North Park in Billings in Yellowstone County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)

Actor Bill Hart Visits Montana Avenue - 1927

Historic Montana Avenue

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 15, 2020

1. Actor Bill Hart Visits Montana Avenue - 1927 Marker

Inscription. The famous cowboy movie star William S. Hart and his horse Fritz, are immortalized in the local statue "Range Rider of the Yellowstone." The statue, overlooking the city of Billings from atop the rimrocks, was dedicated on July 4, 1927, with Hart's friends, woolgrower Charlie Blair and former Indian agent Guil Reynolds, in attendance. A native of New York, Hart went west to Hollywood and starred in 65 silent films, the last being "Tumbleweeds" in 1925. When he died in 1946, he left his Hollywood mansion as a museum of western art and Hollywood memorabilia.

Erected by Downtown Billings Starts Here. (Marker Number 40.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment. A significant historical date for this entry is July 4, 1927.

Location. 45° 46.94′ N, 108° 30.148′ W. Marker is in Billings, Montana, in Yellowstone County. It is in North Park. It is on Montana Avenue (Business Interstate 90) near North 26th Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2600 Montana Avenue, Billings MT 59101, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Montana’s Yellowstone Country.

It is also in the American Mountain West

and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: George L. Tracy Building (here, next to this marker); Billings Implement Building (within shouting distance of this

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marker); Mills Durant Star Building (within shouting distance of this marker); The ARU Railroad Strike - 1894 (within shouting distance of this marker); Chief Plenty Coups Visits - circa 1921 (within shouting distance of this marker); Swift and Company Building (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Calamity Jane Visits Montana Avenue - 1894 (about 300 feet away); Price Motor Sales (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Billings.

More about this marker. Markers erected by Downtown Billings Starts Here are secure to streetlight standards and are only visible from the sidewalk provided they are not covered by a flower pot.

Also see . . . Range Rider of the Yellowstone -- SCVHistory.com. When William S. Hart began his film career in 1914, he initiated a fresh approach to Westerns that continues to influence the genre today. Although Western motion pictures were already very popular, for the most part they were exercises in mediocrity, filled with "impossibilities or libels on the West," according to Hart in his 1929
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 15, 2020

2. Actor Bill Hart Visits Montana Avenue - 1927 Marker
autobiography, My Life East and West. (Submitted on February 5, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.)

Two-gun Bill, William S. Hart image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Billings Gazette

3. Two-gun Bill, William S. Hart

"Range Rider of the Yellowstone" statue image. Click for full size.

Photographed by SCVHistory.com, October 26, 2014

4. "Range Rider of the Yellowstone" statue

Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on February 5, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 525 times since then and 17 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on February 5, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.