest building in downtown Helena, survived Helena’s worst fire.

“It survived a disastrous fire in 1874 that stopped just a few doors short of it and it survived. But it was so bad that, you know, people almost didn't rebuild. Yeah, it was Helena’s worst fire,” says Attardo.

And even how Helena’s brothel run by Big Dorothy was eventually shut down in 1973.

“Dorothy applied for urban renewal funds during that Model Cities Program. And so, the federal government, you know, interviewed and said who works there. And she said independent contractors. And that's how they figured out that she was running a brothel, when they investigated. And so, they closed her down,” says Attardo.

Information like this will be available this summer on the tours. The tours begin in June and are $5 for adults and free for kids. No reservations are required.

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Helena Historic District

The crooked path of Last Chance Gulch, weaving between original mining claims, memorializes Helena’s chaotic beginning as a gold camp in 1864. Within a year of the placer gold discovery, a boomtown flourished, with homes and businesses in tents and log cabins. Fire was both constant threat and regular scourge. In 1869, the downtown burned, replaced over the next few years by brick and granite business houses. Helena survived after the placer gold played out and population declined, because pioneer entrepreneurs had made it a financial center. Helena claimed the territorial capital from declining Virginia City in 1874, and the following year received one of the nation’s five U.S. Assay Offices—acknowledgment of extensive hard-rock gold and silver mining that replaced placer mining. The arrival of the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1883, and Helena’s election as state capital in 1894, confirmed the town’s survival. Downtown buildings in a great variety of architectural styles arose, many since lost to fires, earthquakes, and urban renewal. The panic of 1893 and end of guaranteed federal silver purchases slowed Helena’s early momentum, but the gold camp that survived grew gradually as a business and government center.

307 Clarke Street

Exquisite leaded and beveled glass, magnificent classical columns, a denticulated porch frieze, and arched windows with stenciled heads embellish both this 1906 Queen Anne style home and its next door neighbor. The gentle roof pitch is characteristic of the style as it evolved from the nineteenth… View Place | Show on Map

326 Clarke Street

An open front porch frames the entry of this dwelling, built as a single family home in the early 1880s when the neighborhood was newly developed. John C. Curtin and his family were in residence here from 1889 to 1898. Curtin and a brother, Arthur P. Curtin, were partners in the firm of Clarke,… View Place | Show on Map

40 North Benton Avenue

A square shape, low-pitched roof, wide bracketed eaves, and heavy window crowns suggest that this Italianate style apartment building may date to the late 1870s. Attorney George Bleecker, Mrs. Sarah Martin, and bookkeeper John Street, the first documented residents, lived here in 1890. By 1892,… View Place | Show on Map

203 North Rodney Street

An early one-story wooden dwelling stood here by 1884, replaced by 1888 with a two-story brick residence, set slightly back from the street. The home soon found itself ensconced in a busy commercial district. Neighbors included saloons, grocery stores, and the Iowa House Hotel (since demolished),… View Place | Show on Map

17-19 South Rodney Street

In September 1887, the Helena Weekly Herald noted "nine first-class brick residences" under construction on South Rodney Street. Among them were three nearly identical duplexes, called Galen Estates after one of the development's principal investors. A trader who first visited the… View Place | Show on Map

220 Fifth Avenue

The elegant Second Empire style, rare in Helena, is beautifully expressed in this three-story residence built circa 1880 during Helena’s stint as territorial capital. Jerome and Marcia Norris, longtime resident owners, counted Helena’s social elite among their circle of friends. Jerome had cattle… View Place | Show on Map

555 Fuller Avenue

Downtown Helena expanded in the 1940s at its north end where there had previously been little development. This two-story Art Moderne-inspired office building reflects the industrial, streamlined architectural trends of the period. E. B. Benson of the architectural firm of Haire and Benson,… View Place | Show on Map

Alden Block

Courthouse Square was already the busy seat of county government when the territorial capital moved to Helena in 1875. Isaac Alden, clerk of the Territorial Supreme Court and later state court commissioner, financed this circa 1880 multi-purpose brick building just steps from the courthouse.… View Place | Show on Map

