Before It Held Fine Art, This Billings Museum Held Inmates Behind Bars

You can walk into the Yellowstone Art Museum in downtown Billings to see paintings, sculptures, and exhibitions from artists across Montana and beyond. But long before the building became a place for art, it was where Yellowstone County held people behind bars.

The building at 401 North 27th Street has been part of Billings history since the very beginning. Yellowstone County says its first jail was built there in 1884, and it served the county for 77 years before the jail moved to the eighth floor of the Yellowstone County Courthouse in 1961.

History of the 1884 Yellowstone County Jail in Billings

Billings was still a young railroad town when Yellowstone County built its jail. A 1976 publication from the National Endowment for the Arts described the original structure as a two-story red-brick building with a tile roof and partial basement. As Billings grew, two wings were added in 1916 to give the jail more room.

For decades, this was not simply a historic-looking building downtown. It was the working Yellowstone County Jail, complete with the everyday business of a growing county.

Inside the Old Billings Jail From Cell Blocks to Exhibition Rooms

The original jail included a partial basement and two above-ground floors. A Billings Gazette feature about the former jail documented original cells still inside the museum, along with old steel and brick, inmate writing on walls, and the former drunk tank.

That same report identified other spaces that had very different purposes before the building became an art museum. What is now the museum’s cloak room was once a judge’s chambers, Raven’s Café d’Art was once a courtroom, and the collector’s corner was once the jail’s drunk tank.

It is a pretty remarkable thought when you are standing inside the museum. Rooms now used for art, conversation, and community events once had a much heavier job.

Saving the Old Jail and Founding the Yellowstone Art Museum

When Yellowstone County moved jail operations to the courthouse in 1961, the old building was no longer needed. According to the National Endowment for the Arts publication, the county had planned to demolish it. Instead, local artists, businesses, labor groups, and residents helped persuade county commissioners to convert the old jail into an art center.

The Yellowstone Art Center opened in 1964, giving the old jail an entirely new purpose. The museum’s own history and timeline confirms it began inside the former Yellowstone County Jail that year.

The conversion was not a tiny project. The old cell blocks, toilets, and offices were removed, while new doors, wiring, lighting, floor coverings, restrooms, and a kitchen were added. The building that once held inmates became a place for exhibitions, classes, workshops, and community programs.

Exploring the Original 1884 Jail Structure Inside YAM Today

The Yellowstone Art Museum has changed and expanded over the years, but the old jail is still very much part of it. A Montana historic-preservation project description says the museum includes the original 1884 jail building, a 1914 remodel, and a major modern addition completed in 1998.

That same document says the original jail building now makes up about one-third of the museum, and its historic façade remains visible from the lobby.

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So the next time you visit the Yellowstone Art Museum, take a second to look around. You are not just walking into one of Billings’ best-known art spaces. You are walking into a building that has seen nearly 150 years of Yellowstone County history and somehow found a completely different second life.