Helena Today.gif)
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| Last
Chance Gulch Mall |
Helena
today is a much different town than it was 100 years ago,
obviously. Yet, the smaller size of Helena, coupled
with a very nice job of restoring the Last Chance Gulch area,
makes Helena a very unique capitol city – and one that
is well worth seeing.
However,
as a word of warning to new arrivals, simply getting around
Helena can be a rather confusing task. While Helena
is fairly easy to figure out once you’ve been there
for a bit due to its smaller size, for new people, Helena
can be a confusing mosaic of roads that take off in all sorts
of odd angles and directions. I highly recommend stopping
by a gas station in town and purchasing a map of Helena.
Doing so will save you many frustrating moments when venturing
around town!
Essentially,
Helena has three parts to it today. The first part, what
I call the newer shopping area, is, not surprisingly,
located around the Interstate highway – and is also
the largest part of the town. The second part of Helena consists
of the Capitol Building and related state government offices.
This part of town is located up on the lower elevations of
the small hill that rises to the west of town. While the
capitol building is fairly easy to spot, it’s easily
missed if you don’t venture away from the shopping
area part of town. The third part of Helena today consists
of the downtown, which is located in Last Chance Gulch. The
downtown of Helena has been very nicely restored, sits in
a very beautiful setting and is very well worth seeing.
Unfortunately,
getting to see the Last Chance Gulch area (downtown Helena),
though, is a small battle in and of itself.
Due to the fact that downtown Helena lies down in a canyon
(Last Chance Gulch), you really can’t see downtown
from anyplace except from the top of Mt. Helena. While many
signs point the way towards Last Chance Gulch from other
parts of town, if you miss the signs, you’ll likely
never find the downtown since you don’t “drive
through” the downtown. Instead, the canyon that downtown
Helena is located in resembles a box canyon – with
about 6 major roads leading into it from various confusing
angles but with only 1 road (a small, narrow, twisty road
that leads into the Helena National Forest) leading out of
it.
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| Strange
Looking Bear on Last Chance Gulch Mall |
Thus,
I guess what I’m saying is that if you want
to see downtown Helena (and it is well worth seeing), you
need to make some effort to see it. Downtown Helena lays
quite a bit away from both the main shopping areas and the
Interstate highway. And while it is fairly close to the capitol
building, in order to get to the downtown from the capitol
building requires some driving on smaller, less than obvious
roads that go through residential areas.
Yet,
assuming you can figure out how to get there, downtown
Helena is well worth taking the time to explore. Today,
downtown
Helena consists of numerous nicely restored buildings and,
much to my surprise, a pedestrian mall that cuts right up
through the middle of town. This pedestrian mall, called
the Last Chance Gulch Mall, is flanked by numerous historic
buildings that contain all sorts of specialized shops, restaurants,
nightclubs and offices. This pedestrian mall also consists
of a rather bizarre collection of bear statutes; all dressed
up in some of the strangest paint combinations to be found
anywhere.
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