Idaho Falls Historic Preservation

04/05/2024

03/12/2024

Confused by Preservation Speak?

Discussion of historic register listing often strikes fear in the hearts of property owners who believe that the listing dictates what they can do with their own properties. Despite scary urban myths, most of the time there are few or no restrictions. It depends on the register. Did you know….?

** Listing on the National Register is honorary only. It comes with no legal restrictions or control over the property owner’s ability to change or even demolish the property. It also provides no legal protection for the property or historic neighborhood. Most restrictions and protections come with local historic districts, which Idaho Falls does not have.

** We have two National Historic Districts, the Ridge Avenue Historic District and the 11th Street Historic District. There are also individual buildings listed here and there, like in the downtown, where a contiguous district was not possible, because too many of the buildings had lost significant historic integrity.

** Listing on the National Register, while not dictating what can be done with the property, is beneficial (required) for receiving various federal, state and local incentives, though some states like Idaho so far don’t offer any local or state assistance. Most financial incentives are aimed at promoting the restoration and reuse of historic buildings as businesses. Fewer funds are available for historic homeowners’ private residences.

Read on in the article to learn about different levels of protection and why neighborhood groups are opting in.

More than a decade into Philadelphia's development boom, historic districts offer residents a voice in change

10/08/2023

Highlighting places of local and national importance that have recently been restored, are currently threatened, have been saved from demolition or neglect, or have been lost.

10/08/2023

10/08/2023

07/17/2023

I have received many queries about how to furnish & decorate a bungalow. So, I have written a series of articles on the subject, as always, referencing basic design principles, with The Craftsman magazine providing my ultimate guidance & inspiration.

Please let me know what you think & I'd love to respond to your questions!

I know there are typos. I'm temporarily evacuated from my house because of paint fumes so they'll have to wait, along with the 2 final sections. I'm porching it!

https://bungalows101.com/designing-your-bungalows-interior-spaces-an-introduction/

07/17/2023

07/17/2023

12/15/2022

Cascade of History...
Listen to Outreach Historian Dan Everhart on the Cascade of History podcast discuss the development of SHPO's photo database which features images from across Idaho and the Pacific Northwest from the 1970s to present day.

Image: Pendleton, Oregon, 1981, SHPO Staff.

This image is one of thousands taken by volunteers and employees of the Idaho SHPO in the course of their work over the past five decades. Agency staff has recently begun to systematically digitize, describe, and upload this assortment of slides, prints, and digital images into a searchable database which will make this invaluable record of Idaho's built environment more easily accessible. The images in this database, which will ultimately be available to the public, now number over 30,000 and growing.

https://soundcloud.com/cascadeofhistory/cascade-of-history-episode-14?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing