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Great Falls Today

By: lc200 staff

The city of Great Falls “grew up” along the banks of the Missouri River near the series of falls discovered by Meriwether Lewis in 1805. During the ensuing years the city has become a focal point for northcentral Montana. With a population of 56,000 Great Falls is a paradox. Traditionally agriculture and the military have formed the city’s economic base. However important sectors including tourism, education and the arts are making substantial gains.

Malmstrom Air Force Base
During the early stages of World War II the Army determined that Great Falls was a good location for a bomber base. Almost overnight the city became a “military town” as the personnel and equipment flowed in and the base was built from the ground up. The base became a primary training base for bomber pilots. Gore Field as it was named also became the chief take off point for airplanes and supplies going to Russia under the Lend Lease program. These two operations became so successful that a new and larger base was required. That base was located on the opposite side of Great Falls from Gore Field and named East Base. The first occupants there was a supply operation that served many smaller stations in northwestern United States. Other military operations were soon consolidated at East Base, including much of the training for the C-54 pilots and crews who flew the Berlin Airlift in 1948. From those beginnings, East Base eventually transformed to a major Air Force base with missile and space missions. East Base was renamed Malmstrom Air Force Base in memory of a fallen pilot.

Malmstrom’s impact on the community is readily apparent with nearly 20% of the city’s population having connections there. Great Falls is also a community with a large number of military retirees because of the services available from Malmstrom. The presence of a military base in the community has had another interesting impact on the community. Great Falls is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the state of Montana.

Tourism
The rich history left by the Lewis and Clark Expedition serves as the largest single tourist draw in the city. Not only are there many important sites to see, but local interests are actively expanding the appeal. The recently completed Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and an annual Lewis and Clark Festival have encouraged tourists to be actively involved in cultural history. These attract people nationwide to listen to some of the highest regarded experts discuss this important expedition. In addition to the Lewis and Clark legacy, the city serves as a “jumping off” point for a variety of cultural history locations in the area. Each of these places can be visited, and the tourist return to Great Falls, in a day. Local tour guides are available for most of the locations. Visitors can see locations important to the area’s history, prehistoric evidence of native people traveling the area, and dinosaur grounds that helped reshape theories on the life of these mighty creatures.

River’s Edge Trail
The Missouri River has always played a major role in the life of Great Falls. As the city grew and evolved so did the role of the river. The city’s master plan developed by founder Paris Gibson in 1885 envisioned a public park system along the south bank from the city center to the Great Falls of the Missouri. That vision was sidetracked as industrial growth kept pace with city development. Railroads ran along both sides of the river to feed the industrial development. By the time the last of numerous railroads that had served the needs of the city left in 1980 the riverfront was almost devoid of industry. Left behind was the commercial scars and abandoned railroad beds.

A small group of planners took up the challenge and used the rail beds as the basis for developing a trail system that today stretches 24 miles. In the process of building this trail most of the commercial scars have been reclaimed so Gibson’s vision of a park along the riverbanks is almost a reality. Each year about 100,000 walkers, joggers, bicyclists, inline skaters and nature lovers follow the trail from the center of Great Falls eastward to the prairies of central Montana.

Education
Almost at the same time as the first merchants were getting started, the first public school opened in the new city of Great Falls. A short fifteen years later the school system had an enrollment of 1,600. The first high school that was built in 1896 still stands today, being used as a contemporary art museum. Education beyond the high school level has also long been a local passion. A commercial college opened in 1894 to provide secretarial training for the new business community.

Today Great Falls boasts many opportunities for college education and technical training to keep pace with the ever-changing needs of today’s work force. Two universities offer a range of baccalaureate degree choices while a third specializes in the nursing and dental fields. A College of Technology offers associate degrees and certificates in a variety of technical fields. Several colleges and universities offer advanced degrees, primarily in management, education and health care. Some of these are made available through satellite system technology with the instructors located on college campuses far removed from the classroom the students occupy.

Arts
The biggest single event in Great Falls is the C. M. Russell Art Auction and Show. The Auction, now in its 34th year, brings many of the top western art collectors and artists together as the city fills to overflowing with crowds of people. At least four other art shows are also held during this week in March when Great Falls becomes the western art capital of the world.

Great Falls has a thriving artist community. The artists primarily do western or Americana subjects and tend to be very realistic, but there is a definite market for their work. In addition to artists, there are several quality professional photographers who make their home in Great Falls. They also concentrate primarily on Americana and wildlife subject matter. Adding to the climate of art are the seven museums and many art galleries that can be found in Great Falls.

The city of Great Falls today is a city in transition. The economic base that provided the growth in years past is changing to a much more diversified base that relies less on agriculture and the military. Replacing some of the old base is increased opportunities in education, art and tourism.

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