Meeting looks at ways to save Old Main
<p><strong>The Old Main</strong> building at the Montana Veterans Home in Columbia Falls in May 2015. (Aaric Bryan file photo/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
All veterans and other interested people are invited to a focus and planning group Tuesday for the purpose of saving, restoring and revitalizing Old Main at the Montana Veterans Home in Columbia Falls.
An Operation Save Old Main organizational meeting will be at 4 p.m. today in the upstairs conference room of Sykes’ Diner, 202 Second Ave. W., Kalispell.
Everyone is invited to come and hear about the building’s past, recent history and potential use. Organizations are also encouraged to send their representatives.
For more information or comments, contact Ron at 756-8791 or email ron.saveoldmain@gmail.com.
The Old Main building was the original Montana Soldiers Home and was finished in May 1896.
Old Main has 17-inch-thick brick walls and admitted its first patient on June 21, 1897.
It was initially used for Civil War veterans and served Montanans who had served in the armed forces until the 1970s, after which the building fell into disrepair.
Various efforts over the years have tried to repair and save Old Main.
Most recently the Columbia Falls Historical Society has been working to revamp Old Main and convert it into a museum.