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Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives

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Did you know?

During the era before prohibition, Butte supported five breweries: The Centennial, the Crystal, the Tivoli, The Butte Brewery, and the Olympia.

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O is for Old Number 25! This was the last steam lo

O is for Old Number 25! This was the last steam locomotive to operate in Butte. It was built in 1899 to pull heavy freight loads over the mountain pass between Butte and Whitehall. Upon the engine's retirement the Northern Pacific donated it to Butte in an effort led by the Butte Jaycees. Weighing 69 tons, 57 feet long by 11 feet wide it was no easy feat to find a home for the engine and to place it there. After months of planning, sections of 75 foot track were placed from Texas Avenue and moved in "leapfrog fashion" while the engine was pulled by a bulldozer to put Old Number 25 at the Civic Center. On July 3, 1958 the Jaycees held a ceremony dedicating Old Number 25 to the children of Butte.
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#ABCsofButte #ButteMontana #OldNumber25 #Trains

N is for Newbro Drug Company! The Newbro Drug Comp

N is for Newbro Drug Company! The Newbro Drug Company, located in Butte's warehouse district at 702 South Arizona Street, erected this massive sign in 1932. It was 110-feet high, 60-feet wide and weighed 30 tons! In February of 1954, Butte experienced winds reaching 80 miles per hour and the sign came toppling down causing damage to the Newbro building as well as S.J. Perry's next door.
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#ABCsofButte #ButteMontana #NewbroDrugCo

M is for Montana Power! The Montana Power Company

M is for Montana Power! The Montana Power Company was formed in 1912 under the leadership of John D. Ryan, largely to provide power to the underground mines in Butte. The company harnessed hydroelectricity by building dams, then tapped into the natural gas industry and by the late 1950's the Power bought coal mining rights to produce fossil fuel energy. By 2001 however Montana Power had been restructured into a telecommunications company named Touch America that went bankrupt by 2003. Did you or someone in your family work for this Montana Power? Tell us your memories!
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Pictured today is the Montana Power General Office Building on East Broadway in the 1970's.
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#ABCsofButte #ButteMontana #MontanaPower #MPC

L is for Luigi's! Ludvik Jurenic owned and operate

L is for Luigi's! Ludvik Jurenic owned and operated the reknowned Luigi's in Butte. Luigi's was opened in 1950 in Meaderville and moved to Harrison Avenue in 1964. He was known as the "world's largest one man band" with his dancing dolls. He was quick witted and guaranteed to give out a jab or two to anyone in his establishment. Tell us a favorite story you have from Luigi's!
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#ABCsofButte #ButteMontana #Luigis #OneManBand

K is for Kenoffel's Cafe! Kenoffel's Cafe opened i

K is for Kenoffel's Cafe! Kenoffel's Cafe opened in 1923 under the management of John and Sam Kenoffel, who also also owned the Spokane Cafe. It served finer fare boasting "remarkable food at ordinary prices". In 1926 a fire had started in the basement of the cafe but only caused minimal damage. By 1927 it was sold to the Mudro family.
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#ABCsofButte #ButteMontana #ButteSignsOfTheTimes

J is for Junior League! In 1953 the puppeteers of

J is for Junior League! In 1953 the puppeteers of the Junior League of Butte put on 48 performances of the " Wizard of Oz". For added effects to their annual puppetry performance, the league purchased a tape recorder to add music this particular year!
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#ABCsofButte #ButteMontana #JuniorLeague

I is for Immaculate Conception Catholic Church! Th

I is for Immaculate Conception Catholic Church! This parish was created in 1906 to meet the needs of Butte's growing population. The IC church that we all know and recognize from afar today was opened in 1941.
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#ABCsofButte #ButteMontana #ICChurch

H is for Harding Way! Harding Way was named in hon

H is for Harding Way! Harding Way was named in honor of President Warren G. Harding in 1921. Other names were proposed for the highway including Clark Way for Senator W.A. Clark, Daly Drive for the late Marcus Daly, Via de Valera for Eamon de Valera and Ryan Road for John D. Ryan, just to name a few. We love this photo of Harding Way at night with Butte's city lights!
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#ABCsofButte #ButteMontana #HardingWay

G is for Gagnon (pronounced gon-yun)! Pictured tod

G is for Gagnon (pronounced gon-yun)! Pictured today is the Gagnon House on Gagnon Street just northeast from the Gagnon Mine named for A.F. Gagnon! The Gagnon House was built in 1891 and operated as a boarding house. It caught fire in 1961 and was considered the last of "Butte's colorful old boarding houses".
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#ABCsofButte #ButteMontana #Gagnon

F is for Florence Hotel in Finntown! The Florence

F is for Florence Hotel in Finntown! The Florence Hotel was nicknamed the "Big Ship" because reputedly enough alcohol was served there on Saturday nights to float a big ship.
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#ABCsofButte #ButteMontana #BigShip #Finntown