Edward C. Babcock Mansion

Locally quarried blue-gray granite complements the shingled upper stories in this commanding nineteenth-century home. Both this residence and the one next door are stellar examples of the eclectic Shingle style. The wide porch and asymmetry are Queen Anne hallmarks while the heavy stonework is… View Place | Show on Map

Baldwin / Grady House

An octagonal tower, decorative brickwork, one-story open porch, and hipped roof identify this appealing Queen Anne style residence built circa 1883. That year launched a period of neighborhood expansion and prosperity, kindled when the tracks of the Northern Pacific Railroad reached Helena.… View Place | Show on Map

William M. Bishop House

Helena Historic District (Boundary Increase II)

This early gable-front-and-wing residence was constructed in 1878 by postal clerk William F. Bishop for $2,000. Mrs. Margaret Bishop ran a dressmaking business from the home and took in boarders in the late 1880s. Cottage industries and boardinghouses were a common thread in this neighborhood. By… View Place | Show on Map

Boston Block

Historic maps and early directories reveal that this splendid business block was constructed circa 1890. Morris Auerbach, in business with Israel L. Israel and Adolph Marks during the 1890s, was the original occupant. Their Boston Clothing Company carried gentlemen’s furnished goods and advertised… View Place | Show on Map

Boyer/Hawkins Residence

Newlyweds Isaac Boyer and Carrie Feldberg Boyer moved to their new home within a year of their 1907 marriage. The refined, hipped-roof residence may well have been built to order. The two-story house features popular Colonial Revival style details, including a symmetrical façade, Acanthus leaf… View Place | Show on Map

May Butler House

Irish-born William Butler came to Montana in 1866, worked in Helena as a lather and carpenter, and mined at nearby Butler (now Austin). He paid the county $50 in 1875 for this land, formerly a mining claim. In 1879 Butler brought his bride, Catherine, to the Carpenter Gothic style cottage which he… View Place | Show on Map

Byrns Residence

Longtime Helena saloon proprietor Michael Byrns, his wife Emma, and their daughter Mary were the first residents of this early West Side home, built circa 1878. Emma’s “uniform kindness and lovely traits of character” touched so many that the entire community mourned her death in 1895. After 1906,… View Place | Show on Map

California Wine House

Most of Helena’s earliest commercial buildings fell victim to the fires that plagued the gulch. This simple 1860s commercial building, originally a single story of stone construction, was a notable exception, surviving a disastrous conflagration in 1874. Early occupants include the Sands Brothers… View Place | Show on Map

C.W. Cannon Building

Prominent Helena investor and real estate developer Charles W. Cannon commissioned the firm of Wallace and Thornborgh to construct this building for $10,000. Completed in 1890, the building reflects expansion and urbanization in the downtown area during this period of growth. An excellent example… View Place | Show on Map

Caretaker's Cabin

According to reminiscences of the Butts family, builders of the Pioneer Cabin next door, two cabins stood on this lot in 1865. William Davenport likely built one for his family and the William H. Parkinsons occupied the other. Sallie Davenport, later Mrs. A. J. Davidson, was eight when her family… View Place | Show on Map

Central School (Demolished)

Construction of Helena’s first permanent schoolhouse began in 1875 after relocation of the old mining camp cemetery that originally occupied these grounds. Opening its doors in January, 1876, it was the first public school in Montana Territory with graded classrooms, a high school curriculum, and… View Place | Show on Map

Chessman Flats

Helena entrepreneur William Chessman built these exemplary Queen Anne style townhouse apartments in 1891 while in residence across Sixth Avenue at 304 North Ewing. Gables, bays, and a rounded turret handsomely demonstrate the architectural exuberance of the period when Helena earned the nickname… View Place | Show on Map

Colorado Building

Helena Historic District (Boundary Increase)

The Colorado Building is a rich illustration of Helena’s commercial blossoming during the early twentieth century. The Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company built the structure in 1922, thereby completing this block in the town’s more sparsely developed northern end. The upper two floors… View Place | Show on Map

Peter J. Connor Residence

Originally a combination residence and boarding house/hotel named the Farmer's Home, this survivor of early Helena recalls the days when the territorial capital was a busy commercial hub. In 1879, Peter J. Connor opened the Farmer’s Home on what was then the corner of Clore (now Park) and… View Place | Show on Map

