3rd Avenue North, Great Falls, Montana



This is the Sea Captain's house.

Actually, I'm calling it that, but it isn't really a captain's house--sea or otherwise.

You know how once you get an idea in your head, it's hard to shake it? I'm out to sea and have got a whole narrative working for this one. But once I show you the inside, you will hopefully sea where I'm coming from.

There's the wallpaper in the foyer hall that reminds the captain of nets brimming with fish...


...his treasures brought back from the Far East...


...the quirky chandelier that reminds him of briny sea creatures and smuggled rum bottles...


...and the motto he lives by: 


Help me out, Latin scholars. Virtue, glory, action?

There's also a porthole window by which the captain likes to dry his hair and pretend he's feeling a sea breeze:


There are lots of things about this house that made me think of a sea captain, but this beautiful dining room fell a bit short of that nautical brief:


If our captain was Captain Jack Sparrow/Johnny Depp, I think he'd go for this redesign:

{Kelly Wearstler}

After all, we know he likes funky chandeliers, and the lamps look great with the black & white floor.

Or, if our captain is more of the Captain Daniel Gregg/Rex Harrison type, he might go for this:


By the way, Brian del Toro could also update the captain's hair drying space. I'm guessing that would be more of a Johnny Depp captain thing.


In reality, this Mission Revival home in Great Falls, Montana was built for a doctor, not a sea captain, as is noted on this historic walking tour brochure:


It has 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, and is 5,460 square feet. Here is Gibson Park, the view from the balconies:


Great Falls takes its name from the 5 waterfalls in the Missouri River, which cuts through the city. Apparently when Lewis and Clark were charting the territory in 1805, they could hear the roaring falls from 7 miles away. 


Maybe it was the roaring of the falls that caused my captain kick. I guess he would have to be a riverboat captain instead of a sea captain, which still doesn't explain the sea creature light fixture. All I know is, whatever other updates occur, I hope that stays with the house.

The listing is here.


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