Heart of Missoula

(central Missoula)

Location: North of the Clark Fork River and south of the railroad tracks. East from May Street, including East Broadway all the way to Easy Street

Character: Urban center

Features: Downtown Missoula, Brennan’s Wave, Carousel for Missoula, Dragon Hollow, Missoula Art Museum, Missoula Public Library

Parks: Caras, Bess Reid, Kiwanis

Click here to view pdf map of Missoula Neighborhoods

Beating With Life
Heart of Missoula neighborhood is a cultural, economic, and residential center

By Greg Martin for Real Estate Marketplace

Krista Miller Larson/For Real Estate Marketplace The three new artistically designed light boxes are in the Heart of Missoula Neighborhood. Nelson Kenter’s work is on the corner of Van Buren and East Broadway; Bev Gluekert’s painting is on the corner of Spruce and Orange; and Molly Murphy’s light box is on Madison and East Broadway

When you think about Missoula landmarks, it’s likely that some or all of the following come to mind: the Wilma, the Courthouse, the Carousel, St. Patrick’s Hospital, the Millennium Building, Caras Park, the Oxford and the Florence Building. All of those well-known Missoula institutions belong to just one of the 17 Missoula neighborhoods – the Heart of Missoula.

True to its name, the Heart of Missoula neighborhood captures key downtown areas including all of North Higgins and its array of local businesses. It’s where the Missoula Downtown Association is based and it’s home to the frenzied Saturday morning market activity of the Farmer’s Market and the People’s Market. From the northeastern end of North Easy Street to the old train tracks just past May Street, the neighborhood is about three miles in length. It runs north along the river with East Broadway and North Higgins as its major thoroughfares.

Vibrant, popular community events are held in the Heart of Missoula from First Friday and Out to Lunch to the International Wildlife Film Festival and the River City Roots Festival. In fact, so many prominent community events take place there, it can be easy to forget that there’s also rich diversity of residential housing and apartments. For many, the proximity to that community energy is why they choose to call it home.

“There’s easy access to the river and the university,” said resident Lynn Redding. “You can easily go to downtown events of which there are many. It’s really wonderful for the markets.”

Redding is a leader on the Heart of Missoula Neighborhood Council that just recently worked with the Missoula Public Arts Committee on phase two of the traffic signal art design project. Three of the nine new light boxes that were decorated over Memorial Day Weekend were in the Heart of Missoula neighborhood. Redding said the project was a good way to add character to something that can be bland and utilitarian.

“Now they become pieces of art that you can stop and look at while waiting to cross the street,” she said.

The Heart of Missoula’s neighborhood council strives to have regular meetings, Redding said, and some are even aired live on Missoula Community Access Television. Currently, the neighborhood is focusing on street and parking improvements to make getting around easier and to encourage safe travel. One area of primary focus, Redding said, are safety improvements on East Broadway which was the site of the tragic fatality of two local high school girls in late December last year.

Redding said the neighborhood councils are good vehicles for residents to have a say on what happens in their community. And the meetings that the Heart of Missoula Neighborhood Council puts on usually include city officials or other guest speakers with knowledge of neighborhood and community planning. While Redding said there are several active members in the council, she really would like to see more involvement from residents. Of particular interest, she said, are renters who make up a large share of the neighborhood.

“Perhaps some renters don’t realize that they can be involved and that we want that,” she said.

To learn more about how to get involved in your neighborhood council, go to the City of Missoula website and search for “neighborhood councils” or contact Neighborhood Liaison Erin Scott at 552-6081.

Greg Martin is a freelance writer for the Missoulian Advertising Department.