Historic Tour of Boise - On a Bicycle
Boise – a brief history
A popular tale tells that the Lewis & Clark expedition, after trekking for weeks through rough terrain, happened upon the sight of the Boise River Valley. A French guide overwhelmed by the sight of the verdant river yelled "Les Bois! Les Bois!" and this is how Boise got its name. In the 1820’s French fur trappers set traps in the area where Boise now lies. Though mostly an area of high desert, a prominent landmark was the tree lined Boise River Valley, which they called "La Riviere Boise" which means "wooded river." Though the connection between the Lewis & Clark tale and the naming of the city is dubious, it is clear that the area was referred to as Boise long before the establishment of Fort Boise.
The original Fort Boise was 40 miles (64 km) west, down the Boise River, near the confluence with the Snake River at the Oregon border. This fort was erected by the Hudson's Bay Company in the 1830s. It was abandoned in the 1850s, but massacres along the Oregon Trail prompted the U.S. Army to re-establish a fort in the area in 1863, during the U.S. Civil War. The new location was selected because it was near the intersection of the Oregon Trail and a major road connecting the Boise Basin (Idaho City) and the Owyhee mining areas, both booming at the time. Idaho City was the largest city in the area, but the new Fort Boise grew rapidly (as a staging area to Idaho City) and Boise was incorporated as a city in 1864. The first capital of Idaho was Lewiston, but Boise replaced it in 1865.
| Starts: Julia Davis Park |
| Riding Distance: 11.5 miles |
| Click on map to launch interactive map of the tour |
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| Distance | Destination | Directions |
| 0.0 | 1 Idaho State Historical Museum | Just north of the main entrance to Julia Davis Park. 610 Julia Davis Dr. |
| 0.0 | 2 Idaho Black History Museum | Just north of the main entrance to Julia Davis Park. 508 Julia Davis Dr. |
| 0.0 | 3 Pioneer Village | Just north of the main entrance to Julia Davis Park. 610 Julia Davis Dr. |
| 0.4 | 4 Basque Block | Exit the park and proceed north (right) on Capitol Boulevard to Grove Street. Turn right on Grove Street. On Grove between Capitol Blvd and 6th St. |
| 0.5 | 5 Ada Egyptian Theatre | Continue north on Capitol Boulevard to Main Street. 700 W Main St. |
| 0.6 | 6 Idaho State Capitol Building | Continue north on Capitol Boulevard to Bannock Street and to Capitol Park. 700 W Jefferson. |
| 0.8 | 7 Old Boise Historic District | Ride east on Bannock Street and turn right on 6th Street. 5th and 6th Streets, both sides of Idaho and Main Streets. |
| 1.0 | 8 U.S. Assay Office | Turn left on Main Street. 210 Main Street. |
| 1.4 | 9 Warm Springs Avenue Historic District | Continue east on Main Street. Main Street will become Warm Springs Avenue. |
| 2.9 | 10 Old Idaho State Penitentiary | Turn left on N. Penitentiary Road from E. Warm Springs Avenue. 2200 Warm Springs Avenue. |
| 5.2 | 11 New Fort Boise | Turn right on E. Warm Springs Avenue. Turn right on Ave B, and then right again on W. Fort Street. |
| 6.1 | 12 Harrison Boulevard Historic District | Continue to ride west on W. Fort Street. Turn left onto W. Ressigue Street, then turn right onto N. Harrison Boulevard. |
| 7.8 | 13 Hyde Park Historic District | Turn right on Hill Road which will become N. 13th Street. Both sides of N. 13th Street between Alturas and Brumback Streets. |
| 9.5 | 14 Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial | Follow N. 13th Street (south) to State Street and turn left. Turn right on N. 9th Street, then left on W. Bannock Street. Finally, turn right on N. 8th Street and proceed through the Boise Centre on the Grove and the Bodo (Boise Downtown) District to the end of 8th Street. 770 S. 8th Street. |
| 10.5 | 15 Boise Train Depot | Exit north on S. 8th Street, turn left on W. River Street, and left again on 9th Street (9th Street will become Capitol Boulevard). Follow Capitol Boulevard towards the Train Depot making a right on N. Cresent Rim Drive (at the base of the station). Finally, turn left on Eastover Terrace. 2603 W Eastover Terrace. |
| 11.4 | 1 Arrive Main Entrance Julia Davis Park | Turn right on N. Vista Avenue and reverse direction on N. Vista at the stop light (Rose Hill) heading north. N. Vista becomes Capitol Boulevard. Follow Capitol Boulevard down to Julia Davis Park and turn right into the park to complete the tour. 700 South Capitol Boulevard. |
1 Idaho State Historical Museum
The Idaho State Historical Museum, founded in 1907, is Idaho's largest and most visited museum. It has evolved from a simple collection of curios and relics sitting on shelves to the first museum in Idaho to be accredited by the American Association of Museums. Objects from the Museum's collection tell the story of Idaho from prehistoric times through the fur trade, the gold rush, and pioneer settlement to the present. Richly detailed interiors show how Idahoans in the late 19th and 20th centuries lived and conducted business. Exhibits about the state's Native American, Chinese and Basque populations are also presented.
