Our second look at Missoula. I begin with no idea what’s next, since I snipped these and set them aside a while ago.

Verrrry interesting.

This has all the hallmarks of something from the late 40s, I think. Or somewhere around there. The beige hue, the shape of the metal cladding, something about this says 1947 or 1951.

KGVO. Still broadcasting. Talk / news format. Call sign meaning, says Wikipedia: Key to Golden Values and Opportunities.

Age has revealed the old bones.

The sadness of bygone modernism.

Proof of a proud and prosperous time:

The midblock addition looks prosperous, and also hews to a simpler style: the rusticated stone replaced by brick, with an ornate cupola to assure you they weren’t skimping on anything. No expense spared!

From the slather-and-smother era of downtown rehabs:

How many Higgins do we have? Twenty six?

It’s the address.

HOLY SMOKING JUDAS

What a strange and beautiful apparition. It’s as if a piece of Miami suddenly appeared on the streets of a Montana town.

Offices and retail:

I wonder if there was a time when the locals thought this wasn't stylish. Or if there were some who never liked it at all. Or, more likely, if most people had no particular opinion about it one way or the other.

WILLLLLL  MMAAAAAAa

Its bio:

The Wilma was built in 1921 by William "Billy" Simons and dedicated to his wife, light opera artist Edna Wilma. Designed by Norwegian architect Ole Bakke and his assistant H. E. Kirkemo, the steel-framed highrise features hallmarks of Sullivanesque architecture.[2] Wilma is part of an eight-story complex that was the first steel-framed high-rise building in Missoula, and includes the main 1400-seat hall, a lounge, three banquet rooms, a restaurant, apartments and offices. The theater interior is decorated with Louis XIV Style gilt trim.

As originally built, the basement housed a swimming pool, the "Crystal Plunge". Condensation proved incompatible with the structure, and the pool closed within ten years. It now serves as additional storage space.

I’d like to know more about that; wouldn’t you?

Then there’s the Chapel of the Dove.

Long may it glow.

Two brothers:

The structure on the left has some design elements that set it apart from its neighbor:

Zig-Zag Moderne Indian. You don't see a lot of that.

Finally: gummint.

A remarkable city, and from the looks of things, one that pushes on with some amount of spirit and success. I'm sure its subreddit is full of young men in IT or retail who hate it but can't quite seem to muster the initiative to leave.