Preservation Idaho gives 32nd annual Orchids and Onions

Awards were given Saturday in Nampa.  

The Orchids, for positive contributions to historic preservation, went to:
— Distinguised Preservationist: Ann Swanson, Boise, for 25 years of preservation work in Idaho.
— Friend of Preservation: Patricia Eames, McCall, for her work to preserve historic McCall.
— Excellence in Historic Preservation: Basin Butte Lookout building. The lookout in the Salmon-Challis National Forest was built in 1934. A partnership of groups renovated it in 2008.
— Contribution to Historic Preservation, Overland/Crescent Brewery restoration:  
In 2007-2008, Triad Distributing in Nampa used this 1907, castle-style, former brewery, as the cornerstone of its business.
— Cultural Heritage Preservation:
    Maddy Baker, Post Falls, for her work with the Post Falls History Walk.
    Aaron Scheff, Boise,  and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality Brownfield Response Program for work to remove environmental barriers to redevelopment in historic areas.
    Downtown Nampa Facade Rehabilitation Grant Program for its rehabilitation of the city’s historic core.

This year’s sole Onion, for insensitivity to historic preservation, goes to The Boise Independent School District for the demolition of South Junior High School. Constructed in 1948, the building was on the National Register for Historic Places.

For more, and lists of past winners, visit the Preservation Idaho website.

Read more about the winners...

Basin Butte Lookout Restoration, Salmon-Challis National Forest

This Forest Service fire lookout with views of the Stanley Basin and the Salmon-Challis National Forest was constructed in 1934. Until 1989 when its use was discontinued, it served as an integral part of the fire suppression system for that forest. In 2008, a partnership of the Passport in Time Volunteer Program, Yankee Fork Ranger District Fire Crew, the Challis Youth Conservation Corps (YCC), the Salmon River Chapter of the Fire Lookout Association, local volunteers, and personnel from the Salmon-Challis National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management was organized to rebuild the catwalk, replace the shutters, install a new door, and move a historic outhouse into place on the site. 

The catwalk, shutters, and door were built according to the original plans for the lookout. The Salmon-Challis National Forest plans to make the lookout available to the public through its cabin rental system. Preservation Idaho is proud to honor this project with an Orchid Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation.

Renovation of the Overland/Crescent Brewery, Nampa

With castle-like architectural influences designed in 1907 by the influential Boise architectural firm of Tourtellotte and Hummel, and originally known as the Overland Brewery, this complex was constructed for Jacob Lockman – the adjacent Lockman House was the recipient of an Orchid Award in 2005. After surviving prohibition and nearly five decades of brewing Overland Lager, the plant was closed in 1952.

When the Grand Brew Hall was demolished in 1966 for urban renewal, the office and bottling plant were all that were left. In 2007-2008, Triad Distributing had the vision to use this historic building as the cornerstone of its business operations. Their persistence and determination are reason enough for Preservation Idaho to honor this project with an Orchid Award for Contribution to Historic Preservation.

Patricia Eames, McCall

Since 2003, Pat has worked tirelessly to preserve what remains of historic McCall – which as she would tell you is no easy task. As chair of the McCall Historic Preservation Commission since 2005, Pat has worked to identify site of historic significance in the McCall area and initiate plans to protect them.

Like many community volunteers, her work does not stop there - she served as a board member of the Central Idaho Historical Museum from 2002-2008 and employed her significant experience as an archivist when volunteering for the McCall Public Library for the last five years. McCall Mayor Kulesza notes that “when anyone has a question about (McCall’s) history, Pat is the first person that comes to mind.” These and many other reasons are why Pat is a Friend of Preservation.

Ann Swanson, Boise

Ann first came to Idaho and the State Historical Society in 1979. As a package deal with her husband Ken, Ann’s career at the State Historic Preservation Office has perhaps been Ken’s greatest contribution to the historic preservation community across the state. Ann started as a federal grant administrator, and it was a natural progression for her to assume the leadership of the new Certified Local Government program at its inception in 1985.

In that role for the past 25 years, Ann has been the face of statewide historic preservation to many communities around the state. In fact, for many of those communities, she is the mother hen who listens, advises, cajoles, and occasionally scolds fledgling preservationists across Idaho. We are pleased to select Ann as Preservation Idaho’s Distinguished Preservationist of 2009.

Ms. Maddy Baker, Post Falls, and the Post Falls History Walk

Not very often does a passion for preservation and an interest in history establish itself so strongly in someone not even out of grade school. At nine years old Madeline “Maddy” Baker of Post Falls was inspired to catalogue the heritage of her town with a walking tour illustrated by life-sized figures representing significant individuals in the community’s history.

Working with the Post Falls Historical Society and artist Linda Fabrizius, and her mother Kathy, she wrote grants, created a website, and installed eight figures around town. More figures are in the works, and this young interest in history has led to a lasting legacy for the City of Post Falls. A quick search of Preservation Idaho records has revealed that Maddy is the youngest recipient of an Orchid Award in either the Cultural Heritage Preservation category or any other.

Aaron Scheff and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality Brownfield Response Program

The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality Brownfield Response Program’s function is to remove environmental barriers to the redevelopment of idled, vacant, and abandoned properties suffering from confirmed environmental contamination. This program is carried out through a complicated system of federal and state funding, private partnerships, grants, and low-interest loans. Fortunately for the state, these projects are often implemented at sites of historic significance around Idaho.

Not only do program participants reduce sprawl, relieve transportation pressures, and prevent natural resource degradation but they can also spur the preservation of sites important to Idaho’s history and culture. Examples include the Immanuel Methodist Episcopal Church in Boise’s North End – now being renovated by the Treasure Valley Institute for Children’s Arts (TrICA), the Albion Normal School, the American Linen Building in Boise, the Jackson Street Silos in Moscow, and the Bayhorse Mining District neat Challis. Under the leadership of Aaron Scheff, this program will continue to be a powerful force for historic preservation and is worthy of this Orchid award for Cultural Heritage Preservation.

Downtown Nampa Facade Rehabilitation Grant Program

In 2006, the City of Nampa initiated a program to partially fund the renovation and rehabilitation of historic buildings in the city’s core. Financed by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, this program offers up to 50 percent of the cost of renovation of historic structures for projects meeting the program’s requirements.

Typical projects have ranged in cost between $60,000 and $120,000. So far, seven projects have been completed and with the support of the city, more are possible. In combination with Nampa’s plans for downtown construction projects, these grants are bringing the downtown core back to life. Preservation Idaho is pleased to recognize the Downtown Nampa Facade Rehabilitation Grant Program with an Orchid Award for Cultural Heritage Preservation.

THE LONE ONION:

The Boise Independent School District for the Demolition of South Junior High School

South Junior High was constructed in 1948 following a design by Whitehouse and Price of Spokane. Built to house the expanding educational needs of south Boise, the building was constructed of reinforced concrete by the Boise firm of J. O. Jordan and Son. After serving the district for 60 years, the building was demolished to make way for a new facility on the site.

This building could have been retained, but too often a lack of imagination or will leads to an unnecessary loss of Idaho’s history. In this instance, despite the efforts of Preservation Idaho, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and hundreds of other individuals and organizations which proved that the retention of the building would cost slightly less than new construction, the district chose to demolish the National Register eligible structure for a soulless new building. This serves as a reminder that half a dozen other historic school buildings are threatened in similar ways and their fate will be the same without action by the community at large.