HOW TO SELL BOISE
BOISE Beguiling
BY STEVE HARTRIDGE Boise, the attractive mid-sized capital
of Idaho, enjoys a spectacular setting among the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Yet with little real ‘profile’ outside of
the western USA, Boise is able to deliver that rare treat: while most visitors arrive with low expectations and little knowledge of the city, they leave impressed at its urban parks, surprising cultural facets, superb dining options and one-of-a-kind attractions – such as a tour of one of the USA's oldest chocolate-making factories. Although it has a growing population of almost 300,000, Boise retains a real small town feel with good shops, restaurants and bars and an excellent weekly farmers’ market selling locally-made produce and wares, Immediately evident to visitors to ‘The
City of Trees’ is a civic pride that has resulted in numerous city parks, trails and outdoor attractions designed for all the year's seasons. To get a general perspective of the city,
and to see how it is overlooked by the Rocky Mountains, head up to The Boise Depot, a Mission-style building that once welcomed train passengers and freight from the western US. With Amtrak axing services in 1996,
the grand old station stands eerily quiet, bar the occasional ching ching of the gift shop's till. But The Boise Depot offers an uninterrupted view back down Capitol Boulevard to the city centre and snow- tipped mountains beyond. There’s no shortage of places to take a
stroll in Boise. The city and its outlying areas are criss-crossed by parks – and the most popular are all named after women. Julia Davis Park, a 90-acre park, is the cultural and historic heart of the city. It’s the home of the Boise Art Museum, Idaho State Historical Museum and Idaho Black History Museum and also features a Rose Garden, picnic shelters, duck pond and tennis courts. It’s also the place of Boise Zoo, which
started almost by default when a monkey escaped from a visiting circus. City residents couldn’t catch it, so they made it the first exhibit of a new zoo. African giraffes are a new attraction this year. Other ‘green lungs’ include Anne Morrison Park, a 150-acre park with
34 September 2011 •
www.sellinglonghaul.com
riverside access that is popular with anglers, and Kathryn Albertson Park, designed to be an attractive home for resident and migratory wildlife (including a large population of nesting waterfowl), with outdoor gazebos, a fountain, some of the world's largest Ponderosa Pine and access to the Greenbelt. (see 'Must Dos') Both parks are close to downtown. One of many ‘quirky’ Boise attractions
is the Old State Penitentiary, close to Idaho Botanical Gardens. It is one of just four state penitentiaries in the US that you can tour (Alcatraz is another). Opened in 1872 when Idaho was still
frontier land and, like most territories at the time, many of its settlements were lawless, it has been closed since 1973. On the National Register of Historic Places, the prison was once the haunt of the disreputable – up to 630 at a time – including a certain Raymond Snowden. Dubbed ‘Idaho's Jack the Ripper’ he was the only inmate who received the death penalty at the prison (for murdering a local woman). Visitors are taken around the grim but
hauntingly empty complex by an ex-guard, who regales them with stories of prison life, attempted escapes and life
BOISE Must Dos...
• Trolley and Walking Tours: Take a narrated tour of Boise's historic downtown aboard a 1800s-style trolley or sightseeing bus, or simply stroll around Old Boise Historic District, home to the Basque Block and Basque Museum and Cultural Center, shops, good restaurants and lively bars
• The Boise Greenbelt: Along the Boise River, bicycle and walking paths link 850 scenic acres of natural area and parks. Attractions include a wildlife area and bird sanctuary
• Idaho Black History Museum: In Julia Davis Park, the museum celebrates the achievements of blacks in the west, specifically Idahoans. Exhibits travel between the few black history museums in the western states.
in cells with sandstone walls that were bone-numbingly cold in winter and seeringly hot in summer. For those with the stomach for it, there’s even a visit to the death chamber and a chance to see the gallows’ trap door open on the spot where Snowden was hanged. Close to the penitentiary is The
Morrison Knudsen Nature Center, which provides an Idaho ‘fish and wildlife experience’. The highlight is the life and times of a living, moving river, designed to be a sample snapshot of ‘Wild Idaho’. A mountain stream with logjams and a
waterfall, a wetlands pond circled with willows and cattails, and a high-desert garden with sagebrush and other native plants represent major ecosystems in the state. Trout, whitefish, kokanee, ducks, geese, great blue herons, songbirds, and mink are just some of the wildlife that reside here. The Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial sits solemnly in the grounds of the Boise Art Museum. Featuring a 180- foot ‘Quote Wall’, with the words of
From left: Take a tour of Boise's Capitol or Statehouse; Basque celebrations; Boise and the Rocky Mountains as seen from the Boise Depot
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84