Downtown Missoula is the central business district in

Missoula, Montana Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...

, and West-Central Montana. Downtown Missoula's rough boundaries are the

Clark Fork River The Clark Fork, or the Clark Fork of the Columbia River, is a river in the U.S. states of Montana and Idaho, approximately long. The largest river by volume in Montana, it drains an extensive region of the Rocky Mountains in western Montana and ...

to its south, Madison St. to its east, the old U.S 93 highway/ North Orange St. to its west, and West Alder St. to its north, though parts south of the

are also at times mentioned. It is home to

Ogren Park at Allegiance Field Ogren Park at Allegiance Field is a stadium in Missoula, Montana. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home field of the Missoula PaddleHeads of the Pioneer Baseball League, Pioneer League. Built in 2004, it seats 3,500 people. The park ...

which is the venue for the

Missoula PaddleHeads The Missoula PaddleHeads are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Missoula, Montana, and play their home games at Ogren Par ...

. Downtown is also home to several parks, and historic buildings such as the Wilma Building.

History

Early history

Missoula never "boomed" as many western Montana towns did as a consequence of the gold rush, though the town did grow rapidly, and by 1872 the town had 66 new buildings. Higgins and Worden established the town's first stores and banks, but by 1876 the pair faced its largest competition and rivalry from Eddy, Hammond and company, who established the Missoula Mercantile Company. By the 1880s growth had slowed, but the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1883 caused growth to accelerate again and Territorial Governor Benjamin F. Potts approved a charter for the Town of Missoula. The need for lumber for the railway and its bridges spurred the opening of multiple saw mills in the area and, in turn, the beginning of Missoula's lumber industry. The economic frenzy led to the construction of many of the historic buildings in downtown today. In particular, architect A. J. Gibson arrived in the late 1880s and designed many of Missoula's most recognizable buildings, including the Missoula County Courthouse and the University of Montana's Main Hall. Ole Bakke created and constructed the Wilma Building, the first steel-framed structure in

Missoula Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...

(second in Montana) at its completion in 1921.

20th century and modern times

Some significant events in the 20th century in Downtown Missoula included: Street cars being introduced in 1910 (but were replaced by buses in 1932). In 1969 the current city hall was completed. The last passenger train left from Missoula in 1979. A carousel for Missoula opened in May 1995. The Modern era began when all the logging yards in

, once the basis of Missoula's economy, had totally vanished. After logging vanished the Missoula Downtown association was formed. Some of Missoula's largest modern buildings include: the First Interstate Center, the First Security Bank, the new

St. Patrick Hospital and Health Sciences Center Providence St. Patrick Hospital, is a health care facility in Missoula, Montana. Overview Providence St. Patrick Hospital is the only level II trauma center in western Montana, northern Idaho, and Southwest Montana. The hospital employs more than ...

, and the tallest Building in downtown, the

Millennium Building The Millennium Building is a building located in downtown Missoula, Montana, United States. At 9 floors, it is the tallest building in downtown Missoula and rises to 128 feet. History The Millennium Building was opened in 1998. Tenants One o ...

. The Garlington Building (Missoula, Montana) was completed in Fall of 2010; adding another building to the skyline of

. Currently under construction is the East Front Parking structure. It was scheduled to be completed in Fall of 2012.

Current ongoing Projects

Sawmill District restoration (mill site)

The Sawmill district is an ongoing restoration project. It is the restoration of a former mill site near downtown Missoula. A mix of residential and commercial use, it has a wide range of housing densities and scales. Once completed it will provide a prime opportunity in close proximity to downtown with the advantages of open space, such as the new silver park and the Clark Fork river. The project will include a mix of low, medium, and high density housing. The project will also include several new streets. One new street will connect Wyoming st. and Cregg lane, in which will also provide a new link from Russel street and Orange street. Several other new streets will be made horizontally from this main connection. Silver park will also be a new addition to the site; it will be 14 acres with full accommodations such as a green space common area, shelters, playgrounds, artwork, a new parking lot, and a boat ramp for the Clark Fork river.

