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East End Neighborhood Association Records, 1946, 1966-2001

Overview of the Collection

Title
East End Neighborhood Association Records
Dates
1946, 1966-2001 (inclusive)
Quantity
4 linear feet, (9 boxes)
Collection Number
MSS 187
Summary
Minutes, correspondence, zoning and planning documents, legal documents, newspaper clippings, photos, and other records and publications, created or collected by the association, chiefly during the 1980s and 1990s. Most of the papers relate to the controversy in the 1990s over the proposal to build homes on the rim above Castle Rock, a Boise landmark considered sacred ground by the Shoshone and Paiute tribes of southern Idaho, and the association's campaign to "Save Castle Rock"; and to transportation studies in the 1980s and 1990s to divert traffic from Warm Springs Avenue in the East End through southeast Boise via new bridges over the Boise River.
Repository
Boise State University Library, Special Collections and Archives
Special Collections and Archives
1910 University Drive
Boise ID
83725
Telephone: 2084263990
archives@boisestate.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is available for research.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

Boise's East End is one of the city's oldest residential neighborhoods. In 1891, businessman and banker C. W. Moore built a 3 story home with 10 bedrooms on Warm Springs Avenue. Soon, other Boise prosperous citizens moved nearby, building fine homes and mansions, many of them heated by the natural hot water of the area. The homes remain today as evidence of city's architectural heritage. More modest homes north of Warm Springs Avenue are examples of the traditional cottage and bungalow-style homes built in the early 1900s.

In 1979, the East End Neighborhood Association was created in response to proposed construction of 24 town houses within this long-established area. The united homeowners designed an East End Neighborhood Plan, to retain the "single family neighborhood." Focusing on more than residential development, the plan proposed recommendations for transportation, schools, parks, water use, etc., in order to preserve "an efficient system of public and private facilities." The group was incorporated in 1983 and remains active in 2002.

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Content Description

Minutes, correspondence, zoning and planning documents, legal documents, newspaper clippings, photos, and other records and publications, created or collected by the association, chiefly during the 1980s and 1990s. Most of the papers relate to the controversy in the 1990s over the proposal to build homes on the rim above Castle Rock, a Boise landmark considered sacred ground by the Shoshone and Paiute tribes of southern Idaho, and the association's campaign to "Save Castle Rock"; and to transportation studies in the 1980s and 1990s to divert traffic from Warm Springs Avenue in the East End through southeast Boise via new bridges over the Boise River. Founded in 1979, incorporated in 1983, and active through 2002; the collection addresses the continual challenges to the East End Neighborhood Association's plan through out the 1980s and 1990s as it attempted to "maintain the character of the East End."

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

[item description], East End Neighborhood Association Records, Box [number] Folder [number], Boise State University Special Collections and Archives.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

In 2001, Betty Foster, former President of the East End Neighborhood Association, donated her association papers to Boise State University's Special Collections. Jay King donated additional documents from his term as a member of the association's board.

Processing Note

The items in Series 1 - 6 (Boxes 1-7) were donated by Betty Foster. Betty Foster and her husband John moved to Boise's East End in 1958, living in the same home for more than 40 years. After her retirement as North Junior High School's librarian, Foster became involved in local political issues. In response to a proposed housing development that would change the character of the neighborhood by introducing town houses, Foster initiated the formation of a East End Neighborhood Association in 1979. The association's biggest single struggle was in the 1990s against residential development on Castle Rock rim above the neighborhood. Foster contacted the Idaho Historical Society, the Ada County Highway District, and Boise City Council while working towards a resolution of the issue. After four years of meetings, the association, the developers, the city, and the Shoshone-Paiute tribes (who considered Castle Rock to be a sacred site) reached an agreement. The developer agreed to sell fifty acres of land, on the rim and immediately below it, to the city to preserve the integrity of Castle Rock itself; the rest of the rim would be developed with new homes. The city of Boise committed $500,000 toward the purchase of the land; the association needed to raise an additional $75,000. Foster, with her fellow East End citizens, spoke to community groups, sent out mailers, sold memorabilia, and sponsored ice cream socials and garage sales to raise the additional funds to "Save Castle Rock." For her work, Foster was designated in 1997 as Local Hero by the Idaho Statesman newspaper.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Mary Carter Hepworth
2002; updated 2023

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