West Entrance to Miles City
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Posted by David Schott (+19067) 3 years ago
Gary Coffrin sent me this photo from a historic post card of the west entrance to Miles City. Gary did not know the date of the photograph nor the post card.

Note the gateway pillars and sign. Was that erected as a WPA project when Connors Field was constructed? Anyone know when it was taken down?

Note the small, stone archway to the right of the right sign pillar. That pedestrian path led to the tourist cabins that used to be located about where the tennis courts are located today.

Note the faux lighthouse/beacon on the Beacon Carter gas station. Anyone know when that was taken down?



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+11
Posted by Dick Ellingson (+1415) 3 years ago
I had forgotten about Carter Gasoline. Thanks for the memory.
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Posted by Amorette Allison (+12830) 3 years ago
Yes, the arch was part of the Riverside Park fence/Denton Field WPA project. It was taken down around 1950 because trucks got taller. Shipley, who owned the Beacon Carter, had a contest with the next gas station down the street over prominent signage. After the "lighthouse" was constructed, the next gas station conceded.
The pedestrian arch survived into the 1960s at least, because I remember it. I know a few more random details if you are that desperate.
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Posted by David Schott (+19067) 3 years ago
A few more pictures that I received from Gary Coffrin. Henry Selbman gets credit for the photo of the "Tourist Camp". Burch Palmer gets credit for the photos of the sod-roofed cabins.






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Posted by David Schott (+19067) 3 years ago
It's my understanding the Henry Selbman "Tourist Park" photo (the photo with the rectangle box "cabins" and cira ~1920s automobiles) was located about where the Miles City Municipal Tennis Courts are located today (just southeast of the Main Street Bridge over the Tongue River). The stone pedestrian archway would have led to this campground area.

The sod-roofed log cabins, I believe those were built for the "town" of Elkville which was built in Riverside Park for the 1909 Montana State Elks Convention. The cabins would have been relocated to the site near the Legion Hall Building where they are in the photos above.
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Posted by Wayne White (+259) 3 years ago
Doesn't the pedestrian arch resemble the arch for the entrance to the tourist park, I wonder if it is the same.
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Posted by David Schott (+19067) 3 years ago
Reply to Wayne White (#380326)
Yes, it is the same arch. I think this arch was for a pedestrian walkway that led to the "Tourist Park" campground. I don't believe it was intended for motor vehicle traffic as it's pretty small -- maybe about a 9-foot clearance at the highest point under the arch.
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Posted by Amorette Allison (+12830) 3 years ago
Those cabins were from Elkville and were used as 'veterans' housing at one time. Seriously. People LIVED in them. I assume there was an outhouse or communal toilet somewhere.
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