The Beauty of Butte

Butte’s eclectic architecture juxtaposes the cultures, classes, and ideas that made Butte one of the most cosmopolitan cities anywhere in America. It was either “the ugliest town in the world” (Time magazine, 1928) or “the most pictorial place in America” (Joseph Pennell, 1916). But either way it reflected its diverse human facets a century ago, just as its surviving buildings today reflect its diverse and complex history.