Historical Society temporarily closes galleries for renovations

Montana Historical Society

The Montana Historical Society is temporarily closing two galleries due to construction of the Montana Heritage Center, but the popular Charles M. Russell Gallery and the Lobby Gallery will remain open.

Because of the closures, entrance fees will be waived at both the MTHS and the Original Governor's Mansion in Helena. Winter hours at the MTHS are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday; the Original Governor's Mansion offers guided tours Saturdays at noon, 1, 2 and 3 p.m.

"While we would rather remain open during construction, we have to inventory, pack and store our priceless art, artifacts and documents in order to protect them," said MTHS Director Molly Kruckenberg. "As contractors move into renovation work at the 70-year-old Veterans and Pioneers Memorial building - which is our current home - we need secure space to store the boxed items. The Homeland and NENUK galleries will give us that necessary temporary storage space."

NENUK is an acronym for "Neither Empty Nor Unknown," and the exhibit explores the history of what's now known as Montana before the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The Homeland Gallery exhibit showcases the history of Montana from 13,000 years ago to the mid-1900s.

Once the Heritage Center project is completed, an updated Montana Homeland exhibit will wind through a 16,000-square-foot gallery. That expanded space will provide more room for additional artifacts to be on display and will include multi-media elements to share additional stories. Overall, 66,000 square feet is being added to the current Montana Historical Society facility. The Montana Heritage Center also will include a café plus an auditorium that can hold up to 300 people.

The Charlie Russell Gallery also will double in size near its current location.

The Library and Archives reference room is slated to close by January 2023 so construction crews can update utilities where the archival materials are stored. Prior to that work getting underway, the staff will inventory, pack and protect all of its documents. Once renovations are complete, Library and Archives will move from the second floor of the existing building to the main floor.

"Construction crews are actually a few months ahead of schedule, which is a good sign," Kruckenberg said. "That makes it a little more difficult to predict exactly when the Library and Archives will temporarily close, but the sooner this work is complete the faster we can reopen."

More than 100,000 digitized items in the MTHS collection can be viewed online at mhs.mt.gov/Research/OnlineCollections .

The cost of the project remains at $81.4 million. The anticipated opening date is in early 2025.