Missoula Peace Sign

In 1983, folks from the north side of Missoula, who called themselves the Northside Liberation Front decided to paint a peace symbol on the face of an enormous communications panel that sat at the crest of the North Hills overlooking Missoula. Over the years, it was painted over by the Communications Company and re-painted by its avid fans many times. It sparked both love and admiration from the peace community as well as negative comments from those concerned with open space, with veterans opposed to the peace sign and others concerned about its nature as graffiti. Occasional “signs of the times” graffiti messages occasionally appeared as well as bullet holes and the fire retardant doused on the area during a wildfire.

In the end, the Communications Company removed it in May of 2001 because the technology was outdated and there were many concerns over liability by them and the city of Missoula. Nine Peacekeepers stepped forward and agreed to care take the nine pieces until such time as they could be reunited. Each piece measures 5’ by 8’ by 12” thick and weighs about 200 pounds. Needless to say, reuniting the sign has been a popular conversation over the years and many discussions were held with the Peacekeepers and the community. Having the sign installed at the back of the Peace Center makes sense. It is a place many people go to learn about the history of peace in this community.

Thanks to the donations of many of our members and a generous grant from the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula, the Missoula Peace Sign was installed on a bare wall in the alley behind our Center in the summer of 2021, 20 years after it was taken down. You can learn more about the history by viewing the film, Beyond The Divide, available at the JRPC. And we certainly hope you will come by and visit when the Peace Sign!

In 2022 JRPC worked with Jay Concannon of Agile Solar to install solar-powered LED lighting to illuminate the sign after hours so it can be viewed at all hours of the day.