Since 1999 the Montana Historical Museum Staff, the Montana Historical Society Board of Trustees, interested Helena promoters, and Society members from around the state have been actively evaluating sites for the construction of a Montana Heritage Center.

The interested parties have acknowledged the need for more space to house the Society's valuable and growing collection of artifacts, art, photographs, and archival materials. They also agree that additional room is needed to interpret the history of Montana, to exhibit the art collections, to create educational programs for students of all ages, to house the Historic Preservation Office, and to provide adequate room and up-to-date equipment for researchers.

During the past year, Richard Sims, Director of the Montana Historical Society, has been traveling the state, seeking advice from local people on their expectations for a state museum. Overwhelmingly they have responded that they would like to see a Montana Heritage Center created with resources invested in establishing a strong outreach program to provide museum services to support local programs.

The people of Helena have expressed the desire to build a Heritage Center that adds to the amenities that make Helena a destination city. That requires an adequate, accessible, aesthetically pleasing, site-related structure.

The investment in a Heritage Center will be large. Although the state Legislature has committed funds for the project, it is clear that most of the money will be raised in the private sector. The fund-raising record for cultural projects in Montana indicates that there is a limited pool of private resources for funding projects on the scale of the proposed Heritage Center. When considering the money required for the project, planners need to recognize that other state and local institutions will also be seeking funding for their projects. We do not want to invest in a building that overtaxes our resources and becomes a financial burden that constricts rather than enhances the state's variety of history and cultural programs.

After evaluating several sites, the long-range planning committee under the direction of the State Architect has recommended the Capitol Complex site for the Montana Heritage Center. The Historical Society's Board of Trustees agrees. The Board of Administration should accept this recommendation.

The location of the Heritage Center within the landscape of the Capitol enhances the project's aesthetic and interpretive attributes. While the city includes many fine historic homes, gives great support to the arts, and has a colorful mining, commercial, and banking past, Helena is primarily known as Montana's capital city, and the Capitol provides a focus for interpreting the state's history.

With an extraordinary effort, Montanans could raise the money to complete the modest project proposed for the Capitol Complex. We would gain adequate room to house the museum's fine collections, exhibit space worthy of the collections, and space and equipment for educational activities and research. At the same time we would be creating a museum program that provides improved resources for supporting local historical societies and educational institutions throughout the state. By capitalizing on its primary historic site -- the Capitol -- Helena gains an enhanced tool to encourage people to visit.

I urge you who are committed to seeing the Montana Heritage Center become a reality to support the planning committee and the Historical Society Board of Trustees in their recommendation. And when the Board of Administration has acted, I urge you to join the Trustees in raising money to complete the project.

Frank R. Grant, Ph.D., is a Montana historian and former director of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula.