Idaho Building (Boise, Idaho)

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Idaho Building
Idaho Building (1).jpg
The Idaho Building in 2018
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LocationBannock and 8th Sts., Boise, Idaho
Coordinates 43°37′01″N116°12′03″W / 43.61694°N 116.20083°W / 43.61694; -116.20083 (Idaho Building) Coordinates: 43°37′01″N116°12′03″W / 43.61694°N 116.20083°W / 43.61694; -116.20083 (Idaho Building)
Arealess than one acre
Built1910
Built byH. Ellenberger
ArchitectTourtellotte & Co.
Architectural styleLate 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Second Renaissance Revival
NRHP reference No. 78001033 [1]
Added to NRHPDecember 8, 1978

The Idaho Building in Boise, Idaho, is a 6-story, Second Renaissance Revival commercial structure designed by Chicago architect, Henry John Schlacks. [2] (The National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination Form lists Tourtellotte and Hummel as building designers, but "Tourtellotte may have been only a supervising architect... [3] ) 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. [4]

Contents

The building replaced Thompson's Livery barn at 8th and Bannock Streets. [5] The Chicago firm of H. Ellenberger was responsible for construction, [6] 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." [7]

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places December 8, 1978. [4]

History

Early tenants of the building included W. E. Pierce & Co., [8] Pierce-Hopper Insurance Agency, [9] Boise Title & Trust Co., [10] Senator William Borah, [11] United States Forest Service, [12] Joy Drug Store, [13] Ada County Attorney, [14] Wayland & Fennell, [15] Margaret Giles beauty parlor, [16] and the chairman of the local Republican Party. [17] Later, the Democratic Central Committee leased offices in the building. [18]

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. [19] In 1970 the outdoor mall plan was adjusted to spare the Idaho Building, [20] but in 1976 the building was again slated for destruction. [21] 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. [22] [23]

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. [24] 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.

See also

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Nampa and Meridian Irrigation District Office U.S. historic building

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T. J. Jones Apartments U.S. historic building

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John Tourtellotte Building U.S. historic building

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C. H. Waymire Building U.S. National Register of Historic Places

The C.H. Waymire Building in Boise, Idaho, is a 2-story, cement block structure designed by Tourtellotte & Co. and constructed in 1909. The building housed Waymire Grocery, a neighborhood market.

Reclamation Service Boise Project Office Historic building in Boise, Idaho, USA

The Reclamation Service Boise Project Office in Boise, Idaho, is a 2-story, L-shape Bungalow with entry at a porch on the inside corner. Finished in 1912, the building is constructed of brick with corbels separating basement, first, and second floors, and it includes segmented arch window openings. The low pitched roof includes four dormers.

J. N. Wallace House Historic building in Boise, Idaho, USA

The J.N. Wallace House in Boise, Idaho, is a 2-story, shingled Colonial Revival house designed by Tourtellotte & Co. and constructed in 1903. The first floor features a veneer of random course sandstone, and shingles of various shapes decorate the wraparound porch and the second floor. Deep, pedimented gables with dormer and dimple windows characterize the roof. Outer walls on the porch and second floor are flared. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

M. J. Marks House Historic building in Boise, Idaho, USA

The M.J. Marks House in Boise, Idaho, is a 2+12-story Colonial Revival house with "bungaloid features" designed by Tourtellotte & Hummel and constructed in 1911. The house includes random course sandstone veneer on first-story walls with flared second-story walls veneered with square shingles under a low pitch hip roof. Room sized porches are a prominent feature of the design.

W. A. Simpson House Historic building in Boise, Idaho

The W.A. Simpson House in Boise, Idaho, is a 2-story Bungalow designed by Tourtellotte & Co. and constructed in 1909. Sandstone veneer covers first floor outer walls, and the second floor is veneered in stucco. The house shows a Tudor Revival influence with half-timber decorations above the sandstone. An attic dormer faces the 10th Street exposure, and the roof depends on a single, lateral ridgebeam. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Franklin School (Boise, Idaho) Historic building in Boise, Idaho

Franklin School in Boise, Idaho, was a 2-story, brick and stucco building designed by Tourtellotte & Hummel and constructed in 1926. The school featured a flat roof with a decorated concrete parapet. The school was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1982. In 2009 the building was demolished.

