Road Trip 2012: Day 2: Havre Beneath the Streets, and Glacier National Park

James J Hill built in 1992 from donations in honor of James J Hill, railround tycoon, who founded Havre, MT as a Railroad hub. The DeRosa family was instrumental in getting the funding for the monument.

The placard about James J Hill and his famous quotes.

The small version of the DeRosa family donation placard.

Expanded version of the family placard with all the relatives names, notice Neil's name is spelled wrong (Neal), at least its the thought that counts!

Neil at the Frank DeRosa Havre Beneath the Streets Railroad Museum

Our tour guide for Havre Beneath the Streets, after a fire in 1904 burnt down a majority of the city, businesses took their shops underground in what would become an extensive tunnel system between stores and business. Many of these businesses included, the saloon, bank, postal service, bakery, butcher, pharmacy, lawyers office, funeral home, barber, bordello, opium den and Chinese laundry service.

These are tiles embedded in the sidewalks of Havre, which provided light underground for Havre Beneath the Streets. The tiles were originally clear, but a compound called manganese caused them to turn purple when exposed to light.

The view of the same tiles pictured above from underneath the streets. It is surprising how much light these tiny tiles allow through, even after 100+ years of wear and tear!