A new mural by Montana artist Rilie Tané now wraps around the west exterior wall of the old Angry Hank’s Microbrewery building at 2405 First Avenue N. in downtown Billings. The mural was completed with support from a 2026 Big Sky Economic Development Space2Place Grant.
The building, originally a former service station/mechanic’s garage, is owned by HomeFront and is the active shop location for our Downtown Billings Business Improvement District (BID) Street Team. HomeFront set out to revitalize the building’s aging exterior by partnering with a local artist on a mural that reflects the character and stories of the community.
“It’s an opportunity to support local creativity while strengthening a space that’s already doing important work. We’re grateful for the investment in projects like this that help turn everyday places into meaningful community landmarks.”
Jessica Moorhead, HomeFront Director of Operations
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The Space2Place Grant covered $4,000 of the project’s $7,500 total cost. Now complete, the mural makes the property more visible, welcoming, and connected to the community. The colorful mural features a portrait of Robert Majerus, a stunt double who appeared on the series Yellowstone and lives in Roundup, Montana. The image is based on a photograph by Mysti Longway, which Tané had saved on her phone for years, waiting for the right project. In fact, the hat in both the mural and photograph is made by D. James Hats, a local custom hat maker based right here in downtown Billings.
“When Jessica asked me if I would paint it for them, she told me that she had complete trust in whatever I chose to paint and let me get creative with it. The only ask that they had was that I make the colors go along with the other mural across [the alley] from it.” said Tané.
Tané spent about 50 hours on the piece, which continues onto the building’s north wall. She is no stranger to large-scale mural work, having painted the giant bison mural on the Grand Building at N. 27th Street and First Avenue N. where Jake’s Downtown is, rehabilitated several downtown ghost murals, and created other notable murals across Montana.
About HomeFront
HomeFront is the local Billings Housing Authority that develops, manages and facilitates affordable housing throughout Billings. They create paths to self-sufficiency and homeownership for families and individuals with moderate and lower incomes in the community.
About Space2Place
Space2Place is a creative placemaking micro-grant competition for Yellowstone County. Big Sky Economic Development introduced this program in 2018 to activate and beautify public spaces, one small project at a time.