William C. Crum Family Residence

The free-wheeling territorial period was drawing to a close when this stylish Queen Anne style residence was built circa 1889. Attributed to prolific Helena architect George Appleton, the lovely Victorian-era home is a classic example of his masterful adaptation of pattern book house plans. Here… View Place | Show on Map

Dunphy Block

Reputedly the first two-story building on Main Street and one of Helena’s few remaining structures dating to the 1860s, this stone building originally housed offices and furnished lodgings. Miner and prominent merchant E. M. Dunphy purchased the Victorian-period style structure in 1868,… View Place | Show on Map

Eybel's Cafe

Montana’s leading architectural firm of Link and Haire designed this attractive building for Charles George Eybel in 1922. Stuccoed walls and a raftered cornice along the roofline, reminiscent of the Spanish Colonial Style, combine with a smooth façade and multicolored detailing, characteristic of… View Place | Show on Map

Fashion Livery and Boarding Stable

A probate judge deeded brothers Anton and Martin Holter this property in 1872. The prominent and wealthy Holters operated milling, hardware, real estate, and construction companies. The Holters set up a lumber yard here, which they operated until the 1890s. Other neighboring industries included the… View Place | Show on Map

Federal Reserve Bank

The Helena branch of the Federal Reserve Bank opened in 1921, the result of lobbying by Norman B. Holter and other farsighted local businessmen. It distinguished Helena as the smallest town in the country to host such a bank. When the 1935 earthquakes destroyed the first structure, Montana… View Place | Show on Map

Feldberg House

A constant threat of fire during the 1870s prompted residents to move away from the gulch and settle in this outlying neighborhood. Merchant Jacob Feldberg and wife Emma, respected members of Helena’s once-dynamic Jewish community, built one of the neighborhood’s first brick homes here in 1875. Its… View Place | Show on Map

Fifth Avenue Apartment House

Entrepreneur T. H. Kleinschmidt was the original owner of this early Italianate style dwelling, built as investment property circa 1884. Kleinschmidt, three times elected mayor of Helena, had diverse local business interests including utilities, livestock, and real estate. This residence was… View Place | Show on Map

The welfare of the community depended upon this prominent landmark, strategically placed atop the town’s most prominent hill. Fire was the grim reaper that stalked all western mining camps, and Last Chance Gulch was no exception. Hastily built log cabins, crowded together along the streets, created… View Place | Show on Map

First Baptist Church of Montana

Helena’s Baptist congregation organized in 1880 under Reverend James T. Mason, who conducted services in the county’s first small courthouse. In September of 1883, the cornerstone was laid for this important early landmark. Building costs totaled $11,000 with an additional $2,500 for an attached… View Place | Show on Map

First National Bank - Securities Building

This magnificent structure was the second home of Montana Territory’s first bank, chartered in 1866. Combining Romanesque, French Second Empire, and popular Victorian-period stylistic elements, the talented St. Paul firm of Hodgson, Wallingford and Stem created a three-story masterpiece of native… View Place | Show on Map

First Unitarian Church of Helena

Outstanding architecture and a long history of community service make this stunning landmark much beloved. It is the only known example of prominent architect C. S. Haire’s work in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. Magnificent round arches, a stylistic hallmark, are its most prominent feature.… View Place | Show on Map

John Frey House

Lucy Healey kept house for her seven children in a small dwelling on this property during the 1870s. Her husband left in 1876 and was rumored to have taken up with a “lewd woman” in Deadwood, Dakota Territory. The court granted Lucy a divorce and decreed her the property owner in 1881; Lucy… View Place | Show on Map

Herman Gans House

This appealing residence was an early addition to one of Helena’s first neighborhoods, completed circa 1880 and enlarged in 1884 by prominent Helena clothing merchant Herman Gans. The bayed tower, arched windows, stained glass, and south side porch with decorative railing elegantly epitomize the… View Place | Show on Map

