Helena, Montana

[JHoward88 38]

I have been tinkering with City Builders for almost two decades now, and still love them!  I used to spend a lot of time on this website back when SimCity 4 was still a new title.  Now, getting serious again with my city building hobby in Cities: Skylines, I felt it was time to get involved again with this online community.

I've started working on a detailed recreation of the Helena Valley in Western Montana (Home to about 70,000), where I currently reside.  I will share routine progress updates.  The goal in this case is to create - as much as possible - a realistic recreation of a real place, though I do give myself at least some allowance for artistic license.  😃

[JHoward88 38]

Progress is made on road networks in West Helena, East Helena, as well as the Fort Harrison area.  I also put some work into improving the accuracy of waterways representing the Helena Valley irrigation canal system and Prickly Pear creek.

[JHoward88 38]

Progress on road networks between Benton and Henderson in Northwest Helena - Also began work on Lewis & Clark County Fairgrounds.

[JHoward88 38]

Progress is made on South Helena, Montana City, and Clancy areas, as well as some of the dirt roads which exist in the south hills areas.  More streets in North Helena near the retail District have been drawn, and the Bill Roberts Golf Course is now represented. 

[JHoward88 38]

North West-Central part of the valley, primarily those areas south of Sierra Road betwewn Green Meadow Drive and North Montana Avenue now have completed road networks.  Additional portions of the Helena Valley Canal system and Ten Mile Creek were also added, as well as Spring Meadow, the final of Helena's three golf courses.  All of the city's bus lines have been completed as well, with stops positioned in their real-world locations.

Next come road networks for the Northwest portion of the valley in the vicinity of Lincoln Road, and representation of of the communities of Elliston on Highway 12, Marysville West of Lincoln, and York, which lies East of the Missouri River.  Additional road networks will be added on the east side of the valley north of York Road in the vicinity of Lake Helena.  Effort is taken to ensure that all churches, schools, fire departments, and post offices are also correctly placed and named to reflect their real-world counterparts. 

All streets in the game have been assigned their real-world names.  As soon as road networks are complete, focus will shift toward representing agriculture both aesthetically and economically; then on more aesthetic elements, traffic flow tweaks, and making sure the city's budget is balanced.  I also may revisit some areas to improve the accuracy of terrain height, especially relative to the downtown area, and residential neighborhoods which reside on. The hillsides below Mount Helena.

This project has been fun for me, as it has given me a practical reason for exploring all of the smaller details of Helena's town and topography surrounding my home, and a way to express that interest in a way which comes alive and can be shared with others!

The excellent community of custom content creators in the city builder world is absolutely incredible, and it is my hope that one day I will reach a point at which I may expand also my own involvement from city building at a macro level to more focus on detail, and maybe even some custom content creation of my own.  But for now, I am just happy to be back at it - reliving a little bit of that childhood excitement which I remember experiencing when I first loaded SimCity for the first time - and marvelling at the world alive inside my screen.

Soon, as the project progresses a little further, I will begin posting some side-by-side pics which show photos of real-world Helena in conjunction with those same locations within the model, and add a little bit of historical context to my posts, as well.

[JHoward88 38]

[JHoward88 38]

More roads are added in the Northwest valley, and extra road networks have been added to the outskirts of town which represent smaller neighboring towns such as Marysville, and Winston.  I still have a few roads, mostly around the edges of the map to add in, but now we are getting to the point where most roads are represented,  and I will be able to shift my focus to more general city management.

[JHoward88 38]

All roads in the valley have now been mapped and named.  Now I am focusing on adding agriculture to the central and western valley, and on increasing levels of population and industry.

[JHoward88 38]

A few final additions of surface streets throughout the valley were completed, and more agriculture was added.  

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A couple more night shots showing the whole cityscape and waterways.

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More farms and minor modifications added:  Trees and grass added throughout the map.

