The Mode Building
The Mode Building stands at the north corner of 8th and Idaho in downtown Boise, Idaho. Completed in 1895, the building housed the Mode, Ltd., a high-end department store until 1991 when the store closed. Predecessor firm, Hummel, Hummel & Jones was hired in 1958 to rebuild and remodel the building after a fire destroyed […]
The Grove, the heart of Downtown Boise
One of the quintessential Boise summertime events is to attend Alive After Five in The Grove. It is hard to imagine downtown Boise without this central gathering place. Hummel Architects originally designed the Grove Plaza in 1989 and it was renovated in 2018 by the CCDC and public-private partnerships. “The Grove works. It’s not the […]
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 […]
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 […]
First Security Bank, Downtown Boise
On Monday, December 17, 1956, Idaho Governor Robert E. Smylie officially opened the First Security Bank’s brand new $1.5 Million six-story building at Ninth and Idaho Streets in downtown Boise. After the official program of remarks and an invocation, the public was allowed to tour the new building throughout the week. Nearly 5,000 people visited […]
Falks ID
The Falks ID building, formerly located at the corner of 8th & Main in downtown Boise. Originally built in 1904 by Tourtellotte & Co. for Falk Merchantile Co. By 1954, postwar attitudes about architecture and shopping viewed the turn of the century building as old-fashioned with its bay windows, ornate carvings, and stonework façade. Postwar […]
Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Main Telephone Building
Bannock Street and Capitol Blvd. in Boise. This building originally housed the long-distance and directory assistance operators (see interior photo). The equipment on top of the building was an essential part of long-distance phone calls as a microwave radio relay station. The building is still in use and is an essential component of Boise telephone […]
Carrolls
Remodeling, tenant improvement, and interior design projects have been an important component to Hummel’s portfolio throughout our 125 years. In 1967, work was completed on an elegant department store in downtown Boise. Carroll’s already had proven success in the area with a downtown location, one at the Franklin shopping center, and another location in the […]
Tournverein Building
The Tournverein (pronounced toorn-fiar-ine) is a red brick building in Old Boise at 6th & Main Street in Boise with a generous row of windows all framed with light-colored brick.” Commissioned in 1904, the building had a 400-seat ground-floor auditorium with a 200-seat balcony. It also had a gym with indoor showers, a parlor for […]