On July 16, 1928, a devastating fire swept between the Granite and Gold Blocks (note inscription, second story center). The structure was rebuilt by then-owner Charles Benton Power and was the last major downtown commercial building constructed by this wealthy family. The new Gold Block was… View Place | Show on Map

Goodkind Building

This building is an excellent example of transitional Western Commercial architecture before the advent of more ornate styles. The simple, narrow plan enhanced by decorative windows is typical of the 1870s and early 1880s. A pressed metal cornice crowns the top. The 1884 structure, tucked into the… View Place | Show on Map

Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of Montana

Meriwether Lewis’s Masonic apron and an O. C. Seltzer mural depicting the first Masonic meeting in Montana are among the treasures displayed in “the home of Montana Masonry.” A dynamic political and social force since early territorial days, the Masons founded the Grand Lodge in Virginia City in… View Place | Show on Map

George Grossberg Residence

George and Esther Grossberg built this Craftsman style bungalow in the early 1920s. The mix of multi-colored brick and stucco blends beautifully into the surrounding landscape. Tucked between two Victorian-era homes, this charming 1920s residence represents the careful infill of the neighborhood… View Place | Show on Map

George Herrmann House

The Italianate style residence of pioneer businessman George Herrmann has long presided over the north slope of Tower Hill, commanding the attention of passersby on Broadway below. Herrmann, a native of Bavaria, established his cabinet shop at 201 Broadway in 1868. By 1877, the business included… View Place | Show on Map

Iron Front Hotel

Helena architects Heinlein and Matthias designed this elegant European-style hotel, formerly the Windsor House. Built in 1888, it is Montana’s only known example of a prefabricated iron façade. The locally pre-cast façade represents a building trend popular in larger cities during this period. In… View Place | Show on Map

Alex C. Johnson Home

Senator T. C. Power met A. C. Johnson in Chicago and, taking a liking to the young man, offered him a job out west. The nineteen-year-old came to work as chief clerk at Power’s Fort Benton Mercantile in 1879. Power and Johnson became friends and both moved to Helena in 1890. Johnson rose to direct… View Place | Show on Map

Kain Building

Thomas Kain and his sons, Henry and John, constructed this masonry showcase as an office for the family stonecutting business circa 1912. Kain is credited with developing several Helena quarries and thus contributed greatly to local building patterns by making a variety of stone types available to… View Place | Show on Map

Kenck & Company Saloon / King & Nuss Grocers

In the wake of disastrous fires of the previous decade, brick buildings like this mid-1880s combination business and rooming house gradually displaced less substantial frame constructions. F. J. Kenck’s saloon originally shared space with King and Nuss’s grocery/feed store, while second-floor… View Place | Show on Map

Kleinschmidt Block (Harvard Block)

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.… View Place | Show on Map

Governor Leslie House

Territorial Governor Preston Leslie was a resident of this early Helena home, constructed in the late 1870s. Originally built in the Gothic Revival style popular during Helena’s townsite period, later remodeling added classical details. The two distinct styles are evident at the center of the… View Place | Show on Map

Lewis and Clark County Courthouse

Much Montana history unfolded within this magnificent landmark, which served as both territorial capitol (1887-1888) and state capitol (1889-1902). Here in 1889 officials received word of statehood, and three hours later J. K. Toole was sworn in as Montana’s first governor. St. Paul architects… View Place | Show on Map

Lewis and Clark County Jail

Masterful stonework of local granite in the Romanesque style creates a somber effect in this 1890 institution. The corner tower (which lost its battlements in the 1935 earthquakes), thick stone lintels, and heavy arches recall the romantic nineteenth-century notion that a structure’s appearance… View Place | Show on Map

Lockey & Leiser Building

Merchant-turned-real-estate-developer Richard Lockey built this three-story commercial building in partnership with Jacob Leiser in 1891. The brick structure features two first-floor storefronts with a central entrance providing access to the upper floor apartments. A rounded arch at the parapet… View Place | Show on Map

Masonic Temple, Helena

This grand structure reflects the prosperous 1880s and the importance of the Masons in the community. Awarded a $250 prize for their design, Helena architects Heinlein and Matthias also won the job of overseeing the building’s construction in 1885. They showcased their abilities with lavish… View Place | Show on Map

