Historical Society vows to keep museum in Helena

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By The Associated Press

Story Published: Mar 16, 2010 at 5:34 AM MST

Story Updated: Mar 16, 2010 at 5:34 AM MST

HELENA - The Montana Historical Society in Helena has unveiled plans to keep its museum from moving to Butte.

About 45 museum advocates gathered Monday night and agreed to work together to raise $30 million to build a new museum at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Roberts Street. The decision seals the fate of a competing proposal that would have placed the museum at the current site of the Capital Hill Mall.

Democratic Sen. Steve Gallus, of Butte, has proposed using $40 million from the state's pool of natural resource damage funds to build the museum in his hometown. And last week, Gov. Brian Schweitzer challenged Helena city leaders to create a plan good enough to keep the Historical Society Museum from moving to Butte.

With the location in Helena now agreed upon, the city's new delegation of museum advocates says it will launch a statewide campaign to keep the museum and to raise roughly $30 million to push construction forward.

The current museum has long been considered overcrowded.

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