Culture Cruise
Where to find the art Boise hides in plain sight
Deanna Darr | Photographs Leila Ramella-Rader
T
hink Boise lacks art and history? It’s time to start looking around.
The city core is home to a surprising amount of public and
historical art.
Thanks to several different projects funded by the City of Boise, interpretive signs and guides can be found scattered throughout downtown. You can even download a free podcast from the Department of
Arts and History’s website to take you on a guided tour of the city.
We came up with our own walking tour of downtown treasures, so
strap on comfortable shoes for an afternoon of cultural exploration.
1
Untitled, Michael Cordell, Sixth and
Broad streets
6
11
Water Fountain, Capitol Boulevard
and Idaho Street
12
Lincoln, Alphonso Pelzer, Capitol
Boulevard at Bannock Street
What Do You Want to Be?, Grant
Olsen, Boise City Hall, Main Street side
Bow and Arrow, Painted sign. Alley
between Idaho and Bannock streets off
Sixth Street
Untitled, Unknown artists, alley
between Fifth and Sixth streets off
Broad Street
2
3
Cyrus Jacobs-Uberuaga Boarding House, Oldest surviving brick building in Boise, built in 1864. 607 Grove St.
Motor Car, The Letterheads,
9 Stearns
Idaho Street between Sixth Street and
Capitol Boulevard
Hitchcock Building mural,
Toby Robin and Fred Choate,
11th and Idaho streets
22
Spirit of the Healing Waters,
Kerry Moosman, and Freak Alley, alley
between Main and Idaho streets off 10th Street
23
Idanha Hotel, Built in 1900,
home of Idaho’s first elevator.
Tenth and Main streets
24
25
Spring Run, Marilyn Lysohir, 121 Ninth St.
26
Boise Totems, Rod Kagan, Eighth and
Idaho streets
27
13
Steunenberg, Gilbert Riswold, Capitol
Boulevard at Jefferson Street
14
Idaho State Capitol, Built in 1920,
Capitol Boulevard at Jefferson streets
15
IDaho State Capitol, Built in 1920.
Capitol Boulevard and Jefferson Street
C.W. Moore Park, Waterwheel, Fifth
and Grove streets
4
River of Trees, Judith and
Daniel Caldwell, sidewalk at Ninth
and Idaho streets
21
Union Block, Built in 1901. Idaho Street,
between Capitol Boulevard and
Eighth Street
Central Fire Station, Built in 1903
and once home to horse-drawn fire
engines. Sixth and Idaho streets
7
8
Alley History, Kerry Moosman,
Ninth Street alley between Bannock
and Idaho streets
20
15
Space Ship, Courtyard at State and
Seventh streets
41
28
Sydney’s Niche, Rick Thomson, Eighth
Street between Main and Idaho streets
29
Egyptian Theatre, Built in 1927. Capitol Boulevard and Main Street
30
1867, “The Miner,” Bernie JestrabekHart, Grove Plaza behind US Bank building
Boise Mural Project, 50 different
murals painted by local artists. Eighth and
Bannock streets
17
Penny Postcard: A Hometown
Greeting, Mark Baltes, Boise City Hall,
Idaho Street side
10
18
Hoff Building, Built in 1930, formerly
Hotel Boise. Eighth and Bannock streets
Shadows, Judith Lombardi,
Jefferson Street sidewalk between
Eighth and Ninth streets
19
39
Untitled, Guy Dill, Wells Fargo Plaza
adjacent to Grove Plaza
Homage to the Pedestrian, Patrick
Zentz, Grove Plaza between Grove fountain and Ninth Street
Hospitality at the Nez Perce,
Doug Hyde, Capitol Boulevard and Bannock Street
Kilgore Trout, Marcus and Skyler
Pierce, alley off Sixth Street between
Grove and Main streets
Laiak, Ward Hooper, Capitol Boulevard
and Grove Street
40
16
5
32
GROVE STREET ILLUMINATED, Amy
Westover, Grove and Ninth streets
Basque History Mural,
The Letterheads, Capitol Boulevard
near Grove Street
33
Historical Site, Boise Chinatown 2 of
3, Dwaine Carver, Capitol Boulevard and
Front Street
46
Capitol Bridge Tiles, Unknown, four
pillars of the Capitol Boulevard Bridge
47
Boise Art Museum Sculpture
Garden, Julia Davis Park
49
Lincoln, Gutzon Berglum, Idaho Black
History Museum, Julia Davis Park
34
35
River Sculpture, Alison Sky, Front
Street and Capitol Boulevard
36
Historical Site, Boise Chinatown 3 of
3, Dwaine Carver, Grove Plaza
37
KeepsieS, Ann LaRose, Grove Plaza
38
Great Blues, David Berry, Grove Plaza
42
I LOVE YOU, Grant Olsen,
Front and 11th streets
43
Portal, Francis Fox,
Eighth and Broad streets
44
Esther Simplot, Ann LaRose,
Ninth and Myrtle streets
Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights
Memorial, Built in 2002. Anne Frank
Statue, Greg Stone, 770 S. Eighth St.
45
Sacajawea and Pomp,
Agnes Vincen Talbot, Idaho Historical
Museum, Julia Davis Park
50
Julia Davis Memorial,
Jerry Snodgrass, Rose Garden,
Julia Davis Park
48
31 Historical Site, Boise Chinatown 1
of 3, Dwaine Carver, Capitol Boulevard
across from Grove Street
c ulture