Event Today, New Home for Montana Historical Society in Helena

"Thanks to legislators in the 2020 session and donors and lots of people who have, through the years, really supported the Montana Historical Society- we're going to open this new building. And it's more than just a building. It's really who we ARE."

Those were the words of Montana Historical Society Board President and former Montana Attorney General Tim Fox as he joined us on the radio Tuesday morning. This ahead of a big event Tuesday afternoon in Helena where Gov. Greg Gianforte (R-MT) will cut the ribbon on the new $107 million Montana Heritage Center and home to the Montana Historical Society.

Thanks to the Governor's efforts $57.3 million in private donations was raised for the construction of the center, including $25 million from the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation and $10.4 million from Winifred, Montana's own Norm Asbjornson. Both Dennis Washington and Norm Asbjornson will be on hand for the ribbon cutting.

I remember touring the old Montana Historical Society with Bruce Whittenberg a few years ago. There were so many paintings and artifacts kept in the basement because there simply wasn't enough room to display them.

Tim Fox: "The Historical Society owns over 65,000 artifacts, including those paintings that you've talked about from some really important Montana artists. And in the old building, we had about 90,000 square feet. We're adding about 70,000 square feet. And so, you know, we'll go from about the ability to have eight to 9% of the artifacts displayed at any point in time to, you know, probably twice that, and that's a great deal, because there's so much history to be learned and to be enjoyed in Montana. And to be able to have a facility that's nearly twice as large as what we used to have will be a great addition for all Montanans and all those visitors to Montana that will come. This is going to be a real destination point."

One other point that Tim wanted to stress for Montanans- admission to the Montana Heritage Center will be free of charge. So you can visit as often as you'd like.

Tim Fox joined us in the 2nd half of the below podcast to talk about the new Montana Heritage Center and the events today.