Vernacular Architecture Forum
Mining Metropolis: An Island
in a Stockman's Paradise
Under Montana's Big Sky
June 10-13, 2009
| BUTTE A third of the world's copper in 1910 Gibraltar of Unionism Richest Hill On Earth 13 urban headframes Deadliest metal mine disaster Berkeley Pit America's #2 red-light district ANACONDA Tallest smokestack BA&P Railroad Smelter City Goosetown District 
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| Guidebook PDFs now available Schedule Booklet with Abstracts now available |
Class distinction was clear-cut, but blurred on streetscapes where tiny miner's cottages share a block with residential hotels and fanciful Queen Anne mansions. The ultimately vernacular 1890s "Cabbage Patch" shanty town is just a few blocks from a prestigious 1906 skyscraper designed by Cass Gilbert.
A field trip will complete the industrial scene, connecting Anaconda's smelters (and smeltermen's homes) to the mines of Butte. The excursions will also explore the ranching and hinterland mining communities of Southwest Montana, including Philipsburg, Pony, and Virginia City, where agricultural and early industrial landscapes cross paths in what are now nearly ghost towns.
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Finntown, Butte | Goosetown, Anaconda | Miners Union Hall, Granite | Two-story outhouse, Nevada City |