BUTTE — Uptown Butte – with its historic buildings and landscape – is the kind of place filmmakers love.
“The fact that a majority of the buildings here still look like they did when they were built, and they’re really aren’t that many locations in the entire country where you can find that from a period standpoint,” said Montana Studios President Steve Grover.
This is just one reason why Montana Studios decided to locate its headquarters in the former NorthWestern Energy Building on East Broadway. The Hamilton-based film production company will use the entire 100,000-square-foot building for a sound studio, offices, plus apartments and condos.
“We’re heard there’s a ton of talent already here ready to go ready to work on productions,” said Butte Market Manager Maureen Porter.
They plan change the façade of the building to its original look. The company also says the building was left in great shape by NorthWestern Energy.
“The original build’s all the mechanical systems that have been updated over the last 20 years, so it’s not like we’re buying something that hasn’t been touched since the 1900s, it’s really been actively maintained,” said Grover.
Montana Studios officials say having their headquarters located here in Butte in a centrally located part of the state will be a benefit to those in the film industry.
“You can shoot just about anything, you can shoot high-desert, you can shoot mountains, you can shoot a lake scene, pretty much any of that is available within 100 miles from here,” said Grover.
Montana Studios plans to host an open house on Feb. 18th in their new headquarters to discuss future plans.
