Boise's Historic Preservation Districts

  • East End

    East End Historic District

    East End

    EastEndThe East End Historic District is a thirty nine block residential neighborhood of predominantly single family dwellings. With access provided by Jefferson Boulevard and Warm Springs Avenue to the south, the area developed through a series of subdivisions beginning in 1890. 

    The neighborhood was connected to downtown by Jefferson Boulevard, running east to west, ultimately renamed McKinley. The presidential streets including Franklin run northwest to southeast and the tree streets intersecting northeast and southwest. The most rapid growth in the district occurred in the first ten years of the twentieth century, extending to 1940.

    The predominant architectural style in the district is the Craftsman bungalow, represented by 127 homes or 29 percent. There are a mix of other styles present including Queen Anne cottages, American foursquare, and a handful of Mission Revival/Spanish eclectic. There are no large clusters of contributing structures, rather they are scattered throughout the district.

    East End Historic District Map

     

  • North End

    North End Historic District

    North End

    NorthEndThe area known as Boise's North End was the City's first "suburban" development. Its first neighborhood, platted in 1878, was a small area covering only a few blocks between 9th and 13th Streets, from Fort Street north to Resseguie. But beginning in 1891, speculators began purchasing land in earnest, beginning a 25 year intensive building boom.

    The North End was generally developed as a working and middle class neighborhood, hence the preponderance of modest bungalows; but the area is also unique for the mixture of housing stock that can be found there.

    North End Historic District Map

     

  • Hays Street

    Hays Street Historic District

    Hays Street

    HaysThe Hays Street Historic District comprises almost twenty-two blocks in the northern half of the Original Boise Townsite. The district was originally a residential neighborhood developed most intensely at the turn of the twentieth century. Fifty percent of the present buildings in the district were constructed prior to 1912.

    Although originally primarily a residential neighborhood, the Hays Street District currently contains a mix of land uses, and the base zoning districts allow for multi-family and office uses. Large and modest single family homes, as well as apartments, earlier known as boarding homes, churches and schools were historically built in the district. Over the years, many of these homes were converted to new uses as offices or demolished to make room for surface parking lots. This mix of land uses and the predominately residential scale of the Hays district provide a transition from the more intensely commercial downtown and State Capitol Campus to the more single-family North End Historic District.

    The district contains a wide range of architectural styles with a number of buildings designed by the architect J. E. Tourtellotte and the successor firm. The Queen Anne architectural style is the most common with twenty percent of the buildings. Also represented are Colonial Revival, Craftsman, and Minimal Traditional, among others.

    Hays Street Historic District Map

     

  • Warm Springs Avenue

    Warms Springs Avenue Historic District

    Warms Springs Avenue

    WarmSpringsThe Warm Springs Avenue neighborhood began to emerge in the 1890s, soon after Kelly Hot Springs, for which the street was named, were tapped to provide water for Boise's fire hydrants. The prominent owners of the water line built their mansions on the street, pumping in the natural hot water from east of Table Rock for use in their homes; these were among the first houses in the world to utilize geothermal sources for heat.

    The homes on Warm Springs Avenue are distinctive and grand, and designed in diverse architectural styles. The combination of stately homes and geothermal heat makes this area one of Boise's most historically significant local districts, as well as one of the most unique in the western states.

    Historic Designations

    • 1979: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
    • 1996: Designated as a local historic district by Boise City
       

    Warm Springs Avenue Historic District Map

     

  • Harrison Boulevard

    Harrison Boulevard

    Harrison Boulevard

    HarrisonHarrison Boulevard, one of Boise's most picturesque thoroughfares, is named for President Benjamin Harrison, who signed the Admissions Act making Idaho a state. His visit in 1891 prompted the City Council and local landowner Jeremiah Brumback to rename 17th Street in honor of the 23rd president.

    As Boise boomed in the first decades of the 20th Century, many of the City's most prominent citizens built their homes on the Boulevard, resulting in a superb collection of architectural styles. With the addition of the median parkway and street lights in 1916, the City Engineer called Harrison Boulevard a "model road." This unique combination of stately homes and medians make Harrison Boulevard one of Boise's most historic and beautiful neighborhoods.

    Historic Designations

    • 1980: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
    • 1989: Designated as a local historic district by Boise City
       

    Harrison Boulevard Historic District Map

     

     

  • Hyde Park

    Hyde Park Historic District

    hp-faq-tempHyde Park

    Growing from the needs of the surrounding North End Neighborhood, Hyde Park became Boise's first suburban shopping area, focused around the nexus of 4 early subdivisions.

    Located more than a mile from the downtown, the area was a thriving commercial district from the turn of the century, providing two barbers, a pharmacy, meat market, bicycle shop, hotel, shoe shop, milliner, dyer, dairy, post office, bakery, plumber and lumber yard. Streetcar service supported the district, connecting it to the surrounding neighborhood and downtown.

    Historic Designations

    • 1982: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
    • 1980: Designated as a local historic district by Boise City


    Hyde Park Historic District Map

     

  • Old Boise

    Old Boise Historic District

    Old Boise

    OldBoiseThe area known as Old Boise sprang up as a commercial district in the Original Townsite as early as 1864, catering to miners, military men and settlers. Although most of the original buildings were replaced by those we see today between 1890 - 1920, this area still contains the largest concentration of historically and architecturally significant commercial buildings in Boise.

    Although the district contains a variety of architectural styles, the fairly uniform size and scale of its buildings provide a cohesive appearance.

    Historic Designations

    • 1978: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
    • 1980: Designated as a local historic district by Boise City
       

    Documents

     


  • South Eighth Street

    South Eighth Street Historic District

    South Eighth Street

    s8thAs Boise prospered as a commercial center in the late 19th century, rail spurs were provided off the main frontage tracks and the South Eighth Street Historic District's settlement patterns were shaped by these railroad sidings which passed through its 40 foot wide alleys. The resulting commercial/ industrial subdivision was the first such development in the city. The warehouses were largely built between 1902 and 1915 to serve wholesalers who supplied goods to southwest Idaho and the surrounding region.

    Although the district has largely transitioned into a commercial/office area, the alley access and loading docks still provide a visual testament to its warehouse origins.

    Historic Designations

    • 1978: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
    • 1982: Designated as a local historic district by Boise City
       

    Documents

     


     

  • Spaulding Ranch

    Spaulding Ranch Historic District

    Spaulding Ranch

    SpauldingRanchThe historic Almon W. and Mary E. Spaulding Farmstead, also known as "Spaulding Ranch" is located at 3805 N. Cole Road. It consists of approximately 20 acres containing 9 structures, agricultural fields, and landscape features.

    The farmstead is significant for its association with the early settlement and development of Boise. As the last full visual testament to the early history of Boise's West Bench, it provides a reminder of the area's agricultural legacy. What was once all rural, farmland has long been consumed by Boise's creeping urban development, but the Spaulding Ranch continues to stand as a record of our past.

    The ranch has added significance as the home of Boise's first female doctor/surgeon, Dr. Mary E. Spaulding, who homesteaded the property with her husband starting in 1896.

    Historic Designations

    • 1995: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
    • 1996: Designated as a local historic district by Boise City

     

    Spaulding Ranch Historic District Map