In this on the Road RV Lifestyle report, we take you to Montana's Hi Line Country and the town of Havre.
When a devastating fire in December 1904 destroyed most of the above ground buildings, townsfolk had nowhere to go but down. So they developed an underground city. Today, the historical underground is open again, this time for tourists, showing what it is like.
Come along with us in this video! Havre and the historical underground is a perfect RV stop!
The tour of the underground starts…aboveground, walking the downtown streets over what appears to be a mural of sorts, made up of little blocks of glass. After you make your way down a flight of stairs beneath the streets do you realize that the murals are really skylights, illuminating the darkened alleys, rooms and hallways of the underground city.
Think of this as a century old underground shopping mall built under the streets to provide shelter to the local businesses and shoppers as the over ground city was being rebuilt from the fire during that long cold winter.
Havre was a pretty rambunctious town back then, very much wild west, with hard drinking cowboys, rowdy railroad workers and plenty of bawdy pastimes. Throughout its history, this underground expanse has been home to a saloon, restored to its original appearance… a bordello, which is also pretty much as it originally was, a Chinese laundry mat, a drugstore, at least three opium dens and rooms used for smuggling alcohol during Prohibition.
More respectable businesses have also been down here and the tour consists of original and embellished exhibits, all carefully chosen based on old photos and historical accounts. There’s a dentist’s office, a bakery, a meat store, even a funeral parlor.
The tour takes about an hour and is staffed by knowledgeable volunteers. Tickets are $15 for adults, $13 for seniors. It operates year round .
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