THE TOWN IS STILL EVOLVING
The town was created as party town for the client’s family and friends. Every fourth of July he had a big party that included fire- works, which would rival Bozeman’s or Livingston’s fireworks display. Then the family had large music acts come in and play for fam- ily, friends, and neighbors. Yellowstone Tradi- tions of Bozeman was the general contractor for this experiment in architectur- al authenticity. “We were involved in the project from the beginning,” said Ron Adams, YT principal.
“It was an incredible vision of creativity and will always be
a project we are extremely proud of.”
Like many old towns, this one centered on the water- ing hole. Deadrock’s saloon, known as the Thirsty Bull, became the gathering spot for the town, serving as the living room, dining room, and kitchen. Across from the saloon, a variety store, an assay office, the Crite- rion Hall, and the Midnight Sun began to define the Main Street. The shops were designed as bedroom suites, connected by porches and boardwalks. To recreate the reality of the early 1900s
in each building, the architects researched and toured Montana’s ghost towns.
More building followed as the travelers kept coming. DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL
Walk the streets of Deadrock
Go to www.distinctlymontana.com/deadrock112
The Crystal Palace Hotel gave weary travelers a place to sleep, and a general store stocked sundries. A jail was add- ed to take care of the outlaws that go hand and hand with a real western town. The jail is complete with a cell that doubles as a central heating plant, as it was discovered that modern day outlaws prefer a comfy bed to cold jail cells. A
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DISTINCTLY MONTANA • SPRING 2011
