Look for a grand, red-brick mansion with ornate white trim and a steep, slate-gray roof-just ahead, with intricate porches and a flourish of Victorian elegance that’s pretty hard to miss!
Now, as you stand here, let’s wander back to the 1880s-the air thick with ambition, the streets echoing with the clatter of mining boots, and rising above it all, this almost magical mansion, hand-built for William Andrews Clark, the famous Copper King himself. It took four years to finish this whopping 34-room residence, and Clark didn’t just want a house-he wanted Butte’s swankiest palace. Imagine frescoed ceilings above your head, chandeliers glowing with both gas and (newfangled!) electricity, floors crafted from woods shipped from around the world, and stained-glass windows catching the Montana sunlight. Every fireplace and staircase here was hand-carved with the kind of detail that would make even the fussiest ghost feel right at home. Since 1953, the Cote family has kept this place alive-and if you want a taste of history, you can even book a bed and breakfast stay or join a tour, especially when summer entices curious visitors. The mansion and its stories have inspired books, including a bestseller about Clark’s mysterious daughter Huguette-proving that the real treasure here was never just copper or bricks, but the eccentric lives inside these grand old walls.
