Boise

In Idaho's Capitol city, the old and the new co-exist. But it wasn't always so. In the 1960's and '70's, Boise's downtown was caught up in the topsy turvy logic of urban renewal, which in this town meant demolishing the older downtown buildings.

We asked two individuals, who have spent years reporting on the architectural fate of Idaho's largest city, to give us their views on what works and what doesn't.

The Grove Hotel " is proof that urban renewal isn't necessarily good for our city," says historian JM Neil. "I've never actually met anybody who's defended its appearance. It's a clearcut case of inadequate controls...The building itself is at best lumpish and at worst a terrible presence on Capitol Boulevard.".

"The humorous response to this building is that it looks like the wrapping that the package came in," says writer and editor Alan Minskoff. "And unfortunately it's not a particularly good wrapping because the best part of it, granite or marble, is only minimally used."

"This may be the most important block in the city of boise right now," comments Alan Minskoff, referring to the mixed use buildings at 8th street and Idaho street. "At 8th and Idaho we succeeded. I don't think there's any question."
"I laughingly say if you sit at the Grape Escape and squint, you feel like you're in San Francisco," says JM Neil. "Not that we really want to imitate San Francisco, but having an occasional touch of San Francisco ain't too bad."

According to Minskoff, "It is one of the places where we have retained some of the best buildings in the city of Boise. The Union Block is there. The Mode building is there. The Alexander building. The Idaho building. The Federal building on Bannock. These are some of the most important buildings contextually because they're low, they're used, and they all surround that very highly used mixed use area."

JM Neil believes "it was great good news when the mayor and council and downtown financial forces had to give up in their dream of having something like what we currently have in the Town Square Mall plopped at 8th and Main, which would have destroyed everything that is most cherished about downtown Boise."

"One of the worst things about the current situation in boise is altogether too much surface parking," says Neil. "That's the kind of thing that should not be tolerated by this city."

"Now we're on one of the other great corners of Boise, 10th and Main," says Minskoff. "The Idanha, which opened on the first day of January, 1901, is the emblem of our downtown. It's a French chateau style building and it really is representative, emblematic of Boise to the rest of the world. It's had a glorious history. I do think the Idanha is here to stay."

Both men are surprisingly optimistic about Idaho's largest city, about its ability to avoid many of the problems that seem to engulf other fast-growing regions. "I'm optimistic because the worst thing that could happen to Boise is that it could have an almost unlimited water supply and that isn't true," says Neil. "In short, we'll never be LA; we'll never be anywhere near that size because there will never be enough water."

" I have seen changes that were pretty drastic," says Minskoff, "knocking down most of downtown. Well, now our downtown has found its way, and I think our city is finding its way. And I think over time we'll save the best of the past and we will also look to plan in ways that make sense. That's what we need, and if we get that, we will be a very successful city for more than just the greenbelt and the historic buildings we have now."