Sights

The Depot Center (200 W. Park St., 406/ 222-2300, www.livingstonmuseums.org [1], 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Mon.–Sat., 1–5 p.m. Sun., late May–late Sept., $3 adults, $2 children and seniors) is a well-curated historical, cultural, and art museum housed in the historic Northern Pacific Railway Depot. The depot was built in 1902 and resembles an Italian villa. The park next to the depot is the site of many summer festivals.

The other historical museum in town, the Yellowstone Gateway Museum (118 W. Chinook St., 406/222-4184, www.livingstonmuseums.org [1], 10 a.m.–5 p.m. daily June–Aug., 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Tues.–Sat. Sept., $4 adults, $3.50 seniors, $3 children 6–12) is tucked into an old schoolhouse and a hundred-year-old Northern Pacific car across the tracks from downtown. (Cross the tracks at B Street or 5th Street; the museum is two blocks from the tracks.) Among the displays are a room devoted to railroading, many items from Yellowstone National Park’s early days, a display dedicated to Calamity Jane [2], and a bicycle collection. This is Park County’s historical museum, and it houses the county archives.

At the Fly Fishing Discovery Center (215 E. Lewis, 406/222-9369, www.livingstonmuseums.org [1], 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Mon.–Sat., noon–5 p.m. Sun. June–Sept., 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Mon.–Fri. Oct.–May, $3 adults, $2 seniors, $1 children 7–14), exhibits focus on the history of fly-fishing (check out the beautiful vintage rods and reels) and fish ecology. One exhibit room is devoted to an incredible collection of flies tied by master fly-tiers from around the world. The Fly Fishing Center’s best perk is a series of free summertime fly-casting lessons held on the center’s front lawn each Tuesday and Thursday evening, 5–7 p.m. Equipment is provided for people who don’t have their own.

Livingstonians ran amok in the late 1970s, listing every eligible site on the National Register of Historic Places. There’s great pride taken in the restoration of downtown buildings to their original Western look, and it does look splendid. Look for elaborate brickwork and faded signs painted on the sides of the downtown buildings. Don’t neglect the residential streets. Yellowstone Street, three blocks west of Main, was a tony address around the end of the 19th century. The east side of town, near G Street and Callender, was the figurative “other side of the tracks,” where the blue-collar railroad workers lived. To round out the tour, visit the 300 block of South B Street. The four matching houses on the east side of the street were once Livingston’s [3] brothels.