Tally Ho at the Owyhee Motor Inn

The Owyhee Hotel (1109 W. Main Street, Boise) was designed by Tourtellotte and Hummel in 1909 as Boise’s second grand hotel. An ad in the Idaho Statesman claimed the Owyhee as the “most modern and complete commercial and tourist hotel between Chicago and San Francisco. But by the late 1950s, tourists traveling by automobile preferred the convenience of parking near your room and unloading your suitcases directly into your room rather than contend with bell captains, porters, elevators, and other costly hotel amenities.

Pioneer Lodge

Pioneer Lodge at Bogus Basin was designed by Joseph LaMarche in 1973.

Timothy Regan Residence

Today’s #TBT is a good opportunity to look at the detailed architectural plans hand-drawn in 1905 for the Timothy Regan Residence located at 110 Main Street in downtown Boise. The detail on the construction of the distinctive columns is particularly illuminating. (If the plans look a little tattered, keep in mind they are 117 years old) “This […]

Alexander Building

“Former mayor and governor Moses Alexander erected this “big white store” at the corner of Ninth and Main Streets in 1924 after two terms as governor. The white, terra-cotta surface is weather resistant. The owner traveled east to gather input from professional architects, but Tourtellotte and Hummel’s design included plush exterior fabric materials of imported […]

Winters Residence

Today’s #TBT is the Brady Bunch by way of Sun Valley. Completed in November 1963 for Mr. & Mrs. Ben Winters in Sun Valley, Idaho. Excerpt from the AIA Design Award Submission (1966): “ The clients for this residence desired a vacation house that would be used three or four months per year, both during the summer […]

E. W. Little Residence

Today’s #tbt is the distinctive mid-century modern home located at 1900 Harrison Blvd. This home was originally built for Mr. & Mrs. E. W. Little and their son, Jack in 1951. E. W. Little owned a sheet metal and roofing company. He and his wife were involved in civic and philanthropic activities. Designed by Hummel, Hummel & […]

Harrison Boulevard and Hummel

Harrison Boulevard is traditionally known as the epicenter of Halloween trick or treating in Boise. “The unofficial record for most trick or treaters was set at the May house at over 3,000.” To celebrate this fun Boise North End ritual, we present a few of the Hummel houses on the picturesque boulevard.   (Source: Northend.org/north-end-halloween accessed […]

Guernsey Milk Depot

The Guernsey Dairy Milk Depot at 2419 State Street in Boise. Designed by Tourtelotte and Hummel and completed in 1937, it is uniquely Spanish Colonial. Not a unique architectural style for Boise, as seen by the Union Pacific Depot on the bench and the many buildings it inspired. But rather, unique to the architectural styles […]

Morris Hill Cemetery

In honor of the spooky Halloween season, today’s #TBT looks at the mausoleums at Morris Hill Cemetery designed by the predecessor firms of Hummel Architects. “The Joseph Kinney Mausoleum at Morris Hill Cemetery in Boise, Idaho, is a Classical Revival entombment designed by Tourtellotte & Co. and constructed in 1905. The structure is made of granite and […]

Florence Eggers Residence

(Local History Sidenote: Their previous residence, Sleepy Hollow Farm in Meridian, was a working dairy farm she sold to Harold and Suzanne Agee. The Agees moved there with their children, Carolyn and Bill. Harold Agee served in the Idaho House from 1965 to 1879. As an adult, Bill later was the chairman, president, and CEO […]