or
more than a century, copper was king in Butte, Montana and this
city became one of the world's most important sources for the
strategic metal. In the process, the wealth generated by mining
and refining earned Butte, Montana the name "The Richest
Hill on Earth." For many reasons unrelated to mining, Butte,
Montana remains the Richest Hill on Earth.
The headframes scattered across
the Hill are symbols of this proud mining heritage. Called gallows
frames by miners, they lowered men to work in the stopes below
and on the return trip to the surface they brought up the rock
in the box. They are silent sentinels of the era of underground
mining that punctuate the Butte landscape like steel exclamation
points.
Butte, Montana is rich in history, art and culture in the midst
of one of the most beautiful areas of Southwest Montana. Rimmed
by the peaks of mountain ranges, Butte provides nearby access
to trout fishing, world-class golf courses, hiking, hunting,
skiing, soaking (in commercial hot springs), snowmobiling, and
many other outdoor recreational opportunities.
The long view from
the Original Mineyard -- the location of the main stage during
the National
Folk Festival July
10-12, 2009 and July 9-11, 2010.
Located halfway between Glacier National Park and Yellowstone
National Park, it's a convenient place to take a break for an
urban adventure before moving on to the next interlude in the
great outdoors. Still, some of the wildest country in Montana
is only a short drive from any Butte door.
Butte's historic shopping district is home to specialty stores,
museums and several excellent
restaurants. Fine art prints by
local, regional and nationally acclaimed artists can be found
in galleries that provide framing and shipping services on request.
The antique
shops
in Butte, Montana's historic district, too, are some of the most
fascinating to explore in the state and the district has a few
of the most acclaimed restaurants in the region.
A walk among the many historic
buildings evokes a clear sense of what it must have been like
to live in Butte during the days when millionaires and miners
alike lived and played hard in one of the West's greatest cities.
Together, from humble origins as a muddy mining boom camp, they
built a shining city on a hill with the latest amenities that
its vast wealth allowed.
Today, Butte, Montana is home to one of the nation's largest
National Historic Landmark Districts, with over 4,000 historic
structures scattered across the Hill. These include some of the
country's first tall buildings, elegant mansions, vintage Victorian
homes, boarding houses and hotels, and miner's cottages that
once provided shelter for an estimated 100,000 people.
Butte, Montana's visitor attractions, like the ore beneath the surface,
often stay hidden from view from anyone driving by on the Interstate
highways.
We invite you to take a closer look. The experiences will enrich
you in many ways. You may even, as many have, agree that the
greatest treasure to be found is the quality of life and decide
to stay and invest in Butte's future.
Time a visit to coincide with one or more of several festival
events scheduled for this year:
Evel Knievel Days (last weekend in July) A drive along
Butte's Evel
Knievel Loop
any time of the year will explain where Evel Knievel came from
(Butte is his hometown) and why he is so proud of his Butte roots.
Other regular
events such as the summer's weekly Farmers' Market (every summer Saturday
starting in June from 9 am to 1 pm through September) and the
Annual
Christmas Stroll (December 5, 2008) and the Annual Ice Sculpting Contest (December 13, 2008)
attract visitors from throughout the region.
We invite you, your friends and family to visit a Montana original—Uptown
Butte and see the Montana you imagined it would be like. It is
our wish that you will visit often and enjoy each visit to our
web site and to our city.
or
more than a century, copper was king in Butte, Montana and this
city became one of the world's most important sources for the
strategic metal. In the process, the wealth generated by mining
and refining earned Butte, Montana the name "The Richest
Hill on Earth." For many reasons unrelated to mining, Butte,
Montana remains the Richest Hill on Earth.
The headframes scattered across
the Hill are symbols of this proud mining heritage. Called gallows
frames by miners, they lowered men to work in the stopes below
and on the return trip to the surface they brought up the rock
in the box. They are silent sentinels of the era of underground
mining that punctuate the Butte landscape like steel exclamation
points.
A walk among the many historic
buildings evokes a clear sense of what it must have been like
to live in Butte during the days when millionaires and miners
alike lived and played hard in one of the West's greatest cities.
Together, from humble origins as a muddy mining boom camp, they
built a shining city on a hill with the latest amenities that
its vast wealth allowed. 
(July 1-4)