E is for Eddy's Bakery! Eddy's Bakery opened in Bu

E is for Eddy's Bakery! Eddy's Bakery opened in Butte in 1923. Shortly after opening the bakery was awarded the contract to make fresh bread daily for the swanky Finlen Hotel.
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#ABCsofButte #ButteMontana #EddysBakery #Bakery

D is Donna Belle Drive In! The Donna Belle was ope

D is Donna Belle Drive In! The Donna Belle was opened in 1954 at 3301 Harrison Avenue and was originally owned by Parker Davis. If you remember the Donna Belle tell us your favorite item from their menu!
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#ABCsofButte #ButteMontana #DonnaBelleDriveIn #GravyFries

C is for Cars at the Columbia Gardens! What an inc

C is for Cars at the Columbia Gardens! What an incredible photo showing the many ways people rushed to the Gardens, whether it was by street car or automobile!
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#ABCsofButte #ButteMontana #RememberTheGardens #ColumbiaGardens #Car #Automobile

B is for Blanchard Butter! Pictured today is the H

B is for Blanchard Butter! Pictured today is the Henningsen Company's entry into the butter sculpture contest at the Montana State Fair in 1928 made from Blanchard Butter. It took home first prize! Be sure to zoom in to see all the detail on this sculpture!
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#ABCsofButte #ButteMontana #Sculpture #Butter

Today is the first day back to school in Butte! Jo

Today is the first day back to school in Butte! Join us this month as we share the #ABCsofButte ! Join us by using the hashtag to share your "Butte Alphabet"!
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A is for Anna Mine! Pictured today is the Anna Mine. It was claimed in 1885 and mined minimally until 1929 when the Anna Butte Mines Company erected the wooden gallowsframe and machinery and sunk the shaft 175 feet and cut a station at the 150 foot level where a 12 foot vein of commercial ore was discovered.
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#ABCsofButte #ButteMontana #Mining

We are soaking up these last days of summer before

We are soaking up these last days of summer before it fades into fall. How are you enjoying your summer? We love this photo of a young family on a camping adventure!
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#ButteMontana #SummerInButte #Camping

Ten years ago today the Archives celebrated the re

Ten years ago today the Archives celebrated the renovation of the fire hall as well as the addition to the building in which the Archives is housed. Patrons frequently make mention of how beautiful the Archives is and how lucky Butte is to have such a facility. We, at the Archives, know we are the lucky ones to have such a supporting community that not only preserves their history but celebrates it! Cheers to ten years and looking forward to many more!

Tune into KBOW 550AM to listen to Michael Masters,

Tune into KBOW 550AM to listen to Michael Masters, author of "Identified Flying Objects: A Multidisciplinary Scientific Approach to the UFO Phenomenon", as part of the Archives Brown Bag Series! Butte Broadcasting will be hosting the Brown Bag Series on Party Line during the Pandemic.
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Dr. Michael P. Masters is a professor of biological anthropology at Montana Tech in Butte, Montana. He received a Ph.D. in Anthropology from The Ohio State University in 2009, where he specialized in hominin evolutionary anatomy, archaeology, and biomedicine.
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Collectively, Dr. Masters' background, education, and current research program combine to offer a unique perspective, and a novel approach to addressing unanswered questions pertaining to a widely recognized, yet poorly understood aspect of modern global culture.
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His book, Identified Flying Objects: A Multidisciplinary Scientific Approach to the UFO Phenomenon, challenges readers to consider new possibilities while cultivating conversations about our ever-evolving understanding of time and time travel.
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#ButteMontana #SummerInButte #BrownBagSeries

Pictured today is Ida Ward changing a tire. Ida he

Pictured today is Ida Ward changing a tire. Ida helped form the "Woman's Party" for an April 1928 school election and was elected to the school board. She then became chairman of the board during her three year term.
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Ida and her husband, Frank, traveled extensively to the Southwest states and Mexico during their lives together, perhaps making this a fairly common scene in Ida's life.
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#ButteMontana #SummerInButte #19ForThe19th

On August 24, 1963 a terrific explosion went off n

On August 24, 1963 a terrific explosion went off near the old Pittsmont Smelter blasting apart three cars, a truck, and nearby power line poles. Earlier in the month 168 cases of dynamite was stolen from Lavelle Powder & Equipment . The police received a tip that the dynamite was to be traded the night of August 24th. The police were staked out waiting for the trade to occur. Once the trade began the police headed towards the three cars and the truck involved. Shots were fired at the police. The officers shot into the air and yelled out "police!". More shots were fired and then the explosion occurred. There was damage throughout the city, blasting out windows of buildings. Amazingly only one person was confirmed dead.
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#ButteMontana #SummerInButte #ThisDayInHistory

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