Ming Opera House Consistory Shrine

Masons have been a dynamic force in Montana since early territorial days, playing key roles in events that shaped the state’s history. Helena Masons first came together in 1865 for the funeral of Dr. L. Rodney Pococke, for whom Rodney Street was named. The fraternal organization has since been… View Place | Show on Map

Montana Club

Time stands still within the quiet confines of this nationally renowned social club, the oldest in the Northwest. A group of Helena’s elite founded the Montana Club in 1885 “for gentlemen only.” Members built a seven-story building on this site in 1893, but fire consumed that landmark in 1903. A… View Place | Show on Map

Morelli Bridge

Historic maps show that the area above Reeder’s Alley, known as Reeder’s Gulch, was long undeveloped and virtually inaccessible. The city gave in to local pressure in the early 1890s and began construction of this bridge, first known as the Howie Street Bridge. Cost of the work exceeded funds,… View Place | Show on Map

Myers Residence

A modern brick veneer does not mask the original footprint of this early Helena home. The large bay window, the steeply pitched roof (which added space for a second story), and the cross gable, once sheltered by a full-length front porch, reflect the classic form of a gable-front-and-wing… View Place | Show on Map

New York Block

This was one of five structures rebuilt after the disastrous lightning-sparked fire of 1928. The original building and its replacement housed the thriving New York Store renamed Fligelman’s in 1929 from 1902 to 1958. This pioneer department store was established in 1885 as a dry goods business.… View Place | Show on Map

North Rodney Street Neighborhood / Courthouse Square

As the gold camp at Last Chance Gulch haphazardly spread out around the placer diggings in the mid-1860s, Helena’s original townsite was platted. By 1867, a new county courthouse graced the central square here in Scott’s Addition, but only a few cabins and frame businesses dotted this quiet part of… View Place | Show on Map

Opp and Conrad Funeral Home

Jacob Opp and his sons Lawrence and Arthur worked for the longtime undertaking firm of Herrmann and Company before opening their own mortuary with partner Ralph J. Conrad in 1926. Both Lawrence and Arthur Opp were graduates of Chicago’s prestigious Worsham College of Mortuary Science. Unlike the… View Place | Show on Map

Palmquist Residence

Attention to detail distinguishes this one-story brick residence, designed in 1934 by Helena architect E. B. Benson. Benson’s plan incorporates many Tudor revival style elements: an asymmetrical facade, sloping roofline, prominent chimney, arched doorway, small arched vents, and multi-paned… View Place | Show on Map

Anna Pascoe House

George and Anna Pascoe, both natives of England, moved to Helena from Butte in 1908. George died soon after the couple purchased this home in 1911. Although he was not long a resident of Helena, George, “with a cheery smile and a good word for everyone,” was the well-liked proprietor of a popular… View Place | Show on Map

Piercy Boarding House / Cornell Apartments

The stylish Courthouse Square neighborhood prospered in the 1880s, as evidenced by this fashionable two-and-one-half-story boardinghouse built by wealthy rancher William C. Child. Between 1888 and 1890, this splendid building displaced an earlier, more modest brick dwelling. A granite-trimmed… View Place | Show on Map

Placer Hotel

Artist C. M. Russell illustrated the program for the formal ball, held April 12, 1913, inaugurating the largest hotel between the Twin Cities and the Coast. Built almost entirely with donations as a public enterprise, Helena felt real pride of ownership and the Placer quickly became the center of… View Place | Show on Map

Elisha and Joseph Poad House

Elisha Poad arrived in Helena in 1867 by way of mining camps in California and Nevada. Poad was a native of Cornwall, England, an area with over two thousand years of mining history. Attracted to Helena's placer mines, he was later associated with the New Water Company. Elisha's son… View Place | Show on Map

Power Block & Power Block West

Influential merchant and investor T. C. Power built his fortunes by controlling much of territorial Montana’s commerce and Indian trade. This outstanding granite business block housed Power’s American National Bank from 1892 through the 1920s. Willetts and Ashley of Chicago drew the plans for the… View Place | Show on Map

