Blending History with Innovation

A melting of the past and future with Boise's Central Addition captivating both historians and eco friendly Boiseans alike. 

Join Mayor David Bieter in celebrating Boise’s first LIV District, a downtown community built on sustainability. Come explore a neighborhood that has it all - thriving businesses, boutique shops, residential housing, parks, public art, hotels and universities. 

History

The Central Addition was platted on Lafayette Cartee’s land, where he had grown a variety of fruit and vegetables. Joseph C. Straughan, Samuel Hays, and Walter S. Bruce developed fifteen acres of Cartee’s cultivated land in 1890, naming it the Central Addition after much deliberation. They wanted to emphasize the closeness of the area to the city, as well as the already mature “landscaping.” The addition proved popular, and by the end of the year eighteen homes had been built, valued at over $12,000. By 1912 most of the lots in the Central Addition were sold and developed. From the beginning, the neighborhood featured elegant mansions as well as more modest homes. Some of the mansion residents included Boise’s early developers, bakery and millenery shop owners, and a woman who built a boardinghouse. The more modest houses were homes for some employees of the local newspaper, a merchant, and a sales clerk. 

Public Art

The City of Boise’s most recent public art project focuses on public infrastructure, mobility, placemaking, and housing.  On Broad Street, between Capitol and 2^nd Street, new fiber-optic cables have been installed.  Arts & History identified the utility holes covering fiber-optic cables as an opportunity to engage local artists to design functional public art – something that performs a job but also represents the area, adds beauty, interest, and meaning to the neighborhood. Arts & History Department staff invited fifteen artists, selected based on the quality of their work and appropriateness of their style of art for this project, to submit images of past work for consideration. Three artists, Kirsten Furlong, Charles Haman, and Rick Friesen, were chosen to create and implement a design concept.  Each design separately addresses the importance of sustainability, natural resources and historic preservation. 

LIV which stands for Lasting Environments, Innovative Enterprises and Vibrant Communities aims to weave the fabric of the past with mindful green additions creating a harmonious balance to life, work and play. 

Take a sustainability passport tour to learn more about:
• Geothermal energy
• Green infrastructure
• Mobility, and much more

Enter to win exclusive prize package giveaways from local businesses and enjoy music by Wayne White, delicious meals from Boise’s best food trucks and beverages provided by Boise Brewing and Bucksnort Soda Co. More about sustainability in downtown, and Boise’s first LIV District here: http://www.livboise.org/2017/09/celebrate-boises-first-liv-district/

 

Main image from ISHS 73-10-0 of The attorney Thomas J. Jones and his Winifred moved into this house after their marriage in 1893. This house was moved and restored by Fred Walters in 2015.