No, I'm not in... but my plot is!

Hiya,

I have lived here (Missoula) for quite some time, so I will help if I can. There isn't much in the way of business towers in Missoula, the largest buildings simply aren't that large. There are plenty of out of the way places to live in woods, in fact drive a few miles in any direction and you can find long driveways with various homes in the woods. The big thing as far as day-to-day is the University which means there is a thriving community of college students here and because Montana is so sparsely populated Missoula has a retail footprint larger than towns its size normally have (people come from a greater distance to shop) anyway ask a way. I am sure there probably are specifics to your story that might make it easier for me to give you answers.

Craig

the Ceretana might have a good vampire tower. It's an old grain mill converted into artists studios and a gallery. There is a really creepy tower that no one is supposed to go into .

http://www.myspace.com/ceretana

:)

*laughs* see, I would have made my first blunder without even starting to write.
Thank you for the information!

I'll def poke you on nano mail with some questions soon, Craig :)

And thanks for the great idea, Debbie! I'll have a look at that, looks fun ^.^ Though I'm in doubt if "creepy" is what my vampires are looking for. More like financial analysts :P They're not that creepy as vampires usually are, I'm afraid.

I'll poke you guys again if I find more questions.
Anything peculiar only to Missoula? Like any festivals, something that only your area has?

^.^ seeing as it's started: have fun writing everyone!

Cin

What about that bank building they built next to Costco? It's not a tower, exactly, but it's decent sized. Missoula is full of banks. I swear, they seemed to be constantly building the darned things when we lived there. It's an awesome place, with lots of parks and wooded areas, and I always thought it'd be a great setting for an urban fantasy/paranormal-type book.

I am seriously missing Missoula right now.

Good luck with your story, Cin! :)

Missoula misses you, too, April!

As for creepy locations around town...on Russell St, between Broadway and 3rd, there's this massive expanse that has been under construction for the past 4 years (which is how long I've been here -- who knows how long it's actually been like that!). Sketchy, methinks.

The city is in a valley surrounded by mountains. Stuff could happen on said mountains. And the mountains just beyond the ones that range the city are wooded, so excellent for hiding. The woods also host some nifty wildlife, including mountain lions, grizzlies, and coyotes in addition to fun stuff like rams and whatnot.

There are also lots of alleys. I'm not used to seeing them, so I think they are simultaneously cool and creepy.

www.kitchencourage.com

Don't forget the awesome bridges over the Clark Fork. It's a beautiful, medium- wide river (good fishing and tubing!) and there's no less than three bridges that span it. You can cross by foot over top, or underneath on the foot bridges. There's a Russel Street bridge, Higgins street bridge (with old spooky foot bridge underneath, and my personal favorite, the foot bridge off Van Buren near an Alberston's strip mall thing, that leads from town over to the college. Not cars on that one..

Bank buildings are perfect, thanks, Ashenrose :)
And the area did look perfect for my setting. (at least on google maps, which is as close as I got *blushes*)

And an area being built for years? Very sketchy, Poet, and a great setting for a few of my ideas. Thanks a bunch :)

I love the tidbids of info I get from you guys, and while I am still missing the Trolls for said bridges, Jessica, I'm now having a rabid plot bunny in my head for a sequel. You're evil! I have just finished the first chapter for this one and now I'm thinking of a sequel. *laughs* Will have to write that rabid bunny out and file it away for later.

I think I'll actually settle for a bank building for the Vamps. It fits so well, and they're used to some style. But the building site is a good secondary location to hide things, me is thinking. Great, actually. I'll have to mull it over :)

Kisses from the rainy and therefore perfect writing weathery Germany

Cin

One more thought! There's a theatre on Higgins (just before a bridge ;) called the Wilma. It's a historic building and there's some apartment housing above it (I believe...back me up, more recent Missoulians?) ...Might be a cool locale because it's right on the main drag...a lot of the popular bars, shops, restaurants and coffee shops are viewable from that strip. Good spot for hiding/looking out >)

*sets out traps for the plot bunnies*

Jessica, I'd totally hand out some of my bunnies, because with all this info they're multiplying like hell ;P

That def sounds like a great location. Is it still open with shows or is it 'just' an old building that's protected from being ripped down?