Founded in 1995, the Idaho Black History Museum is an organization established to educate individuals about the history and culture of African Americans, with special emphasis on African Americans in Idaho. Housed in the historic St. Paul Baptist Church building and located in Boise's Julia Davis Park, the museum presents exhibits and provides educational and community outreach programs including lectures, films, workshops, literacy programs, and musical performances.
The Idaho Black History Museum is housed in the former St. Paul Baptist Church Building. St. Paul is one of two African American churches that were founded by Boiseans in 1909. St. Paul was built in 1921, and is one of the oldest buildings constructed by Idaho African Americans. When the St. Paul congregation moved to a new church in 1993, the historic church was donated to a preservation committee, which formed to save and restore the 72-year-old building.
In 1933 the Sons and Daughters of Idaho Pioneers, aided by the Idaho Statesman collected two log cabins built in 1863, the year of Boise City's founding. They were moved to Julia Davis Park and a Pioneer Village was established. Nearly 40 years later the Idaho State Historical Society accepted responsibility for the cabins' preservation and moved them to the present location next to the State Museum. Other Idaho buildings of historic interest have been added since. Coston Cabin - The 1863 structure illustrates typical construction techniques long practiced in America. The cabin has full-dovetail joinery at the corners. Isaac Coston, a pioneer farmer east of the city, used his cabin for over 50 years. Mayor Logan Adobe House - Mayor Thomas E. Logan's house, built in 1865, is a rare survivor of the city's adobe period. The interior has been restored and furnished in the style of the 1870s when Logan served four terms as mayor of Boise. Richard C. Adelmann House - Richard Adelmann operated a saloon on Main street, was a volunteer fireman and a part-time miner. This building, a reconstruction of his residence, is typical of Boise dwellings of the period 1870-1890.
The Basque Museum & Cultural Center provides a look into the heritage of the Basque communities of Idaho and surrounding areas. Boise has long been a central location where Basque immigrants first congregated after coming to the United States from the Spanish Basque Region. As immigrants established their lives here, Basques became well known for their hard work and perseverance. The Basque Museum & Cultural Center provides a look into the Basque heritage by exhibits, collections, and tours. As a cultural center, it's a gathering place for events and educational opportunities - in which people of all backgrounds can participate in Basque activities.
The Egyptian Theatre opened in 1927 and is said to be the best remaining example of Egyptian-revival style, popular after the Egyptian tombs were discovered in the 1920's. The theatre was designed by Tourtellotte and Hummel and originally had seating for 1200. The theatre was later renamed "Ada" although the exact date is unknown. In the 1970's, the name Egyptian was returned.
6 Idaho State Capitol Building
Located in the heart of downtown Boise and constructed in the classical style of our nation's Capitol, this majestic structure was begun in 1905 and completed in 1912. East and west wings were added in 1919 and 1920. Exterior walls were built with Boise's native sandstone. Marble from Alaska, Georgia, Vermont and Italy complete the interior structure, which is topped by a 5' 7" copper eagle. Inside are displays of Idaho's history and major industries. The Idaho State Capitol Commission has completed a master plan for the building's restoration, and is in the process of repairing the exterior envelope of the structure and adding east and west underground wings.
