This page lists a variety of sources for learning about architecture in Idaho. For information about property research, please see our Property Research page.

Sources

Idaho Architecture Project, Preservation Idaho, The Idaho Historic Preservation Council – Use this site to find examples of buildings in Idaho. The site also includes links to online resources including sites describing architectural styles and links to local resources.
Preservation Idaho
Boise Arts and History
Idaho Modern
Idaho State Archives, Idaho State Historical Society
Architecture in Idaho, Wikipedia
HathiTrust – Find architectural design books in these digital archives.

Design

McAlester, Virginia Savage, with drawings by Suzanne Patton Matty and photographs by Steve Clicque. A field guide to American houses: the definitive guide to identifying and understanding America’s domestic architecture. New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2015. Revised and expanded.
Graham, Wade. Dream cities: seven urban ideas that shape the world. New York : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2016. First edition.
Williams, H. L. A guide to old American houses 1700-1900 / by Henry Lionel Williams and Ottalie K. Williams. [Place of publication not identified]: Barnes, 1962. Digital copy available from HathiTrust. https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015006328036. Accessed December 20, 2018.

Video

Randall, Susan, producer, and Josh Malan, director. Idaho modern masters. Charles Hummel 2012. University Television Productions. Boise, Idaho: Preservation Idaho, Idaho Modern, 2012.
Idaho Public Televistion. Outdoor Idaho. Designing Idaho. Boise, Idaho: Idaho Public Television, 2003.

Lochsa Historical Ranger Station. 1920s backcountry forest ranger station restored as a museum to depict life in the 1920’s and 1930’s. National Register of Historic Places #78001065. Photograph by Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD taken September 10, 2007. [CC BY-SA 3.0] Wikimedia Commons.
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LOCHSA_HISTORICAL_RANGER_STATION.jpg

Books on Idaho Architecture

Attebery, Jennifer Eastman. Building Idaho: An Architectural History. Moscow, Idaho: University of Idaho Press, 1991.
Boise City Dept. of Arts & History. Remnants of Boise. Boise, Idaho: City of Boise, Department of Arts and History, 2013.
Boise State History Department. Historic Boise: A Neighborhood Guide. Boise, Idaho: Boise State University, Department of History, 1996.
Boise’s Early Days. [Place of publication not identified], [date of publication not identified]
Clarkson, Stephanie, Melanie Flitton Folwell, and Amy Pence-Brown, and designed and illustrated by Melanie Flitton Folwell, with Stephanie Clarkson, Dan Everhart, Kelly Exline, Melanie Flitton Folwell, Byron Folwell, Tully Gerlach, Amy Pence-Brown, Cathy Sewell, and Shaun Weston. Idaho Modern Field Guide: the history, care, and keeping of your mid-century home. Idaho Modern, and Preservation Idaho. – Find this publication and more at http://idahomodern.org/.
D’Easum, Dick. The Idanha: Guests and Ghosts of an Historic Idaho Inn. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Press, 2001.
Duran, James David, edited by Shari Hennefer and Boise City Department of Arts & History staff, Kathleen M. Lacey. Central Bench History (for the Central Bench Neighborhood Association). Boise, Idaho: Boise City Department of Arts & History, 2016.
Friends of the Bishops’ House. Historic and Interesting Houses of Boise’s Beautiful Harrison Boulevard Area: A Short Guide. Boise, Idaho: The Friends, 1977.
Hart, Arthur. Historic Boise: An Introduction to Architecture of Boise, Idaho 1863-1938. Boise, Idaho: Historic Idaho, 1993.
Hart, Arthur. The Boiseans at Home. Boise, Idaho: Historic Boise, Inc., 1984.

Idaho City Masonic Temple. Photo taken April 25, 2018.

Hibbard, Don. Weiser: A Look at Idaho Architecture. Boise, Idaho: Idaho State Historic Preservation Office, 2008.
Hummel, Charles, Tim Woodward, and Jeanne Huff, Todd Shallat, editor, and Otto Kitsinger, photographer. Quintessential Boise: an architectural journey. Boise, Idaho: Boise State University, College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs, 2010.
Idaho State Historical Society. Architecturally Significant and Historic Buildings of Boise, Idaho. [Boise, Idaho?]: [publisher not identified], 1970.
Johnson, Vicki Sharples. Nine Walking Tours of Boise. Boise, Idaho: Boise Walking Tours, 1979.
Kincaid, James L. Warren Historic Walking Tour. [Ogden, Utah?]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Region, Payette National Forest, 1994. Revised reprint 1994.
Moyers, Corinne. Old Schools of Canyon County: includes Gem and Payette Counties. Nampa, Idaho: Corrine Moyers, 1988.
Neil, J. Meredith. Saints & Oddfellows: A Bicentennial Sampler of Idaho Architecture. Boise, Idaho: Boise Gallery of Art Association, 1976.
Nettleton, Helen, revised by Paul Nettleton, with information from Julia Hyslop. Interesting Buildings in Silver City, Idaho. Homedale, Idaho: Owyhee Publishing Company, 1992. 4th printing.
Patterns of the Past: The Ada County Historic Site Inventory. [Boise, Idaho]: [publisher not identified], 2001.
Reitzes, Lisa B. Paris-a Look at Idaho Architecture. Boise, Idaho: Idaho State Historic Preservation Office, 1981.
Shallat, Todd, et al Harrison Boulevard: Preserving the Past in Boise’s North End. Boise, ID: School of Social Sciences and Public Affairs, Boise State University, 1989.
Webb, Anna. 150 Boise Icons: To Celebrate the City’s Sesquicentennial “An Idaho Statesman publication.” Boise, Idaho: Idaho Statesman, 2013.
White, William A. Living on the south side of the tracks: the River Street digital history project and Boise, Idaho. Boise, Idaho: Boise City Department of Arts and History, 2016.
Whiting, Henry II. At Nature’s Edge: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Artist Studio. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2007.
Whiting, Henry II. Teater’s Knoll: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Idaho Legacy. Midland, Michigan: Northwood Institute Press, 1987.
Wright, Patrica. Twin Falls County: A Look at Idaho Architecture. Boise, Idaho: Idaho State Historical Society, Preservation Office, 1979.
Wright, Patricia, and Lisa B. Reitzes. Tourtellotte & Hummel of Idaho: The Standard Practice of Architecture. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press with Idaho State Historical Society, 1987.
Wright, Patricia, illustrated by Elizabeth Mowrey, photography by Duane Garrett, maps by K. Erin Old. Twin Falls Country: a look at Idaho architecture. Boise, Idaho: Idaho State Historical Society, Preservation Office, 1979.
Yehle, W.D. Inventory of Harrison Boulevard: An Inventory of the Residential Structures Located on Harrison Boulevard, Boise, Idaho.

Sacred Heart Church in Old Mission State Park in Idaho. Photo by Vatsun at en.wikipedia CC BY 3.0] photograph taken April 2, 2008.
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cataldo_Church.JPG

This page updated by Ronnie Joiner on March 14, 2022.