Preuitt House

The Warren Street location of this substantial brick home, built by Helena businessman William Preuitt circa 1874, offered a bird’s eye view of the growing town below. It also provided higher ground away from the fires that plagued Helena’s early commercial area. After several other owners, Isaac… View Place | Show on Map

Raleigh and Clarke Dry Goods

This well-preserved commercial structure illustrates Helena’s growth from mining camp to prosperous town. The quoins and arches of the original stone building, constructed circa 1865-1872, are still visible at the rear. In 1878, the building was purchased by merchants William B. Raleigh and Charles… View Place | Show on Map

Rodney Hotel

Thomas K. Dane established a hotel on this corner in 1875 when Helena became the territorial capital. On a busy thoroughfare just off Courthouse Square, the establishment had become the Rodney Hotel by 1883 and the original frame building fronting Rodney Street soon assumed its present L-shape.… View Place | Show on Map

Rodney Street News

Gambling that Helena would continue to grow, Eliza Roush purchased this lot and several others in 1869. Her bet paid off, and by 1875, Rodney Street was crowded with buildings, including a small wooden dwelling on this site. A series of wooden structures occupied this corner, and by the time real… View Place | Show on Map

Sanders Home

Frontier lawyer Wilbur Fisk Sanders established his reputation in 1863 by courageously prosecuting Virginia City’s most dangerous outlaws. A member of the first territorial legislature and Montana’s first United States senator, Sanders was renowned for his eloquent speeches, fiery wit, and… View Place | Show on Map

Sands Brothers Dry Goods

Originally this was a one-story stone building erected in 1874 to accommodate the business of Morris and Julius Sands. The brothers added a second story and remodeled the façade in 1889, finishing it with alternating rows of buff sandstone and blue limestone in the popular Romanesque style.… View Place | Show on Map

Seventh Avenue Gymnasium

The sale of bonds allowed construction of this combination two-story brick gymnasium and central heating plant, completed in 1908. Its boiler system heated the two schools, auditorium, and public library that once sprawled across the block. Attorney E. C. Day played a key role in planning the… View Place | Show on Map

Henry Sieben Home

Henry Sieben came to Montana a seventeen-year-old uneducated orphan and rose to pioneer Montana’s livestock industry. Honesty, integrity, fair treatment, and a love for animals earned Sieben a national reputation. He was a co-founder of the Montana Woolgrowers Association and although elected to… View Place | Show on Map

Sixth Avenue Apartment

A pair of two-story bay windows with granite sills, decorative brickwork, corbelled cornice, and open front porch recall the prosperous Courthouse Square neighborhood during the 1880s and 1890s. This attractive brick Italianate style dwelling, constructed in 1890, originally accommodated two… View Place | Show on Map

St. Louis Block

Once connected to the old St. Louis Hotel on Jackson Street, this 1882 building in the heart of Helena’s original downtown displays the metal cornices and banded, pedimented windows typical of Italianate style architecture of the time. Pioneer businessman Frederick Gamer’s boot and shoe shop,… View Place | Show on Map

William Steele Residence

Nineteenth-century charm is well preserved in this 1883 Queen Anne style residence, built by pioneer physician William L. Steele. Its present appearance reflects additions, including a front porch and bay window, made before 1892. Stucco applied over damaged brick veneer following the 1935… View Place | Show on Map

Stone House at Reeder's Alley

Dwellings, bunkhouses, and stables dotted the hilltop during the 1880s, forming an extension of Louis Reeder’s housing complex downslope. One prominent stone building, now the largest portion of the present building, contained four small shotgun style apartments; its alley-facing doorways are still… View Place | Show on Map

B. K. Tatem House

Charles Hendrie opened Helena’s first iron foundry on this site before 1868. The property’s third owner, Benjamen K. Tatem, built this two-story residence circa 1875. Wide eaves, low hipped roof, and tall arched windows proclaim Italianate influences and accurately convey the original appearance of… View Place | Show on Map

Tatem - Young House

Benjamin H. and Lydia Mears Tatem came west as newlyweds in 1869. They settled in Helena where Tatem managed the Unionville mining claims of Philadelphia investors and operated Helena Iron Works. Tatem profited from his interest in the Bald Butte Mine near Marysville. The Tatems, famous for their… View Place | Show on Map

