Fly-by history: Aerial photos show decades of growth in Billings
The Western Heritage Center has collections of Billings photos throughout the years. Several photo groups are aerial photographs of Billings from the 1930s to the 1960s. The Western Heritage Society provided copies of several different areas to The Gazette.
Billings Gazette Chief Photographer Larry Mayer (also a pilot) took similar pictures in December 2017 of the same areas. Billings Gazette Editor Darrell Ehrlick helped identify the locations and angles. Using a photo comparison script called JuxtaposeJS Digital Editor Chase Doak was able to overlay the photos for these side-by-side comparisons, including photographs of Billings’ downtown, Rocky Mountain College campus and the two large hospitals.
Drag the slider between the old and new photos to view the whole pictures.
Billings Polytechnic Institute (Rocky Mountain College)
Deaconess Hospital and Cobb Field
Downtown looking south
East end
Fairgrounds
Pioneer Park
Rocky Mountain College and Veterans Park area
St. Vincent Hospital
Sugar refinery
Eastern Montana Normal School (MSUB)
Billings Airport
Downtown looking north
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