Looking northwest from the top of the Palace Hotel, about 1920. The Missoula County Courthouse, designed by Missoula architect A. J. Gibson and completed in 1910, stands surrounded by both single- and multiple-family residences, with few businesses. Visible to the left is St. Francis Xavier Church, Loyola High School, and Sacred Heart Academy. St. Patrick’s Hospital is to the left out of the photograph. (94-1556, R. H. McKay Photographs, K. Ross Toole Archives, The University of Montana—Missoula)

Much changed by a 1966 addition, the original portions of the courthouse have been restored. Most of the housing structures in the area are now businesses and offices. The Lenox Hotel was restored as affordable housing in 2000. Sacred Heart Academy was demolished in 1979 when it merged with Loyola High School and moved to Edith Street. St. Francis and its associated Catholic Block buildings remain, but their future is in question. St. Patrick Hospital has expanded considerably, responding to the growing medical needs of western Montana, with a new hospital in 1984 and the Broadway Building in 2000. (Photo by Marcy James, 2007)