Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, Art museum in Great Falls, Montana.
The Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art occupies the 1896 Romanesque Revival building designed by William White at 1400 First Avenue North. Its three-story gray sandstone walls, two rectangular wings and small central circular section were built for Great Falls High School; the eight-story clock tower was removed in 1916. Inside are two floors of galleries and an outdoor sculpture garden.
Great Falls High School was founded in 1890 after four teenage girls asked the city for a public high school education. The 1896 building, designed by local architect William White in Romanesque Revival style, was built of gray sandstone from quarries near Helena and Great Falls. The school moved out in 1931 and the building became Paris Gibson Junior High School; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in September 1976, and the museum took ownership in 1977.
The museum presents work from regional contemporary artists and highlights creations by craftspeople from Montana and surrounding areas. Visitors encounter folk art, abstract pieces, and functional artwork that reflect local creative traditions.
The museum occupies the block at 1400 First Avenue North, in Great Falls, Montana. Two floors of galleries and an outdoor sculpture garden can be visited; the sculpture garden is outside the building. The structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, so the exterior, including the gray sandstone walls, is part of the visit.
The clock tower was removed in 1916 because its weight was damaging the building. A brick annex by architect W.R. Lowery was added to the south side in 1913. A 1990s investigation traced the drowning of student Grant Mill in 1915 to the Missouri River, not to a pool in the basement as local legend claimed.
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