The 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 between 1890 and 1920 by those we see today, this area still contains the largest concentration of historically and architecturally significant commercial buildings in Boise. The Old Boise Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and was designated as a local historic district in 1980.
Built in 1871, this National Historic Landmark housed about $75 million in gold and silver during its heyday. Gold discovered in the Wood River Valley, Boise Basin and Owyhee County created the need for a Federal mint or assay office in Idaho. The sandstone Assay Office operated until 1933 when it became the Boise National Forest headquarters. Today, it is home to the Idaho State Historic Preservation Office and the Archeological Survey of Idaho.
9 Warm Springs Avenue Historic District
The 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.
10 Old Idaho State Penitentiary
Idaho Territory was less than ten years old when the territorial prison was built east of Boise in 1870. The penitentiary grew from a single cell house into a complex of several distinctive buildings surrounded by a high sandstone wall. Convicts quarried the stone from the nearby ridges and completed all the later construction. Over its century of operation, the penitentiary received more than 13,000 convicts, of whom 215 were women. Spurred in part by conditions that sparked a general riot in 1971 and an even more severe riot in 1973, the inmate population was moved to a modern penitentiary south of Boise and the Old Idaho Penitentiary was closed on December 3, 1973. After the Penitentiary closed in 1973, the site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
On July 4, 1863, a new Fort Boise was established by the U.S. Army during the middle of the Civil War (the Battle of Gettysburg had concluded a day earlier). (Brevet) Major Pinckney Lugenbeel was dispatched from Fort Vancouver, Washington Territory to head east and to select the site in the newly formed Idaho Territory. The new location was fifty miles to the east of the old Hudson's Bay Company fort, up the Boise River at the site which would soon become the city of Boise. This new military post was in response to massacres on the Oregon Trail that occurred in the years after the original fort was abandoned.
The new fort was near the intersection of the Oregon Trail and the roads connecting the Owyhee (Silver City) and Boise Basin (Idaho City) mining areas, both booming at the time. The fort's site had the necessary combination of grass, water, wood, and stone. With three companies of infantry and one of cavalry, Major Lugenbeel set to work building quarters for five companies. They built a mule-driven sawmill on Cottonwood Creek, got a lime kiln underway, and opened a sandstone quarry at the small mesa known as Table Rock. Lugenbeel's greatest problem was the lure of the Boise Basin mines - more than 50 men deserted within the first few months. Other names for the fort were Camp Boise and the Boise Barracks.
After 49 years at the fort, the U.S. Army left the site in 1912, and the Idaho National Guard occupied it until 1919, when the Public Health Service obtained it for veterans of World War I and tuberculosis patients. The foothills above Ft. Boise were used for gunnery practice, and in 1997 during rehab efforts following the Foothills Fire, several unexploded 75mm artillery shells and other ordinance were found by firefighters. In 1938 the Veterans Administration acquired the site, and its successor, the DVA, presently operates the Boise VA Medical Center. In 1957, the Idaho Elks Rehabilitation Hospital was built on a portion of the old fort's land. The Federal Building (& U.S. Court House), built in 1968, also occupies a section of the site. It was renamed for former U.S. Senator Jim McClure in December 2001.
12 Harrison Boulevard Historic District
Harrison 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.
13 Hyde Park Historic District
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.
14 Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial
The Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial is a .81-acre educational park inspired by Anne Frank's faith in humanity.
Boise's old Union Pacific Railroad Depot, built in 1925. The Spanish-type railroad station was designed by Carrere and Hastings and was characterized by beautiful native stone, quarried near what is now the Old Penitentiary. Other Union Pacific stations designed by Carrere and Hastings included Pocatello, 1909, and Grand Island, Nebraska, 1916.Union Pacific ended service here in 1971, and the building fell into a state of disrepair. Morrison-Knudsen Corporation purchased the depot in 1990, and using old plans and photographs, restored much of the depot to its original state. In January of 1996, the City of Boise took possession of the building and it is now used for special events.
1 Main Entrance Julia Davis Park
Hope that you enjoyed the ride…