HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
An 1894 Butte bar where staff leave a barstool out to keep the peace
521 W Park St, Butte, MT 59701
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Standard bar and pizza menu pricing. No cover for a meal or drinks.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Ground-floor bar and pizza counter in an 1894 commercial building; the upstairs former residence is not a public dining area
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1894 · 1894 Campana Building · Butte-Anaconda National Historic Landmark District · Longtime student and local gathering place
The Campana Building at 521 West Park Street went up in 1894, during Butte's fast climb as one of the largest mining cities in the West. The Campana family ran a mercantile on the ground floor and lived in the residence above it, a common arrangement for merchant families of the period.
The building sits on West Park Street near the approach to Montana Tech, and over the years it shifted from a family mercantile into a bar and, later, a pizza operation. Today it runs as the Vu Villa Bar and Vu Villa Pizza, a fixture for Montana Tech students and Butte locals and one of the city's oldest continuously occupied commercial buildings.
Butte's Uptown is full of buildings like this one, where a single masonry storefront carries more than a century of mixed use. The Vu Villa's longevity, its student following, and its reputation for taco pizza have made it a recognizable local landmark well beyond its ghost stories.
Sources
The Vu Villa's haunting centers on the upstairs former residence, where the activity is said to be strongest, and on the bar below it. The reported phenomena are domestic and a little petty: papers scattered, bottles broken, and barstools found knocked off the bar top in the morning.
The best-known piece of the story is a workaround rather than a sighting. Bartenders in the early 2000s reportedly developed the habit of leaving one barstool down on the floor after closing, on the theory that it kept the resident spirit satisfied and cut down on the overnight mess. Some accounts tie the activity to the original Campana family owners, though the connection is folklore rather than anything documented.
The story circulates through Butte radio features, regional tourism listings, and at least one video that purports to show activity in the bar. As with much of Butte's haunted reputation, the appeal lies in an ordinary working bar carrying a long, slightly unsettling backstory.
Eat or drink at one of Butte's oldest operating bars, in the 1894 Campana Building near Montana Tech. The haunting is part of the local color rather than a ticketed attraction; ask longtime staff about the barstool tradition.
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