We traveled to Boise, Idaho for the weekend. We went for my niece's wedding. It was wonderful. The wedding was great—beautiful, romantic, touching, funny and personal. All the right elements, in my humble opinion. Besides that it was an opportunity to connect with family and old friends and share in a happy occasion. As one of my cousins pointed out, it was good to be together for something happy for a change. Seems like it is funerals that have been bringing us together most recently.
Ray grew up in Boise. I moved to Boise after I graduated from college and that is where we met. It was a great place 40 years ago and even better now, it seems. One morning we left our hotel and walked around downtown Boise, which has changed so much, but has kept much of its historic charm. The photo, above, is the view down Capitol Blvd. toward the State Capitol building. It used to dominate the landscape. For many years developers were not allowed to build any buildings in the downtown area that were taller than the Capitol building. No more. There are now many tall, modern buildings, but it is lovely to see that so many of the wonderful old buildings still sit side by side with the new.
Down the street, in the photo above, you can see a little tower on a building that is one of my most favorite Boise buildings. It is a remnant of the old Chinatown and now houses a Starbucks. I did this sketch a couple years ago.
This is the building where I worked in Boise. It was an upscale furniture store at that time. I am sorry to see that they have painted the brick.
The old Idanha Hotel had fallen on hard times when I lived in Boise. Look at it now. Splendid!
At the edge of the downtown there used to be a decrepit warehouse district. Now there is this peaceful, beautiful plaza.
At one time we planned to move to Boise when we retired. We even bought a house there, but our plans changed. I no longer want to live there, but I love Boise and love visiting. I have a lot of happy memories associated with the city. I am happy to see it looking so good.
What? No pictures of the White Savage apartments or the apartment with the stairway to nowhere?
ReplyDeleteI agree with your assessment of Boise.
Glad you had a good time while you were here. The downtown has improved very much. I wish those newer tall buildings had some character and unique architecture. But I guess Boise still has a ways to go in that regard. Did you see any of the public artworks or the painted traffic boxes? We are getting better on the public art front, even if it is slowly.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures. I work at a furniture store in Boise. these pics really capture the essence of Boise.
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