Save the Date: River Street Neighborhood Grant Project Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

Date: Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Time: 2:00 – 4:00 PM

Location: Erma Hayman House 617 Ash St, Boise, ID 83702

RSVP: Please contact Kellie at kellie@preservationidaho.org

Note: Advanced registration is required.

Parking: There is limited street parking on Lee Street and the surrounding blocks. It is recommended that you use alternative transportation, and/or park nearby at Julia Davis or Ann Morrison Park.

Join us in a significant celebration of heritage and community achievement! In partnership with Preservation Idaho, the Boise City Department of Arts & History, and the dedication of our steering committee and volunteers, we're excited to invite you to the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the River Street Neighborhood Grant Project.

This event marks a pivotal moment, as we reflect on the completed initiatives and look forward to the collective hopes for the future in the historic River Street Neighborhood. During the ceremony, representatives from Preservation Idaho and its partnering organizations will discuss the impact of these projects and share their visions for the area's future.

Project Highlights:

Preservation Idaho secured a $25,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Creation of a free, self-guided walking tour highlighting the storied past of the River Street Historic Neighborhood.
Installation of informative signage around the neighborhood, enhancing visitor experience and resident engagement.

The success of this project has also been recognized in an article published by Preservation Magazine. To read more about the project's impact, visit: Preservation Magazine Article.

We look forward to celebrating with you and discussing the enriched future of this cherished community. Please let us know if you can join us by contacting Kellie at the email provided above.

River Street Neighborhood Grant Project: Celebrating History and Continuing Progress

In April 2022, Preservation Idaho was honored to receive a $25,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP), supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, for the Telling The Full History Preservation Fund. This initiative focuses on the River Street Historic Neighborhood, with the goal of preserving and celebrating its rich, multifaceted past.

Project Achievements:

Creation of a Free Guided Tour: With the expertise of Emily Fritchman-Mahaney, a Public Historian, and collaboration with Dan Everhart, we developed a self-guided walking and driving tour. Starting from the neighborhood’s inception in the late 1800s, the tour features pivotal families and properties that trace the neighborhood’s evolution into a dynamic multicultural community. It also highlights its significant role during the Civil Rights Movement in Boise and explores ongoing changes today.
Invaluable Contributions and Collaborations: The tour was enriched by contributions from Senator Cherie Buckner-Webb, who not only narrated parts of the tour but also shared personal stories, photographs, and contacts, adding a deeply personal touch to the historical narrative. Senator Buckner-Webb, having lived in the neighborhood, brings an authentic voice that connects past and present.
Installation of informative signage around the neighborhood, enhancing visitor experience and resident engagement.
Aspirational Goal: Establishing a Local Historic District that aims to establish a more permanent safeguard for the River Street Historic Neighborhood. Our aspiration is to ensure that the remaining historical elements are preserved, and that the elements we have lost are commemorated and celebrated with the respect they deserve.
Continuing Efforts: We are dedicated to achieving our aspirational goal, continuing to work collaboratively to deepen and broaden the historical narratives we share. Our ongoing partnerships and community engagements play a crucial role in these efforts.

For those interested in experiencing the tour and learning more about the River Street Historic Neighborhood, we invite you to access the self-guided tour. It offers extensive background information, historical photos, and narratives that bring the vibrant history of this community to life.

Click here to access the self-guided tour and dive into the history of River Street.

Join us as we celebrate our achievements and continue our commitment to telling the full history of the River Street Historic Neighborhood. Your support and interest help keep our community’s history alive and thriving.

Special Thanks To: The Basque Museum and Cultural Center, John Bertram and JanyRae Seda, Senator Cherie Buckner-Webb, Downtown Boise Neighborhood Association, Dan Everhart, Friends of Minidoka, Emily Fritchman-Mahaney, M.A., Alvon Griffin, Jr., Idaho Black History Museum, Idaho State Archives, Idaho State Historic Preservation Office, David Kociol, St. Paul Baptist Church, Studio A, Thrive Web Designs, Treasure Valley NAACP, Boise City Department of Arts & History, and City of Boise. These partnerships have been essential in bringing this project to fruition.

This Preservation Idaho program has been funded by National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Telling the Full History Preservation Fund, with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this tour do not necessarily represent those of the National Trust or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Project Background: Preservation Idaho’s direct investment in the River Street neighborhood began at the Erma Hayman House in 2013. Built in approximately 1907, this small stone house was Mrs. Hayman’s home from 1948 until her passing in 2009. A Black Idahoan restricted to the purchase of a home in this neighborhood, Mrs. Hayman’s story is emblematic of many of her peers in this multi-racial, multi-cultural section of Boise. Following her death and the property’s acquisition by Capital City Development Corporation, the future of the property at 617 Ash St. was uncertain. PI’s determined advocacy on behalf of the building and its story resulted in a series of preservation successes.

In 2014, PI organized volunteers to clean the vacant house and secure it against vandals. These efforts coincided with a grant award to PI from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to fund a study of the house, its needs, and possibilities for reuse.

In 2015, PI helped facilitate an archaeological investigation of the Erma Hayman House site, led by William White III and Mark Warner, and in 2018, the house was conveyed to the City of Boise for preservation, rehabilitation, and interpretation.

Since 2018, the City of Boise has overseen the site’s rehabilitation and transformation into a community asset. In September 2022, Boise City Department of Arts and History opened the Erma Hayman House to the public as a cultural site and community space.