So, you think you know Missoula?

Think again.

The Downtown Missoula Partnership presents for the sixth season, ‘Unseen Missoula Guided Walking Tours’, where residents and visitors can learn about the seedy underbelly of Missoula’s past.

A Chance to Learn about Missoula's 'Seedy Underbelly' of the Past

KGVO News spoke to Program Director Brandon Dewey about the tours, aptly titled ‘Basements and Back Alleys’ and ‘Hotels and Hooligans’.

“We just launched our sixth season of the program,” began Dewey. “Part of what unseen Missoula was started to do was to connect so much of the Missoula community to the downtown place and the history that's happened here from the 1890’s through the 1900’s.”

'Basements and Back Alleys' and 'Hotels and Hooligans' Tours

Dewey started with the ‘Basements and Back Alleys’ tour.

“This one covers south of Broadway,” he said. “It's called our Basements and Back Alleys tour and talks a lot about the built environment in that neighborhood. It goes into the basements of a handful of buildings that we have exclusive access to. It's not necessarily an underground tour. That's often a misconception, but it is something that covers areas that the public doesn't typically get to see.”

Dewey then moved to the ‘Hotels and Hooligans’ tour.

“Our Hotels and Hooligans Tour is north of Broadway and that covers the railroad district and what the railroad meant to downtown and how Missoula developed over the years because of the railroad, some of the seedier stories and goes into some crime and that sort of thing with the courthouse. So there are two very different stories, but tied together through what downtown is.”

But Wait, There's Another Even More Risque Tour on the Way

Dewey said a third tour is in the planning stages that will highlight Mary Gleim, the legendary madam who operated bordellos in the old west days of Missoula.

“We're also excited to offer the third tour this season that we've just developed, hopefully by late spring,” he said. “We'll have that live and that will cover the restricted ‘red light’ district which was kind of the West Front and Main area of downtown and that will cover the Mary Gleim stories. It will also highlight how minorities lived in Missoula throughout the time period, and should be really interesting. It builds off of that Basements and Back Alleys tour quite well.”

Take care, because you may not want to return to the present.

The tours are $15 per person and tickets can be purchased here.

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