T. Gerlach's blog

The Struggle for Central Addition

Historic preservation is often the art of bringing back to sight that which has been in constant view but is no longer seen. Boise’s diminished but still existing Central Addition is a place many of us have driven by en route to somewhere else, a neighborhood of passing glances and brief impressions at best, but most likely little more than a peripheral blur as you accelerate down Myrtle heading east, or chase the timing of the lights driving west on Front. Yet tucked in between those two corridors, hidden behind the WinCo, is the last remnant of Boise’s earliest urban residential development. Read more »

Or, Curtain Walls and Footballs

Some of the finest architecture to be found in Boise is on the Boise State University campus. From its earliest years as a junior college up to the present day, BSU has been the home of buildings that are beautiful, challenging and compelling, often all at the same time. Read more »

The City of Boise’s Neighborhood Reinvestment Grant winners have been recently announced, and among them are the Veterans Park Neighborhood Association, who received $16000 to create an interpretive trail through their neighborhood. This trail will wend its way through a part of the city I and others have taken to calling the West End.

What, you might wonder, is the West End? Everyone knows about the North End, and the East End has made its claim as a distinct historic place, but what is this West End and why am I calling it that? Read more »

An Introduction to the Author and His Ambitions for this Blog