[JHoward88 38]

More wheat fields added on the east side of the valley near York Road; hotels and other minor modifications were also made along Prospect Avenue.  This concludes the major part of this project, as all roads are mapped, named, and all major areas in the valley are represented.  There remains, of course, a nearly limitless number of small modifications which may be added over time to add to the authenticity of this model.  But, such as she is today, this is about as close as one could hope to get - or at least, as close as anyone has ever come - to approximating a true to life 1:1 model of the Helena Valley.

[JHoward88 38]

The second major phase of my city story involves imagining Helena as it might have been if it had retained its position as a center of wealth in the west and become a larger city. 

Much as was the case with Las Vegas, Helena also has a rich history of transformative hydro-electric and waterworks projects, precious minerals mining.  That is why the next phase of this project aims to revive the picture of Helena as a major city, an destination oasis in the Rockies which pays tribute to wealth, railroads, and development made possible by major water reclamation projects.

Introducing fictional elements - A Las Vegas style Strip is being added, stretching from the Airport on Custer and down part of North Montana.  This is done without destroying any of the real world streets or infrastructure.  A monorail link servicing the entertainment and district is also added.

[JHoward88 38]

A few more buildings were added to the casino Strip area.  A spaceport area was also added near the airport.  Minor updates to realism included addition of more power lines throughout the valley in their true life locations, as well as placement of other props such as school buses, antennas, and cell phone towers.

[JHoward88 38]

A statue was added to Mount Helena overlooking the city.  More changes were made to the entertainment district, and a Tram Line which serves to connect bus routes and the monorail system with downtown and the capitol district via North Montana Avenue, 11th & Prospect, Broadway, Last Chance Gulch, and National Avenue.  An Arcology was also added near Park Lake.

[JHoward88 38]

Multiplatform train station was added, in addition to a new Tram line which connects the Helena Main Railway Station and Bus Depot area to East Helena.  A tour bus route was also added, which reflects the same approximate path as Last Chance Tour Train which actually operates in Helena today.

Two casinos were added along with a train station in East Helena.  Beyond the fictional addition of Tram Lines on 11th and Prospect, roadways were updated to reflect the correct three lane one way configuration which actually exists in those areas today.  The minor additions of a Skate Rink, Dog Park, and Playground add a few more real-world details to Centennial Park.

[JHoward88 38]

This week we added some wooden telephone poles streetside throughout various neighborhoods, especially those near Washington Street and Prospect.  The Great Divide Ski Area was added to the Marysville district, along with a Forest Arcology (Marysville was once home to 3,000 people at the peak of its gold mining era.  The presence of an arcology there in what would otherwise be a very small, mostly abandoned town imagines the rise of alternative industries, such as vertical farming.)

More road signs were added on North Montana Avenue, as well as a hot spring in the Broadwater neighborhood.  The truck stop north of Exit 200 on I-15 has also been added.  A subway line has been added which extends from Helena Regional Airport along Canyon Ferry Rd to the end of Custer Avenue with stops at Washington, Sanders, North Montana, and Henderson St.  Flora and additional development was added near the Lewis & Clark County Fairgrounds, now home to a major Stadium.

Some Saloons and Commercial development was added to State Street in an effort to pay tribute to the bygone era when it was (formerly bridge street) home to old Helena's night life scene.  The pedestrian mall on the south end of Last Chance Gulch was also expanded and widened, with future improvements for the downtown area in mind.

This project has aimed to paint a futuristic picture of Helena while also remaining faithful to the spirit of the real Helena as she is, and as she was.

[JHoward88 38]

We have made a rough draft of the city's metro map, depicting the city's three bus routes, tram line, monorail, subway, rail and interstate system.

[JHoward88 38]

Some new hotels were built at East Helena Station.  Additional detail was added to power line networks in the central valley.  High detail screenshots this week showcase the casino districts and recap the project overall.

[JHoward88 38]

Today we focus on a small update with the addition if a red light/night club district near downtown on State Street.

