When the Antlers had bowling leagues on its second floor, some of the town's kids worked as pin setters. By one longtime resident's account, the job earned real respect from other kids their age. In Granite County History's "Tidbits about Philipsburg Saloons," she writes that a pin setter "had to be fast, accurate and able to get out of the way of very high speed bowlers to avoid serious injury."
You can still see where the lanes' pin-setting machinery ran on the back wall upstairs at 128 E. Broadway. Starting Friday, Oct. 23, that room is open to the public again. The Philipsburg Arts Fund is opening "Light, Land and Local Hands" there, a juried show of Montana artists. The group calls the show the first phase of a plan to make the old bowling floor its long-term home.
The lanes that Bill Crncivich built
The building is older than the bowling alley by about six decades. The history page on Zia's website says 128 E. Broadway went up in the early 1890s as the McLeod Building. J.C. McLeod's shoe store was on the ground floor, with offices and apartments upstairs. Since then it has housed a movie house, a soda fountain, the bowling alley, bars and cafés, and in 2012 it became the Silver Mill restaurant.
The same Granite County History post says who put the lanes in. Bill Crncivich, known as "The Greek," owned the Antlers, the first tavern you reached heading west on Broadway from Montgomery. He and partners Lum Wanderer and Roddy McRae built a bowling alley on the second floor. It "became very popular in the community and created numerous bowling leagues." After Crncivich sold, the Antlers passed through several owners: Phil and Dean Salois, Ron McComber, Pat Carlin, Joe Braach, David McRae and Judy Loobey. Later the ground floor was renovated into Montana John's Silver Mill.
That's why the building goes by several names. The Silver State Post & Philipsburg Mail calls it the Zia's, Silver Mill or Antlers building, and the bowling alley dates to the 1950s, when the Antlers ran that floor. Zia's own site currently says the restaurant "is moving and currently under construction," and its mobile operation, Zia's Walk Up, is out around town this fall. If you're going to the show, find it by the address and the suite number.
What's left of the bowling alley
The Arts Fund kept the room's history in place. According to the Post's reporting, visitors will find:
- The original lane platform, still in place on the floor.
- The pin-setter marks on the back of the space, where the lanes' machinery used to run.
- Old bowling seats, balls and pins, which the Arts Fund plans to bring out for a junior gallery area.
- A large neon piece by Ben Kenealey of Dillon, which was set up lit in front of the old bowling area and is going behind the gallery's bar for opening night.
The junior gallery fits the show, which was juried in two age groups: Junior, ages 10 to 17, and Adult, 18 and up.
Who's in the show
Bob Koch proposed the show after he joined the Arts Fund this year. He's an artist with a background in film animation. He told the Post he wanted a community event where young artists could hang their work next to established ones, and he wanted to push back on a narrow idea of what Montana art looks like.
"People believe what a Montana artist is, is they're the ones that do the typical 'Cowboy and Indian,' the grizzly bear, the elk kind of paintings. But there's a whole rest of us that are artists that do a diverse range of work."
Koch said that to the Silver State Post. The selected work includes neon, textiles, traditional painting and sculpture. The show was open to artists from anywhere in Montana. Submissions were due Sept. 25, artists were notified Oct. 5, and artwork delivery was scheduled for Oct. 19.
The opening night lineup has a western flavor. Ben Larson and The Moondocks play the Oct. 23 reception. The Arts Fund's page on Larson describes his work as western folk and cowboy poetry built on stories of rural Western life. He has self-published four albums, three nonfiction books and two poetry collections. Larson's website lists the band as Larson on lead vocals and guitar, Jason Pfahl on percussion and vocals, and Paul Gorsuch on banjo.
The Arts Fund is also running a silent auction of about a dozen items donated by community members. The money goes to future programs and to work on the space.
The three weeks, night by night
Public hours are Thursdays through Sundays, 1 to 6 p.m., from Oct. 23 through Nov. 13. The gallery is at 128 E. Broadway St., Suite 200. That gives three full weekends to drop in, plus two evening events:
| Date | What's happening | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 23 | Opening reception and awards, music by Ben Larson and The Moondocks | 6 to 9 p.m. |
| Oct. 23 to Nov. 13 | Public viewing, Thursdays through Sundays | 1 to 6 p.m. |
| Thu., Nov. 12 | Closing reception with Open AIR artist-in-residence presentations | 6 to 9 p.m. |
| Fri., Nov. 13 | Last day of the show | 1 to 6 p.m. |
Nov. 12 brings Brussels to Broadway
The closing night ties the new gallery to a residency the Arts Fund already runs. Through Open AIR's Philipsburg residency, which it hosts with the Arts Fund, visiting artists get workspace in town and are asked to lead community workshops. This fall's residents are both from Brussels. Their residency has support from the Philipsburg Arts Fund and Blackfoot Communications.
- Catherine Lemblé is a Belgian photographer. Her book Only Barely Still reimagines Svalbard, the Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic, through the lives of the women who live there.
- Frederik Daem is a writer who created the 2024 TV series Putain. He's working on a novel about vandwelling.
Open AIR's event page calls the venue "The Philipsburg Center for the Arts." It lists the presentations as part of the 6 to 9 p.m. closing reception and offers an optional registration form. Snacks will be provided, and all are welcome. That page also posts two slightly different times for the talk itself. Plan on the 6 p.m. reception start and you won't miss it.
Why these three weeks matter for what comes next
The Philipsburg Arts Fund has been around much longer than the gallery. Its website says it's an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) that started in 1997 as Philipsburg Performing Arts and took its current name in 2006. Koch told the Post that the town is already known for its music and events, and that the gallery would give its visual arts a year-round home.
So far the Arts Fund has a lease for the exhibition only. It's working on a proposal for a longer tenancy with the building's current owners, Jeremiah and Annie Smith. The show is phase one of three. Here's what the later phases would add, according to the Post:
- Office space for the Arts Fund.
- Small studios that local artists could rent.
- Workshop rooms, plus an open area for performances and community events.
- Art, dance and music instruction for children and adults year-round.
The building would see some work too. The owners plan to reopen small windows along one wall to let more natural light into the gallery. Koch also mentioned a possible exterior elevator to make the second floor easier for older visitors and people with disabilities to reach. He said that would take significant grant funding. The Arts Fund hopes the leftover bowling features and the building's history will help it qualify for historic preservation grants.
That's why the lane platform and the pin-setter marks matter. The pieces that make the room feel like the old Antlers could also help pay to keep it open. What the junior artists and the opening-night crowd see on Oct. 23 is the start of a longer plan for the upstairs, and the silent auction proceeds go toward work on the space.
Old buildings like this one interest us for the same reason they interest the Arts Fund. Joszie spent years in construction, finishing and design, and a back wall that still shows where the pin-setting machinery ran tells you a lot about how a building was used and what it can be used for next. If you own an older building in Granite County, or you're thinking about buying one, and you're wondering what its history is worth today, Joszie and Jason Driear are happy to talk it through over coffee on Broadway. Get in touch.
