Entry No. 15 — the Butte file — filed under: outdoor
Light UP Butte: Illuminated Headframes
Scattered across the hillside above Uptown are the steel mine headframes — gallows-like towers from 99 to 200 feet tall, leftovers of the underground copper era. A volunteer effort has wired eight of them with lights, so after dark they glow against the dark ridge like a constellation of industrial skeletons. The Original and the Steward stand as twins facing each other across Main Street, and the whole valley becomes a free open-air light installation you drive or walk between.
The story
Miners didn't call these 99- to 200-foot steel towers 'headframes' when they were dropping thousands of feet into the dark—they called them gallows frames. The double meaning wasn't lost on anyone heading down the shaft to get the rock in the box. When the underground copper era ground to a halt, the heavy steel pulley skeletons remained bolted to the hillside overlooking Uptown, standing quiet over miles of flooded tunnels.
Starting around 2003, a community effort outlined the Travona frame in red LEDs, ignition for a project that eventually wired eight of the valley's surviving towers. Recent upgrades replaced the early single-color rope lights with programmable LED systems, allowing towers like the Original, Steward, and Anselmo to shift hues for holidays or pulse red and amber across the ridge after sunset.
The result isn't a gated museum or a packaged light show—it's an uncurated, open-air installation cast across an active town and industrial landscape. Standing on Main Street after dark, you look up between century-old brick buildings and see a scattered constellation of industrial bones glowing against the Montanan night sky.
What it's like
There are no tickets, no queues, and no turnstiles. You simply roll into Uptown after dusk or walk along Main Street, looking up between the buildings to spot the Original and Steward frames facing off across the asphalt. To catch the full loop—including the Anselmo and Travona—a brief driving circuit along the upper ridge roads works best; bring a heavy jacket even in summer, as the wind cuts cold across the exposed mining hill.
The move: Walk Uptown after sunset and trace the lit headframes from the Original and Steward down to the Anselmo, ending with cocktails nearby.
📍 Before you go Best experienced at night; the headframes are spread across Uptown and the hills, so a short driving loop plus a walk works best.
- 📍 Butte (Uptown)
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: Uptown Butte historic district, Butte, MT 59701
Hours: Added 2026-06-24 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- 51 Below Speakeasy — After tracing the lighted steel towers across the night skyline, head down a basement staircase under The Miner's Hotel for cocktails behind a hidden wall.
- Old Butte Historical Adventures - City Underground Tour — Tour Prohibition-era spaces buried beneath the Uptown sidewalks during the day before looking up at the illuminated structures that serviced those shafts at night.
- Spooks & Spirits Haunted Trolley Tours — Combine the eerie evening glow of the gallows frames with an after-dark trolley ride through Butte's haunted history and old mining neighborhoods.
Good to know
How much does it cost to see the lit headframes?
It is entirely free; the headframes are illuminated outdoor structures visible throughout Uptown Butte and from surrounding public streets.
What time do the headframe lights turn on?
The lights turn on automatically at dusk every evening and remain lit through the night.
Which headframes are included in the lighting installation?
Eight prominent headframes across the hill are lit, including the Original, Steward, Anselmo, Travona, Belmont, and Mountain Con.
Can you get right up close to the headframes at night?
Yes, public sites like the Original Mine Yard allow you to walk right up under the steel structure, while others are best viewed from public roadsides, trails, or nearby neighborhood parks.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · kxlf.com · mtstandard.com · montanarightnow.com · nbcmontana.com
last checked: 2026-06-24