In real-world historic Helena,  State Street (formerly named Bridge Street) was home to a brothel district.  This addition pays tribute to that history.

[citybuilder234 37]

Awesome city!!

[JHoward88 38]

[JHoward88 38]

This week saw the release of Sunset Harbor, which allowed us to add fishing boats to Hauser Lake, An Electric Bus loop around the fairgrounds, an Elder Care Facility to the real world site of Eagles Manor, and a Pediatric Clinic on North Montana Avenue.  Helicopter service now connects the Airport to the Capitol District, as well as the north end of the Monorail Line near the Aria.  Zoo Montana - Home to Bison, Antelope, Elk, and a Bird House, was added to the Lewis & Clark County Fairgrounds site, as well as an Opera House, Expo Center, and Software Company Headquarters.

Northrop Grumman has added its regional headquarters near the base of MGM Grand, and additional flora and decoration was added to the Capitol Campus.  Bridge Street Red Light district added some detail, and a blimp service connection between the airport and fairgrounds was also added.  A private air field was added, also made possible by Sunset Harbor, which pays tribute to and is located at the real site of the Helena Flying Tigers' model aircraft landing strip near the Helena Valley Regulating Reservoir.  Transfer Stations were also added to their real world locations in Clancy and Montana City.

[JHoward88 38]

Minor updates this week - Saint Joseph's Catholic Church and a Fire Station were added in Broadwater County.  Columbia Center and a Multi Level mall were added to the Casino District.

[JHoward88 38]

Final update.  I want to get started on a new city project which will be built on the shores of Bristol Channel, near Somerset County, United Kingdom.

My Helena Model is now complete for the greater part.  Every street in the valley is mapped and named.  Hotels, Retail, and most of the city's major points of interest are also represented.  While I would like to keep the project alive - and it will remain in my save game archive - the number of assets which I subscribed to during its course eventually became prohibitive.  As I begin my new work, one goal will be to limit unnecessary custom assets as much as possible.

I have also tinkered with the idea of making a new, second Helena model in the future.  If I do, my goal will be to make city blocks larger and more spread out, with added focus on the city itself, as opposed to the entire valley.  In any case, this has been quite a fun thought exercise, and a wonderful opportunity to use Skylines as a way to express appreciation for my home town.

[JHoward88 38]

I am rebooting my Helena model.  My first Helena model, which has been showcased up to this point in this thread, was very heavily reliant on downloaded assets, and made an effort to map out the entire Helena Valley.  I have started rebuilding again from the building, this time focusing on the area in and immediately surrounding Helena's City Limits.  I am starting with an accurate Height Map and Imported Street Mapping to ensure accurate placement of roads, and an approximately 1:1 ratio throughout the entire model.  I'm also applying what I learned in my last model to improve my utilization of mods and downloaded assets for accuracy while avoiding unnecessary ones.

This week we get started with a view of Mount Helena's distinctive form which I know, as a resident here, looks very much like the real thing.  Next we move on to the two city blocks which contain my apartment complex, and the Intersection of Interstate 15 and State Route 12 (Prospect/11th Ave)  A view looking south toward the hills of Mount Ascension also appears in this post.  The chief objective of the new "Helena II" project is to recreate, in the most careful and authentic way, the actual city.  While I deviated from realism to imagine a Casino strip and various other changes in my last model, this one will be purely devoted to the real-world city.

Special thanks go out to all of the modders who have made the custom content which makes it possible for Skylines to be played and enjoyed in this way!

[JHoward88 38]

Block by block, a few more residential blocks in central Helena, and the track near the High School.

[JHoward88 38]

[JHoward88 38]

For comparison, a satellite image of what I'm currently working on.  A little slow, but definitely rewarding to see the similarity.

[JHoward88 38]

I did a little bit of work on the intersection of Lyndale & North Montana Avenue today.  This is one of Helena's busier intersections.