Left: Architectural Rendering of the Idaho State Capitol,
by the eminent Boise architectural firm of Tourtellotte & Hummel, 1909.
Right: Office of the firm in the Falk Building, 8th & Main, c. 1907-08.
Second from right in the photo is John E. Tourtellotte.
Image Credits:
Idaho State Historical Society: Left: 80-163.21e, right: 80-163.1
At the time of its construction, the Idaho State Capitol, the city's most prominent monument, reflected the aspirations of the City Beautiful Movement, to create a strong civic symbol for Boise the Beautiful, the City of Trees, the Athens of the Desert. Creating regular spaces and monumental architecture and imitating the capitals of Europe was part of a civilising impulse, reflecting an impulse to import high culture. The notion of the architectural rendering, an idealized image of the building before it came into being reflects the function of architecture in constructing an ideal place. As a grid was platted that would define the development of the city, a central square was held open which by 1886 held the Central School, the Territorial Capitol and the Ada County Courthouse. The Capitol became the reference point for Boise's downtown, dividing East and West, North and South. The construction of the Idaho State Capitol followed between 1905-1920. With the construction of Carriere and Hasting's Union Pacific Depot in 1925, Capitol Boulevard became a monumental axis and replaced Ninth Street as the principal arterial moving up onto the first bench from downtown. The first glimpse of Boise for the visitor arriving from the Depot was this grand ceremonial street punctuated by the neo-classical forms of the Capitol.
With this examination of Boise's most prominent building we pose the question: How do good places come to be? Are they planned and executed at one fell swoop--by architects or in nature by a divine hand--or do they happen gradually over time as the result of the interaction of complex forces and agents? This website offers a reflection on these issues through an historical examination of Boise through photographs. The desire of early Boiseans to create a place of beauty and strong civic identity is clear in many of these images: to impose culture and order on landscapes that were wild and often unforgiving, though certainly beautiful. Recurrent glimpses of the Capitol among the images on the website are like the glimpses of the landmark building that help one navigate through the urban landscape.
Go to Main Contents to begin a self-guided tour.