Boise is undergoing significant development and growth, and many of the houses in historic districts are reaching, or have already passed, their 100-year mark. With this milestone comes complications and unfortunately there have been a number of contractors hired who, while licensed, do not have specific expertise working on historic homes. Lately, we have heard the term “too far gone” thrown around much too cavalierly regarding the status of Boise’s historic homes.
On November 27th, Boise City Council voted 4 to 2 to approve moving the cabin off of its original site. The final destination was not confirmed and will be voted on in January 2019. Both Preservation Idaho and The Cabin were invited to speak regarding our views on what should be done.
We were very disappointed at the outcome of the vote. We do appreciate that much time and discussion was devoted to the topic at the meeting, however, Council was unable to see the value of leaving the cabin where it was built and, instead, raising the elevation of the new library so that the desired connection to the river and greenbelt was attained. It is especially unfortunate given that the cost of raising the library was described as minor by the design team and that the cost savings of keeping the cabin on-site would have been over a million dollars that will be spent for moving and receiving-lot preparations. That money could have been spent on the new library and perhaps helped to ensure sufficient funding for the Event Space section and the new home of the Boise Arts & History Department.
There has been discussion that the National Register Listing may be preserved if the cabin is moved into Julia Davis Park, however, that will remain to be seen. The National Register Listed Historic Idaho State Forester's Building was constructed in 1940 as the home of the Idaho Forester’s Office. The building is currently home to The Cabin, a non-profit literary arts center leasing the City-owned property adjacent to the Library.
We will continue to work with interested parties to ensure that the cabin’s history and value to the city is not damaged or further diminished.
With a few hundred supportive emails, we can encourage the city to complete the historic district. Some of the owners in the proposed district will fight this effort and the city needs to know they have the support of the public to do the right thing. This home is irreplaceable in Boise's history. Its architecture and craftsmanship are of the highest order.
