Historic Districts
The East End Historic District is a thirty nine block residential neighborhood of predominantly single family dwellings. With access provided by Jefferson Boulevard and Warm Springs Avenue to the south, the area developed through a series of subdivisions beginning in 1890.
The neighborhood was connected to downtown by Jefferson Boulevard, running east to west, ultimately renamed McKinley. The presidential streets including Franklin run northwest to southeast and the tree streets intersecting northeast and southwest. The most rapid growth in the district occurred in the first ten years of the twentieth century, extending to 1940.
The predominant architectural style in the district is the Craftsman bungalow, represented by 127 homes or 29 percent. There are a mix of other styles present including Queen Anne cottages, American foursquare, and a handful of Mission Revival/Spanish eclectic. There are no large clusters of contributing structures, rather they are scattered throughout the district.
Warm Springs Avenue Historic District
The Warm Springs Avenue neighborhood began to emerge in the 1890s, soon after Kelly Hot Springs, for which the street was named, were tapped to provide water for Boise’s fire hydrants. The prominent owners of the water line built their mansions on the street, pumping in the natural hot water from east of Table Rock for use in their homes; these were among the first houses in the world to utilize geothermal sources for heat.
The homes on Warm Springs Avenue are distinctive and grand, and designed in diverse architectural styles. The combination of stately homes and geothermal heat makes this area one of Boise’s most historically significant local districts, as well as one of the most unique in the western states.
Historic Designations
- 1979: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
- 1996: Designated as a local historic district by Boise City
This information provided courtesy of the Boise City Historic Preservation Commission
