Idaho Building (Boise, Idaho)

The Idaho Building in Boise, Idaho, is a 6-story, Second Renaissance Revival commercial structure designed by Tourtellotte & Co.[2] Constructed for Boise City real estate developer Walter E. Pierce in 1910–11, the building represented local aspirations that Boise City would become another Chicago. The facade features brick pilasters above a ground floor stone base, separated by seven bays with large plate glass windows in each bay. Terracotta separates the floors, with ornamentation at the sixth floor below a denticulated cornice of galvanized iron.[3]

Idaho Building
The Idaho Building in 2018
LocationBannock and 8th Sts., Boise, Idaho
Coordinates43°37′01″N 116°12′03″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1910
Built byH. Ellenberger
ArchitectTourtellotte & Co.
Architectural styleLate 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Second Renaisance Revival
NRHP reference No.78001033[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 8, 1978

The building replaced Thompson's Livery barn at 8th and Bannock Streets.[4] The Chicago firm of H. Ellenberger was responsible for construction,[5] and the Idaho Statesman said of the building in 1911, "The architectural scheme is one of extreme simplicity, and the builder has given his work the appearance of massive solidity."[6]

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places December 8, 1978.[3]

History

Early tenants of the building included W. E. Pierce & Co.,[7] Pierce-Hopper Insurance Agency,[8] Boise Title & Trust Co.,[9] Senator William Borah,[10] United States Forest Service,[11] Joy Drug Store,[12] Ada County Attorney,[13] Wayland & Fennell,[14] Margaret Giles beauty parlor,[15] and the chairman of the local Republican Party.[16] Later, the Democratic Central Committee leased offices in the building.[17]

In 1969 the Idaho Building was considered for demolition along with other buildings in a 60-block area of Boise's historic core when a developer designed a large, outdoor shopping mall as part of a plan for urban renewal.[18] In 1970 the outdoor mall plan was adjusted to spare the Idaho Building,[19] but in 1976 the building was again slated for destruction.[20] The mall was not constructed, however, and the Idaho Building was preserved.

The building was renovated to include residential space above the second floor in 2000, and space in the building was leased to a Boise hostel from 2010 until 2013.[21][22]

Other buildings named Idaho Building

The Idaho Building in Boise is not the only structure named "Idaho Building." In 1913 an Idaho Building opened in Meridian, Idaho.[23] An Idaho Building represented the state of Idaho at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago; an Idaho Building won second place at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis; and an Idaho Building won a gold medal at the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland.

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See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. Tourtellotte may have been only a supervising architect, and some sources cite the design architect as Henry Schlacks of Chicago. Anna Webb (April 6, 2013). "150 Boise Icons: The Idaho Building". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho.
  3. Don Hibbard (June 14, 1978). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Idaho Building". National Park Service. Retrieved October 25, 2018. With accompanying pictures
  4. Mary Jenkins (March 25, 1976). "Dr. Hall, 86, Found Old Boise Exciting". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. p. 13.
  5. "Ten City Lots Involved in Big Deal". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. October 23, 1910. p. 2.
  6. "New Lead Set in Building Activity in Boise in All Classes of Construction". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. January 1, 1911. p. 8.
  7. "Moved to New Building". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. March 6, 1911. p. 3.
  8. "Advertisement". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. March 19, 1911. p. 12.
  9. "Advertisement". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. March 19, 1911. p. 13.
  10. "Mr. Haines Well Pleased". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. September 30, 1912. p. 11.
  11. "To Overhaul Business Block". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. February 7, 1911. p. 3.
  12. "Advertisement". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. February 9, 1911. p. 2.
  13. "County Attorney Moves". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. March 11, 1911. p. 3.
  14. "Will Move to New Office". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. March 9, 1911. p. 3.
  15. "Advertisement". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. February 21, 1911. p. 5.
  16. "Republicans Spend Quiet Day". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. March 18, 1911. p. 6.
  17. "Eighth Street Becomes Boise's Campaign Row". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. October 3, 1974. p. 14.
  18. David Zarkin (August 7, 1968). "Redevelopment Agency Receives Architects' Model, Plan for Revitalizing Boise". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. p. 27.
  19. "Operation Phoenix". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. June 14, 1970. p. 66.
  20. Rod Gramer (December 2, 1976). "BRA to Study New Mall Plan". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. p. 10.
  21. Katy Moeller (August 24, 2013). "Downtown Boise Hostel to Close Its Doors". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. p. 1.
  22. Anne Wallace Allen (August 20, 2010). "Youth Hostel Opens in Downtown Boise". Idaho Business Review. Archived from the original on January 8, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  23. Frank Thomason; Polly Ambrose Peterson (2010). Meridian. Arcadia Publishing. p. 98.

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