Carnegie Library

The Carnegie Library in downtown Boise is a stately Classical Revival style building that sits in the middle of the block and is surrounded by grassy lawn dotted with trees. The two-story building was constructed in 1904. An addition to the rear of the building containing a stack room and an auditorium underneath was built in 1914. The Boise Public Library occupied the building until 1972 after which the building was utilized for offices until 2018 when it was vacated. Ednetics, purchased the building with plans to rehabilitate it for offices and event space.

Rosin Preservation collaborated with Ednetics and Boise-based Hummel Architects to facilitate the historic tax credit process. The building has been well-maintained over the years and is generally in very good condition with excellent integrity. Ednetics and Hummel designed a plan that restores the main level to its historic configuration, removing non-historic partitions that were installed in the reading rooms and stairs that were installed in the rear addition in the 1980s. While the lower level will undergo more reconfiguration, key features will be restored. A stage that was historically in the children’s reading room had been buried within non-historic partitions. WPA-era murals that lined the stage walls had lost their context; one was removed entirely when one of the wing walls was demolished. Ednetics hopes to reclaim the stage, re-establishing the two extant murals to their historic context, and rebuild the missing wing wall.

Rosin Preservation coordinated an on-site visit with the SHPO, owner, and architect to discuss significant character defining features and the effect of proposed rehabilitation. Rosin prepared a preliminary request for SHPO and NPS review prior to the Part 2 submittal to vet a couple of potentially challenging treatments that impact historic fabric.  Rosin is pleased to continue the collaboration with the owner and architect on the rehabilitation of this significant Boise landmark.