page_title: Helena, Montana
section_title: 1980s–present
hierarchical_section_title: Helena, Montana / History / 1980s–present
caption_attribution_description: English: Algeria Shrine TempleThe Algeria Shrine Temple, completed in 1921, was built by the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine both for their use and for public events in Helena. George S. Carsley and Charles S. Haire, prominent architects of the era, designed this Moorish Revival building. Its minaret rises seventeen stories, and its façade six. Upon completion, the auditorium was ninth-largest in the nation, seating 2,608 people. The ballroom accommodates 500 dancing couples. The fire station, a 1939 addition, carries out the polychromatic design of the exterior brick. Severe damage by earthquakes in 1935 was beyond the financial means of the local Shrine to repair, yet the facility remained in demand for public use. The City of Helena purchased this structure in 1938, when it became the Civic Center, housing city government departments until 1979. The citizens of Helena, through local government and a Civic Center Advisory Board, have worked for the renovation and preservation of this building that serves many cultural needs of the Helena community. This is an image of a place or building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States of America. Its reference number is 88000434
context_page_description: Helena is the state capital of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County.
  Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold rush, and established in October 30, 1864. Due to the gold rush, Helena would become a wealthy city, with approximately 50 millionaires inhabiting the area by 1888. The concentration of wealth contributed to the city's prominent, elaborate Victorian architecture.
  At the 2010 census Helena's population was 28,190, making it the fifth least populous state capital in the United States and the sixth most populous city in Montana. It is the principal city of the Helena Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Lewis and Clark and Jefferson counties; its population is 81,653 according to the 2019 Census Estimate.
  The local daily newspaper is the Independent Record. The city is served by Helena Regional Airport.
context_section_description: The Cathedral of Saint Helena and the Helena Civic Center are two of Helena's many significant historic buildings.
  Many Working Helenans (approx. 18%) work for agencies of the state government. When in Helena, most people visit the local walking mall. It was completed in the early 1980s after Urban Renewal and the Model Cities Program in the early 1970s had removed many historic buildings from the downtown district. During the next decade, a three-block shopping district was renovated that followed the original Last Chance Gulch. A small artificial stream runs along most of the walking mall to represent the underground springs that originally flowed above ground in parts of the Gulch.
  The Archie Bray Foundation, an internationally renowned ceramics center founded in 1952, is just northwest of Helena, near Spring Meadow Lake.
  A significant train wreck occurred on February 2, 1989, in which a 48-car runaway freight train slammed into a parked train near Carroll College, setting off an explosion that blasted out windows up to three miles away, causing most of the city to lose power and forcing some residents to evacuate in subzero weather.
  With the mountains, Helena has much outdoor recreation, including hunting and fishing. Great Divide Ski Area is northwest of town near the ghost town of Marysville. Helena is also known for its mountain biking. It was officially designated as an International Mountain Bicycling Association bronze level Ride Center on October 23, 2013.
  Helena High School and Capital High School are public high schools in Helena School District No. 1.
  In 2017, Helena voters elected as mayor former Liberian refugee Wilmot Collins, who was widely reported to be Helena's first black mayor. The Independent Record reported contested research indicating that in the early 1870s one E. T. Johnson, listed in the city directory as a black barber from Washington D.C., had been elected mayor, before Helena became an incorporated town.
caption: The Helena Civic Center in 2012.
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