That was one of, if not the 1st galaxy I ever managed to find, it was one of the 1st i looked for... Just having a quick look here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M104 it's closer to 30 Mly away, not quite 50, but you got the order of magnitude right anyway.
Have you seen "stargate" just near the sombrero? it's about the coolest asterism in the sky.