History

This morning I walked to school in the snow to teach my drawing class. When I got there a student told me that Boodles, a downtown restaurant, was on fire. As information trickled in via text messages and photos and the radio, we all learned that fully half a city block of downtown Bozeman had been obliterated by a natural gas explosion.
photo courtesy the Bozeman Daily Chronicle

It so happens that I had drawn the buildings in November. The spread I drew strangely depicts exactly the buildings destroyed: the Lily Lu building, the Montana Trails Gallery, Boodles and the Rockin' R Bar. (The American Legion building on the far right, while not destroyed in the initial blast, was later consumed in the ensuing fire from the gas leak.) I had also been drawing the south side of the street from directly in front of these buildings only a few weeks ago. As of this evening, one person remains missing. Considering the scale and power of the explosion in the heart of Bozeman on a weekday morning, I'm amazed there weren't more casualties. I have come to feel very close to these buildings over the past few months, so this is something of a shock. I'm not sure how I feel having documented the block just before its destruction. I expect it will take quite some time to clean up, and rebuild, if possible. Here's hoping they do.

Comments

  1. Gabriel CampanarioMarch 5, 2009 at 9:49 PM

    oh my, what a shocker. i can't imagine what might have gone thru your mind... what if the explosion had happened while you were sketching? i would send your drawing to the local paper, they might be interested in running it. it's now a unique historic record of even greater value

    ReplyDelete
  2. Paul HeastonMarch 5, 2009 at 10:50 PM

    Thanks Gabi. It's a strange feeling, seeing as how I've been thinking about these buildings so much lately.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMarch 5, 2009 at 11:08 PM

    Wow - this is amazing. Creepy, though - the cars even look similar to the ones that were there on the morning of the blast.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Crafted by Bairbre AineMarch 6, 2009 at 1:09 AM

    Indeed you do have a bit of history stored in that sketch book of yours now.

    Sad news, about the missing...
    Hopefully all will turn out ok.
    Full glass Lass~ Bairbre Aine

    ReplyDelete
  5. samhMarch 6, 2009 at 8:36 AM

    Thank you, Paul.

    ReplyDelete
  6. lapinMarch 6, 2009 at 10:35 AM

    so sad! amazing how it disappear…

    ReplyDelete
  7. manifestphilMarch 6, 2009 at 1:26 PM

    Here are a few more photos and videos after the Bozeman explosion.

    ReplyDelete

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