Find Charm in Pocatello, Idaho's Old Town
Carnegie Library, Oldest Episcopal Stone Church Reflect State's Past
Sep 2, 2009
Travelers driving along Highway15 or 86 who stop to spend an hour or more at Pocatello’s Old Town will be rewarded with a historically significant side trip. With tree-lined streets and hanging flower baskets, the district is an architectural treasure trove of denticulated cornices, crenelated crowns, leaded-glass windows, turrets, parapets and towers.
Though most of the structures contained businesses, Pocatello's first high school, churches, and historic residences – including the 1901 Standrod Mansion (allegedly haunted)-- are also part of the 19-block Downtown Historic District.
Romanesque Revival, Art Deco Among Architectural Styles
Made up primarily of one and two story buildings, the district’s architectural styles run the gamut from Romanesque Revival to Art Deco. Although the dominant material used in their construction was brick, hand-hewn stone, terra cotta and other materials were also incorporated into their designs. First floor of the Union Pacific Depot (1915), for example, is made of dressed grey ashler while the rest of the building is constructed of red brick.
Among buildings constructed between 1914 and 1916, the cream colored brick Kane Building at 315 W. Center features a large terra cotta cornice and parapet. The building was the first in Pocatello to have a passenger elevator. Other structures built during the period include the Italian Renaissance Revival Franklin Building (120 N. Main), the North Building (northwest corner of Lewis and Arthur) and the Federal Building (150 S. Arthur), one of the district’s few three-story structures.
Among the oldest buildings in the district, the 1892 Idaho Furniture Block was built of rusticated sandstone in Richardson Romanesque style. The Carnegie Library (161 N. Garfield), an outstanding example of Palladian Villa architecture, cost $12,000. when it was built in 1907.
Many Pocatello Businesses Occupy Historic Buildings
Like the eclectic array of architectural styles, the businesses that now occupy the buildings comprise a wide array of functions. Clothing, antiques, house wares, sporting goods, art galleries and other stores make Historic Old Town a shopping destination. There are restaurants, coffee shops, bars and bakeries, too, as well as day spas, beauty salons, banks, architects, lawyers, accountants, and doctors offices.
Old Town Special Events
Several special events are held in the district during the year. The Pocatello Art Center (444 N. Main), which regularly presents changing displays of art, also sponsors a holiday show in late November and December as well as an annual juried art show. Just south of the Union Pacific Depot in UP building B-59, the Pocatello Model Railroad and Historical Society holds open house on the 3rd Sunday of each month and a holiday train display from late November until the last Saturday before Christmas.
An Old Town favorite of residents and visitors alike is Simplot Square, with its fountain and flying fish sculptures. Built on a lot donated by agriculture magnate J. R. Simplot, the park was a community project and has become a popular spot for weddings and public events.
Walking tour information on Old Town as well as Pocatello’s National Landmark East Side Downtown Historic District is available at the Pocatello Old Town office (420 N. Main Street). There’s also an excellent brochure which outlines a tour of Pocatello’s Westside Residential Historic District in the Old Town Neighborhood. Free parking is available at the public lot at 200 N. Union Pacific Avenue.
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