Roofline Arc, Bozeman, Montana

I will forever be amazed by the quality of materials and attention to detail exhibited in what are now historic buildings - well, at least historic in reference to the relatively young age of the United States. Compared to other regions of the world, our western-region building is still classed as new construction. Click here to see a 1932 photo of the Romney Gym, still on the Bozeman, Montana, campus of Montana State University.

Nighttime Drama, Missoula, Montana

Visit any Montana town that's a historic county seat (please do) and you will find at least one building - the courthouse - boasting architectural finery. Missoula, Montana, has many impressive structures, including the Missoula Mercantile, which is undergoing restoration.  I love that during the early days of what were essentially frontier towns, the founding fathers found it important to construct solid yet elaborate buildings. Maybe this was their visible projection of hope for a prosperous and important future. After all, you didn't typically settle in the wild west unless you were cocksure full of some sort of optimism.

Old Courthouse At Dusk, Kalispell MT

The old Courthouse in Kalispell, Montana, is hard to miss if you go into town, since traffic splits directions to go around it.  I always feel like it's the grand welcome to the historic downtown.