Russell street apartment complex

A local development firm has started construction on a 224-unit apartment complex, and the first unit is set to open by July 2013. A 19.5 million dollar project, the complex will occupy a vacant space on Russell street in close proximity to downtown Missoula. Demolition of the site began in January 2013. Along with apartments for low- to medium-income housing, it will include commercial buildings at some point along Russell street. Considered a "mini" community by the firm, it will include a 3,500 sq. foot clubhouse, a pool, and a movie theater.

Higgins and Front

The Higgins and Front area of downtown is considered the center of downtown. It began to grow in the late 19th century and has been growing since. In the early 20th century this part of downtown had electrified streetcars.Historic Missoula - Higgins and Front
/ref> Its last run in the city was in January 1932. Brick street's were replaced in the 1940s and 1960s. This area has received national recognition for preserving historic properties. Most of Missoula's main downtown buildings in the city are here. They include the Wilma Building, and Wilma Theatre. Others include the

, the First Interstate Center, the Florence Hotel, and the newly constructed Garlington Building.

Buildings

Aber Hall, standing at 11 floors on the campus of the University of Montana, is the tallest building in Missoula, along with its twin, Jesse Hall. The only other high-rise in Missoula is the

which is 9 floors. Some other historic, and or Post-modern building's in Missoula include: The Wilma Building, The Garlington Building, and the Florence Hotel. Missoula is home to over 60 buildings on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Tallest buildings

Cityscape

Geography

Downtown Missoula is mostly flat except for parts of the

which there are some small

slopes In mathematics, the slope or gradient of a line is a number that describes both the ''direction'' and the ''steepness'' of the line. Slope is often denoted by the letter ''m''; there is no clear answer to the question why the letter ''m'' is use ...

that is still easy

terrain Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin word ...

for anyone who wants to fish, swim, or do any other activities. Since downtown Missoula is located in a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

with the rest of the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

it can have un-level

at times but overall anyone could surpass the low riding terrain of

. The

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...

district is located just upstream of the

which makes downtown even more busy during the school's session(s)'. Downtown Missoula also has two main parks in its downtown district. Downtown Missoula has also suffered from smog in the past, resulting in pollution.

Enlarging downtown

Downtown has had numerous new small businesses move into the area, and several organizations; one of which started right in downtown itself; the Missoula Downtown Association. The MDA (MDA) has been a large organization recently in Missoula. The MDA formed in 1975 and has organized nearly every event that has met together in the downtown area for the past several decades. With the help of the Missoula Downtown Association, downtown's main venue recently has been Caras Park; which is right next to the heart of Downtown Missoula, and the Missoula carousel.Caras Park , Missoula Downtown , MDA/BID

Missoula Art Museum

The Missoula Art Museum was founded in 1975, and has been accredited by the

American Alliance of Museums American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

since 1987. MAM maintains a permanent collection held in trust for the people of Missoula County, with a specific commitment to collecting and exhibiting contemporary art by American Indian artists and that of the Montana Modernists.

Parks

Caras Park

The Caras Park Pavilion is located in the heart of Downtown Missoula on the

. With the help of the Missoula Downtown Association, Caras Park has been the main venue to these yearly events:

A Carousel for Missoula A Carousel for Missoula is a volunteer-built, hand-carved carousel in Missoula, Montana, located on the Clark Fork River in Missoula's downtown Caras Park within walking distance of the historic Wilma Theatre, Jeannette Rankin Peace Center and ...

, a hand carved carousel built by volunteers is located adjacent to Caras Park * Out to Lunch * Downtown ToNight * Garden City River Rod * International Wildlife Film Festival * WildFest * Parks & Recreation Kids Fest * YMCA Riverbank Run * First Night Missoula * Garden City BrewFest * Garden City LocalFest * Hemp Fest * GermanFest * Concerts by Jewel * Chris Isaak * Los Lobos * Santana * Ziggy Marley and * B.B. King

Kiwanis Park

Kiwanis Park is a park located in the Downtown Missoula district. It is the Largest park in the district, and is adjacent to the

, so it is most occupied during the summer.Park of Kiwanis Park (Missoula), Missoula, Montana
/ref>

References

External links

* {{coord, 46, 52, 20, N, 113, 59, 38, W, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:US-ID Areas of Missoula, Montana Tourist attractions in Missoula, Montana