Meridian Exchange Bank Historic building in Meridian, Idaho

The Meridian Exchange Bank in Meridian, Idaho, was designed by the Boise architectural firm of Tourtellotte & Co. and constructed in 1906. Charles Hummel may have been the supervising architect. The 2-story, Renaissance Revival building was constructed of brick and sandstone by contractors Allen & Barber, and it featured a corner entry at Idaho Avenue and Second Street. The ground floor entry and a Second Street entry to the second floor both were framed by shallow brick pilasters supporting simple stone capitals. Four corbelled brick chimneys extended above the second floor parapet. The Meridian Exchange Bank and a barbershop occupied the ground floor, and the Independent Telephone Exchange rented the second floor. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1982.

E. F. Hunt House Historic building in Meridian, Idaho

The E.F. Hunt House in Meridian, Idaho, USA, is a 1½-story Craftsman bungalow designed by Tourtellotte & Hummel and constructed in 1913. The house has an unusual roof design, with a lateral ridgebeam extending beyond left and right gables, hip roofs on either side of a prominent, front facing gable, and a lower hip roof above a cross facade porch. Double notch rafters project from lateral eaves and from cantilevered window bays with shed roofs below the side facing gables. Narrow clapboard siding covers exterior walls. The front porch is supported by square posts with geometric, dropped caps. Tourtellotte & Hummel had used the square post decorations in other Bungalow houses, and a more elaborate example is found on the porch of the William Sidenfaden House (1912) in Boise. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. Webb, Anna (2013). 150 Boise icons : to celebrate the city's sesquicentennial. Boise, Idaho. ISBN   978-0-9764718-5-1. OCLC   859861106.
  3. 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.
  4. 1 2 Don Hibbard (June 14, 1978). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Idaho Building". National Park Service . Retrieved October 25, 2018. With accompanying pictures
  5. Mary Jenkins (March 25, 1976). "Dr. Hall, 86, Found Old Boise Exciting". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. p. 13.
  6. "Ten City Lots Involved in Big Deal". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. October 23, 1910. p. 2.
  7. "New Lead Set in Building Activity in Boise in All Classes of Construction". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. January 1, 1911. p. 8.
  8. "Moved to New Building". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. March 6, 1911. p. 3.
  9. "Advertisement". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. March 19, 1911. p. 12.
  10. "Advertisement". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. March 19, 1911. p. 13.
  11. "Mr. Haines Well Pleased". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. September 30, 1912. p. 11.
  12. "To Overhaul Business Block". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. February 7, 1911. p. 3.
  13. "Advertisement". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. February 9, 1911. p. 2.
  14. "County Attorney Moves". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. March 11, 1911. p. 3.
  15. "Will Move to New Office". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. March 9, 1911. p. 3.
  16. "Advertisement". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. February 21, 1911. p. 5.
  17. "Republicans Spend Quiet Day". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. March 18, 1911. p. 6.
  18. "Eighth Street Becomes Boise's Campaign Row". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. October 3, 1974. p. 14.
  19. David Zarkin (August 7, 1968). "Redevelopment Agency Receives Architects' Model, Plan for Revitalizing Boise". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. p. 27.
  20. "Operation Phoenix". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. June 14, 1970. p. 66.
  21. Rod Gramer (December 2, 1976). "BRA to Study New Mall Plan". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. p. 10.
  22. Katy Moeller (August 24, 2013). "Downtown Boise Hostel to Close Its Doors". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. p. 1.
  23. 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.
  24. Frank Thomason; Polly Ambrose Peterson (2010). Meridian. Arcadia Publishing. p. 98.

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