Kohrs Mansion

Mining investor Joseph Russell built this brick Queen Anne-style residence circa 1887. An octagonal tower adorned with applied terra-cotta flowers, spindled porches and balconies, and multiple gabled dormers with complex ornamentation distinguish it as an exemplary Victorian-era mansion. Russell… View Place | Show on Map

Joseph K. Toole Mansion

During his second term of office in 1903, Montana’s first governor J. K. Toole commissioned Eugene Fisk to build this magnificent home of locally quarried red porphyry and brick. Fisk, who also designed the 1880s Unitarian Church (now Grandstreet Theatre), added exquisite interior finishings and an… View Place | Show on Map

Bernier House

Charles and Frances Bernier had this Minimal Traditional English cottage style home built in 1940. Contractor Bob James likely built the home, and mason Lewis Reid laid the arched white-marble doorway surround. Reid’s distinctive stonework decorates the entrances, fireplaces, and entire façades of… View Place | Show on Map

Tracy / Power Residence

Praised for lending "an air of distinction" to "one of the handsomest residence streets in Helena," this three-story Queen Anne style home was constructed for George and Eva Tracy. The house was completed just prior to the calamitous economic collapse known as the Panic of 1893.… View Place | Show on Map

U.S. Assay Office

Much of the great wealth that once came from Montana soil was melted and weighed in this dignified building, constructed in 1875. U.S. Treasury Department architect A. B. Mullet drew the plans for the $75,000 building, which were modified by his successor, William Potter. The structure is of both… View Place | Show on Map

Uncle Sam's Block

The Montana National Bank, the first bank chartered in Montana Territory, was located on this site in 1866. A housing shortage during the 1880s prompted the construction of this three-story rooming house in 1887. The French Second Empire-inspired style features a straight mansard roof with caboose… View Place | Show on Map

Broad proportions and a horizontal emphasis combine with natural colors to make this classic bungalow a handsome ambassador of that popular style. The residence is unique to the district and an excellent example of early-twentieth-century affluence. Its original brick veneer was stylistically… View Place | Show on Map

Yee Wau Cabin

Typical of the tiny dwellings that once lined Last Chance Gulch, this sturdy log cabin was one of the last built on the heels of the gold rush circa 1870. Its original occupants are unknown. From 1876 to 1886 the Yee Wau brothers, longtime local dealers in Chinese merchandise and groceries, owned… View Place | Show on Map

Weinstein Grocery Store

As early as 1866, Rodney Street was Helena’s primary north-south connection and thus supported a variety of early businesses. It was also an area better protected from the fires that constantly threatened downtown commerce. This building, constructed circa 1880, was one of Rodney Street’s first… View Place | Show on Map

Charles K. Wells House

Gold-seeking miners once turned the soil in this neighborhood, but when the gold played out, residential development began. Charles K. Wells, whose downtown stationery store was well established by 1870, purchased a large tract of land on Upper Rodney Street. He sold off some of the parcels, but he… View Place | Show on Map

Newlyweds Elizabeth and Jacob Adami left their native Germany and traveled by ship, rail, and finally stagecoach to boomtown Helena in 1872. The Adamis settled here, raising seven children. Their residence, razed in the 1970s to create parking, housed family members until 1968. A freighter,… View Place | Show on Map

Last Chance Tour Train

It’s the fun way to see historic and beautiful helena, montana.

Join the Tour Train in the 100th Vigilante Parade!

Friday, may 3rd, downtown helena, 12pm, thank you fastsigns for donating grand marshal tour train signs &, vigilante 100th anniversary sign at the start of the parade..

• A handy pocket guide to nine walking tours of historic Helena neighborhoods, including Last Chance Gulch, the Lower West Side, the Railroad Depot district, and more.

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Historic Walking Tours

May 10, @ 1:00 pm - 6:30 pm.

Sponsored by the Foundation for Montana History. Choose to tour mansions, downtown, breweries and brothers, or a haunted tour. Meet at the Pioneer Cabin at Reeder’s Alley.

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Pioneer Cabin & Living History Tours