Big Sky Chronicles: Montana Club

Helena has been home to the Montana Club since it was founded in 1885. Only 18 years later the original building burned to the ground but was reconstructed in 1905. In tonight's Big Sky Chronicles Beartooth NBC shows us how this private club has maintained its historical look and feel while staying up to date with the times.

Architect, Cass Gilbert, was tasked with designing the new Montana Club after the original burned down in 1903.

"They wanted it to be exactly like the old building but with the addition of the Rathskeller," says Board of Governors VP, Patty Dean.

He honored that request of continuity and to this day the Club retains many of its original charms.

"There are panels that have the MC Montana Club logo and then they also depict all sorts of Montana scenes, or what Cass Gilbert would've thought Montana scenes would be,” says Dean.

"The view is just incredible from up here and the stained glass tells such a story," MT Club General Manager, Zach Harding.

"The billiard room is now the members' lounge, the library/reading room which was another feature of a men’s' club is now the members' dining room," says Dean. 

Two rooms in particular, The Rathskeller in the basement, and the sixth floor banquet hall, remain largely unchanged.

"You know, you could have one of the members from 1905, 1910 walk into that room today and he would feel right at home," says Dean. 

"I feel like I'm just starting to grasp how deep the roots of the Montana Club go," says Harding.

Members say the purpose of the club has also stayed the same.

"I really look upon the Montana Club as a center for the community.  And by extension, it is the Montana Club, not the Helena Club.  You know, it really has a statewide influence," says Dean.  

"It's not just a business gathering place but also a social gathering place for all Montanans and it's historically been such a hub in Montana," says Harding.  

"It's an extraordinary building for any place, let alone Helena, Montana," says Dean.

Click here to learn more about the architecture and history of the Montana Club, and to see Patty Dean's book titled "Unique and Handsome:" Cass Gilbert's Designs for the Montana Club.

Story by Kaelyn Kelly, Beartooth NBC.
Sponsored by Big Sky Plumbing & Heating of Helena.
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