Idaho Falls

Idaho Falls began as Taylor's Crossing, on the Snake River, in 1864. Packers, freighters and prospectors traveled from Salt Lake City north to the gold fields in northern Idaho and Montana. They used Matt Taylor's bridge to cross the river.

From such modest beginnings grew one of Idaho's largest cities.

Some of Idaho Falls' famous structures made it into our program, "Designing Idaho." We include some of them here, with brief descriptions about each building taken largely from the Ridge Avenue Historic District walking tour.

The First Presbyterian Church was completed in 1920. It was built by J.C. Fulton of Uniontown, Pennsylvania; in fact, there is one just like it in Uniontown.

The building is of the Neo-Classical Revival style and has a dome and four Ionic monolithic columns at its entrance. In 1978 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The A.D. Morrison house is made of stone, with a basalt foundation. Built in 1896, the house is an example of vernacular architecture, with Colonial Revival influences.

The Idaho Falls LDS Temple overlooks the falls of the Snake River. The land was donated by the Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce and was completed in 1945.

The temple is not open to the general public, but the visitor's center located directly in front of the temple is open for all visitors. Guided tours of the temple grounds are also available.

Idaho architect and inventor Art Troutner built two houses in Idaho Falls on the same street, for Fran Migel and her mother. They were built about fifty years ago. Troutner went on to co-found Truss Joist Company. His work changed building technology for the entire world.