Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Around Missoula

As our time here grows to a close, I wanted to get more photos of some of the outstanding buildings and sights around Missoula. This first photo is of the Missoula County Courthouse, constructed between 1908 and 1910. Its dome is visible for a long distance.

Probably the most noticeable landmark is the old St. Francis Xavier Church. The church was built in 1889, the year Montana became a state, and is noted for its graceful steeple, paintings and stained glass. The paintings were done by a brother of the Society of Jesus, a kitchen helper, who painted them in his spare time and turned out to be a master. This same man painted the inside of the St. Ignatius Mission, near Ronan, pictured in an earlier post "Trip to Glacier National Park".

Here is the First Presbyterian Church, where we attend. You may have seen the movie "A River Runs Through It". The founder and builder of this church, Dr. John Norman Maclean, was the father of the man who wrote the book, later made into a movie starring Tom Skerritt, Brad Pitt and Craig Sheffer. This year is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the church, and a stone monument honoring Dr. Maclean will be put in place this fall on the church grounds. We've enjoyed being a part of this large, flourishing congregation.

Missoula is called "The Garden City". One reason is that the streets are lined with large trees, mostly deciduous varieties. These are most prominent in the university district, many of the old downtown areas, and along the river. It is a beautiful sight, and I can only imagine what it must look like in the fall when the leaves turn.

I couldn't resist this one! A street named after my husband! We barely noticed it beneath the leaves.

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