A few years ago, we men of the family took a trip to Montana. When we returned, I put together a series of posts about our adventures. I was just skimming through the pictures and came upon one that I took in Lewistown, Montana. The town sits at the geographic center of the state. In fact, the exact center is next to the indoor pool at the hotel we stayed in. There is some tile work in the floor marking the spot.
However, it was not the pool area that interested me. My nephew and I took a stroll down the main street and took some pictures along the way. This one is my favorite.
The Judith is a movie house that sits in the middle of downtown. I have no idea how old it is, but, as we stood in front of it, I could imagine people of years past standing in line to buy a ticket. They had no idea that there would be a time when movies would have special effects like those in The Dark Knight Rises.
The idea of a 21st Century movie playing in an old theater intrigued me. It was as if we were caught in some time warp that even Batman could not find his way out of.
The name of the theater was also intriguing. I assume it was named for the Judith River that flows nearby. In Jeremiah Johnson, Bear Claw tells Jeremiah that if he leaves pelts by the river, then steamboats will take them and leave gold coins behind. I have no idea if that is historically accurate. Something tells me that it is just a cool movie line. I do know that if Jeremiah Johnson had been playing, then I would have bought a ticket. It would have been the appropriate thing to do.
We walked into the lobby to see how it looked. It was small but had a concession stand with all of the right candy. We even thought about watching The Dark Knight Rises but decided to keep walking down the street.
Eventually, we came upon a McDonald’s. Where can you go in this country without that happening?
SBI: A Thinning Crowd 