Missoula's 1921 'first skyscraper' theater, a longtime ghost-hunting site with reports of lights and footsteps
131 S Higgins Ave, Missoula, MT 59802
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
An operating cinema, concert and events venue. Ticket prices vary by event; check the venue calendar. The interior is accessible to ticket-holders during shows.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved downtown sidewalk; historic multi-story building
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1921 · National Register of Historic Places (1979) · Missoula's First Steel-Framed High-Rise · Historic Theater and Concert Venue
The Wilma opened in 1921 on Higgins Avenue in downtown Missoula. It was built by William 'Billy' Simons and dedicated to his wife, the light-opera singer Edna Wilma, whose stage name gave the theater its title.
Norwegian architect Ole Bakke, with assistant H. E. Kirkemo, designed the building in a Chicago-school style with steel-frame construction and ornate interior trim. The theater anchored an eight-story complex — the first steel-framed high-rise in Missoula — that also held a 1,400-seat hall, banquet and restaurant space, apartments and offices. For years it was the tallest building in the city.
The Wilma was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 31, 1979. After decades as a movie house, it was restored and now operates as a cinema, concert and events venue, programmed by Logjam Presents. It hosts independent films, live music, comedy and festivals such as the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.
The building remains one of downtown Missoula's signature landmarks, both for its architecture and for its long second life as a performance hall.
Sources
Among Missoula's haunted buildings, the Wilma is one of the most frequently cited. Coverage of the theater's paranormal reputation describes ghost lights and the sound of footsteps in the rafters, reported over many years by people working in and visiting the building.
The accounts have made the theater a recurring target for ghost-hunting groups, who treat the century-old hall — with its catwalks, balconies and back-of-house spaces — as a classic investigation site. The reports are atmospheric rather than tied to a single documented death: lights and footsteps with no named figure behind them.
For a building that has operated as a theater and gathering place since 1921, the lore reads as the accumulated reputation of a large, old performance hall. Visitors encounter the Wilma as a working cinema and concert venue; the ghost stories are part of its character rather than a staged attraction.
Attend a show at the restored 1921 theater, which now operates as a cinema and concert venue hosting films, live music, comedy and festivals including the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. Tickets are sold per event through the venue. The building's reputation for ghost lights and footsteps in the rafters is part of its lore, not a separate tour.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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Prominent businessman Angus A. McDonald built this two-story masonry theater in 1891 to entertain the silver-mining towns of Philipsburg and nearby Granite. It is described as Montana's oldest operating theater. Renamed the Granada Theatre in 1919, it later screened films for decades and continues today as a live performance and movie venue.
Bozeman, MT
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Detroit, MI
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