Electric City Community Mural

During Artsfest MONTANA in 2020, with support from NeighborWorks Great Falls and a grant from the American Association of Retired Persons, residents and community members were brought together to create this bright and colorful community mural, "Electric City." The artists involved in ArtsFest MONTANA 2020 each created a portion of the mural, and the community was invited to participate. Individuals ranging in age from 2 to 85 assisting in the installation of the community mural. The artists involved were Sheree Nelson, Fasm, Mister Toledo (mister_toledo), Leaf Argotti (@leafargotti), Wes, Tommy, Pawn and Cameron Moberg. The mural's title refers to a nickname for Great Falls, which refers to the massive electric generation created by the five nearby hydroelectric dams on the Missouri River. It also reflects on the fact that the copper that was smelted at the Boston and Montana and then Anaconda Smelter in Black Eagle created the wiring to literally wire the United States. 

When the Lewis and Clark Expedition first encountered the Great Falls of the Missouri in 1805, the travelers were in awe of the power of the seven cataracts they viewed. In less than 100 years, five of the Great Falls of the Missouri were dammed to create hydroelectric power, which fueled the development of the City of Great Falls and the nearby Smelter. Visitors can view the dams from the River's Edge Trail, the North River Road overlook, the Giant Springs Road overlook and by driving to Ryan Dam/Island, northeast of the city. Ryan Dam is the site of the "Great Falls" viewed by Meriwether Lewis.