New seats for the Montana Theatre

On March 4, 2021, we (John and Jennifer Goff) purchased the Montana Theatre. Seeing the theatre sit empty for so long had been weighing on us. As active members of the Miles City community, we are vested in helping our town and it’s historical preservation. Growing up, this theatre brought us immeasurable joy and our children have come to love it as well. We hope to bring some magic back into the Main Street business district. 

Our goal for the theatre is to make it a community gathering place. It is a beautiful piece of history and we want to make it into something Miles City can be proud of. When the theater first opened, it was a “Magnificent Amusement Palace” as quoted from the Miles City Daily Star on September 22, 1936. The canopy and neon sign were second to none in the region at the time. It’s time to restore it to some of its former glory.

We have been working with "The Barn Players," a local theatre group, to give them a home on the small stage in the front of the building. For that to happen, we will need to split up the current layout into multiple screens. We have decided on making it into three screens. It will consist of one large and two smaller cinemas. This will allow the front stage to be used for movies as well as live entertainment.

New seats have been on everybody's mind for years! Yes, we want to change the seats too. The cost of one seat alone is around $500, with shipping and installation. That can add up fast! The plan is to have the two smaller theatres outfitted with new seats. That would bring 100 new and more comfortable chairs.

We have been working diligently on improvements the last 5 months. It may seem like it has been at a snail’s pace, but here is a list of what we've been doing:

• tore down the old concessions area to uncover the original grand staircase
• cut a hole in the office wall to make a new concessions area
• cut a hole in the room next door to make a party rental room
• installed a new roof, no more leaks!
• tore out the massive 1936 swamp cooler to make room for new A/C’s
• tore out the two defunct boilers
• installed new HVAC systems
• spent many hours cleaning and de-cluttering
• cleaned the ceiling of many years of dust
• painted, painted and painted some more
• uncovered the beautiful original green terrazzo floor
• painted the marquee
• replaced four windows
• fixed transformers in the sign to light up the "Montana"
• framed an ADA bathroom
• researched everything and anything
• planned and designed with sdi architects for months

Our next feat is to tackle the electrical system and the divider walls. To bring this theatre into the modern era, new power will have to be brought in.

We want to thank the community for supporting us this far! We hope to open as soon as possible, though we don’t have an exact time-frame yet.