{"id":89,"ordinal":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:58:29","content_modified":"2026-04-22 19:58:56","featured":0,"title":"Central Business District","creator":null,"description":"<p>A catastrophic fire consumed much of Main Street in 1879, removing traces of Butte’s mining camp past and ushering in a new era of masonry and stone construction. In the 1880s, single miners remained the primary customers of the district’s gambling halls, saloons, and brothels. However, the city was maturing, and architect-designed theaters, banks, lodges, and churches soon joined the streetscape. Dozens of commercial blocks incorporated locally manufactured metal cornices and cast-iron facades, and by 1891, even Chinatown boasted substantial brick buildings. By 1896, Butte had become a leading copper producer, and architects consciously designed edifices worthy of the city’s new status as an industrial giant. The War of the Copper Kings caused economic uncertainty and slowed commercial development, but with the victory of Amalgamated Copper Company (later renamed the Anaconda Copper Mining Company), the early twentieth century witnessed construction of some of Butte’s most distinguished buildings. Multistoried apartments like the 1903 Hirbour Tower and the 1906 Metals Bank building, hallmarks of big cities like New York and Chicago, added urban flair, while the 1910 Beaux Arts county courthouse provided another assertion of permanence. Progressive Era attempts to clean up Chinatown and the Red Light district drastically reshaped the district’s southern end. After 1911, automobile garages, showrooms, and service stations replaced deteriorating wooden cribs and Chinese laundries. Butte reached its economic zenith during World War I, and today’s business district still reflects the copper metropolis’s pre-World War I history. Over 100 buildings constructed before 1900 still stand, as do more than another 100 built between 1900 and 1920.</p>","postscript_text":"","tour_img":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/83fed25f6bcaab1e75f833ff1bdc4d02.jpg","items":[{"id":1937,"title":"Silver Bow County Courthouse","latitude":46.0145263522909999664989300072193145751953125,"longitude":-112.53877328318003492313437163829803466796875,"thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/83fed25f6bcaab1e75f833ff1bdc4d02.jpg","fullsize":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/83fed25f6bcaab1e75f833ff1bdc4d02.jpg","subtitle":"Beaux Arts Style","address":"155 West Granite Street, Butte, Montana","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":1936,"title":"Silver Bow Club","latitude":46.01466080000000147265382111072540283203125,"longitude":-112.53816929999999274514266289770603179931640625,"thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/2b41edad4a6e9faf59ef3f27b61c0866.jpg","fullsize":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/2b41edad4a6e9faf59ef3f27b61c0866.jpg","subtitle":"Butte National Historic Landmark District","address":"125 West Granite Street, Butte, Montana","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":1935,"title":"Butte Water Company","latitude":46.01414079999999984238456818275153636932373046875,"longitude":-112.537767499999972642399370670318603515625,"thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/bf51565695daa9fc92bcab64c05d7450.jpg","fullsize":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/bf51565695daa9fc92bcab64c05d7450.jpg","subtitle":"Butte National Historic Landmark District","address":"124 West Granite Street, Butte, Montana","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":1929,"title":"Hennessy 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Montana","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":2074,"title":"Hirbour Tower","latitude":46.0139000194269982557671028189361095428466796875,"longitude":-112.53550587790999770732014440000057220458984375,"thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/23c4e32e1ff4d28dbe4f4fd5e3d38bd4.jpg","fullsize":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/23c4e32e1ff4d28dbe4f4fd5e3d38bd4.jpg","subtitle":"Butte National Historic Landmark District","address":"7 East Broadway Street, Butte, Montana","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":1870,"title":"Thornton Block","latitude":46.01411370000000289337549475021660327911376953125,"longitude":-112.5339036999999962063156999647617340087890625,"thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/09fff4314070ca194a26842158829463.jpg","fullsize":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/09fff4314070ca194a26842158829463.jpg","subtitle":"Butte National Historic Landmark District","address":"65 East Broadway Street, Butte, Montana","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":1871,"title":"Finlen Hotel","latitude":46.013735900000000356158125214278697967529296875,"longitude":-112.5333504999999831852619536221027374267578125,"thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/86823095668d96c6414f33f711620eff.jpg","fullsize":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/86823095668d96c6414f33f711620eff.jpg","subtitle":"Butte National Historic Landmark District","address":"100 East Broadway Street, Butte, Montana","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":1867,"title":"City Hall, Butte","latitude":46.01351799999999769852365716360509395599365234375,"longitude":-112.53477700000001959779183380305767059326171875,"thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/a88f514f64d33bcd7956cbbc4bea6f32.jpg","fullsize":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/a88f514f64d33bcd7956cbbc4bea6f32.jpg","subtitle":"Butte National Historic Landmark District","address":"24 East Broadway Street, Butte, Montana","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":1967,"title":"M & M Cigar Store","latitude":46.013093499999996538463165052235126495361328125,"longitude":-112.53600690000001804946805350482463836669921875,"thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/ae37048406c2fcdd1522a9af5bcd2450.jpg","fullsize":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/ae37048406c2fcdd1522a9af5bcd2450.jpg","subtitle":"Saloon and Eatery Operated Around the Clock","address":"9 North Main Street, Butte, Montana","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":2027,"title":"Curtis Music Hall","latitude":46.0130702000000013640601537190377712249755859375,"longitude":-112.5362804000000096493749879300594329833984375,"thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/cc779a1f2ee0016bda5e9590f1bd7184.jpg","fullsize":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/cc779a1f2ee0016bda5e9590f1bd7184.jpg","subtitle":"Butte National Historic Landmark District","address":"15 West Park Street, Butte, Montana","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":2377,"title":"Miner's Savings Bank & Trust Co.","latitude":46.01286590000000131794877233915030956268310546875,"longitude":-112.5373591999999689505784772336483001708984375,"thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/0514808a14426a4fc61977e34fa1a55f.jpg","fullsize":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/0514808a14426a4fc61977e34fa1a55f.jpg","subtitle":"Butte National Historic Landmark District","address":"55 West Park Street, Butte, Montana","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":2070,"title":"F & W Grand Building","latitude":46.012610399999999799547367729246616363525390625,"longitude":-112.5360723000000007232301868498325347900390625,"thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/a6a5e0f7f131bd779e44c5756165134b.jpg","fullsize":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/a6a5e0f7f131bd779e44c5756165134b.jpg","subtitle":"National Chain of Dry Goods Stores","address":"14 West Park Street, Butte, Montana","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":2379,"title":"Metals Bank Building","latitude":46.01262890000000282952896668575704097747802734375,"longitude":-112.5358883000000105312210507690906524658203125,"thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/29d9ec15a181fc2e68ebdd8bade5b5e1.jpg","fullsize":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/29d9ec15a181fc2e68ebdd8bade5b5e1.jpg","subtitle":"8 West Park","address":"8 West Park Street, Butte, Montana","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":1981,"title":"Pekin Noodle Parlor","latitude":46.01171309999998726425474160350859165191650390625,"longitude":-112.53586960000001226944732479751110076904296875,"thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/47a605a0b75881433ae9938ac0e7fbb7.jpg","fullsize":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/47a605a0b75881433ae9938ac0e7fbb7.jpg","subtitle":"Butte National Historic Landmark District","address":"117 South Main Street, Butte, Montana","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":1995,"title":"Wah Chong Tai Company Building and Mai Wah Noodle Parlors","latitude":46.01135169999999874335117056034505367279052734375,"longitude":-112.53622930000000224026734940707683563232421875,"thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/3aa210a02f5f02923c91a2c4cf52444e.jpg","fullsize":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/3aa210a02f5f02923c91a2c4cf52444e.jpg","subtitle":"Butte National Historic Landmark District","address":"17 West Mercury Street, Butte, Montana","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":2089,"title":"Pleasant Alley \"Venus Alley\"","latitude":46.0116239999999976362232700921595096588134765625,"longitude":-112.5339069999999992433004081249237060546875,"thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/53e3674c73f97b1d00363284762bd5d9.jpg","fullsize":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/53e3674c73f97b1d00363284762bd5d9.jpg","subtitle":"Butte National Historic Landmark District","address":"41 East Mercury Street, Butte, Montana","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":1994,"title":"Dumas Hotel","latitude":46.011624699999998711064108647406101226806640625,"longitude":-112.5339046000000280400854535400867462158203125,"thumbnail":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/square_thumbnails/2339e2181f3a67a2b2c4932753fc9276.jpg","fullsize":"https://storyofbutte.org/files/fullsize/2339e2181f3a67a2b2c4932753fc9276.jpg","subtitle":"Butte National Historic Landmark District","address":"45 East Mercury Street, Butte, Montana","custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}}]}