The Wilma is actually a movie theatre, and it's alive and well, just old. They usually show independent or more risque films that aren't likely to make it to the mainstream Missou theatres. (Saw 'Brokeback Mountain' there when it came out a few years ago.) But the inside looks more like a beautiful old opera house than a movie theatre, and there's little hallways, stairs leading to private rooms and such, and a light-up marquee outside.

Just up the block over the bridge is a live theatre called the Crystal. It's teeny tiny with a restaurant/bar in front, and a house that maybe seats a hundred people. Can't remember if there are apartments there but it's definitely a cool spot...

The Wilma is still open and hosts concerts, fashion shows, film festivals, and shows independent films regularly.

I think it might also make an excellent haunted location!

www.kitchencourage.com

Yeeees....that :D

Oh, there's also 'hiking the M.' There's a small mountain...hill, just on the edge of the college part of town. There's a zig-zag trail up to the top where there's a big white 'M.' It overlooks the town and if you live in Missoula, you've probably been up at least once. It seems like there's Always someone on the trail, no matter what time of day or night. It isn't a wooded spot...lower bushes and grass and rocks.

The Wilma Theater has been mentioned and beautifully described...

Did you know the basement used to be the city morgue? (Our info source is an employee at the state crime lab, so I'm taking that as pretty reliable.)

Das

The Wilma would make a good hide-out, but it is kind of well-known around Missoula. Also, it smells like rat urine. But it's right next to Caras Park, which is like our city's plaza where a lot of get-togethers are held. It's also right next to the Carousel of Missoula.

The M was mentioned before, I see, but there's also the L. It's a giant L on a different mountain. The M is located on Mount Sentinel, and the L is on Mount Jumbo. There used to be more letters (one for each high school) but they were taken down due to vandalism. The L stands for Loyola High School, the only private Catholic High School here.

Missoula is also called "Zoo Town", for short.

The Southgate Mall is probably the main hangout for teenagers. It's the biggest mall in Western Montana. Also, once a year during August, we have a huge fair at the Fairgrounds. It's a really important event for all of us.

If you need any more information, send a PM my way. I'm a teenager who has lived in Missoula my entire life, so if you need any teen-related information I'm sure I can help :D

Wow guys, this information is really amazing, thank you :)

I probably won't bring in the Wilma into this installment, but it sounds like a grand place for either my ghosts or the Fae should I ever decide to write on >.> one tiny story at a time, right? *laughs*

And honest, the city morgue? Now why would they put a city morgue under a theater?
It's even better for ghosts now, but wth? *laughs* I can't see why that would be practical. Did they run out of basements?

And the info with the letters is grand ^.^ Pity some were ripped down, but I can see why it would be a great thing to do, and the identification is there, isn't it?

I put my "Tower" now in a two story bank building (with seven stories undgerground :P ). I think underground towers would suit Vampires. They're not big on sunlight anyways ^.^
Are there earthquakes in the area? O.o That would suck for them ^.^

Now the Mall sounds like a spot where I want to have some scenes with the kids. it'd be great to get some more info about it. I'll throw a PM your way, Sleipnir.

Thanks so much for taking the time to give me information, guys. I really appreciate it. :)

Hugs from Germany!

Cin

Another place of interest is Greenough Park, a heavily wooded area surrounded by homes and apartments. The park was a donation to the city by a prominent Missoula family many years ago. The Greenough Mansion sat on the southern tip of the park until the early 1960s, when it was moved across town and up into the South Hills, where it became a popular restaurant. The mansion was destroyed in a fire some years ago, but a new restaurant, Shadows Keep, was built on its site.
Greenough Park is full of trails that a wolf pack might find fun for playing in during the dark hours.

Cool :) That sounds like a great spot.
Especially with that name. Shadows Keep. You can do a lot of fantasy ideas with a restaurant called Shadows Keep... *catches her plot bunnies before they multiply like mad again*

Thanks a bunch :) I think I'll put it in, sounds way cool.

Well, what I can tell you is that Missoula is basically a college kids' town. The farther out you get from it the more residential like it gets, but in the main downtown you find all sorts of neat buildings and college hang outs.

Unfortunately, Shadow's Keep is now just called The Keep. The former owner -- whose nickname was "Shadow" -- sold it a couple of years ago to one his employees. The former employee/new owner changed the name.

My sister work there, and I've been in many parts of the building. If you still want to use it, let me know and I can provide more details about what it looks like and how it' s laid out.