Encyclopedia
Boise is the capital and largest city in the
U.S. state of
Idaho. Boise was given its name after French-Canadian trappers first explored the area after crossing the arid desert plains. Finding green trees at the site, primarily cottonwoods along the river, they named it
boisé . Boise has consequently been given the nickname
City of Trees. The original
Fort Boise was 40 miles west, down the
Boise River, near the confluence with the
Snake River at the
Oregon border. This fort was erected by the
Hudson's Bay Company in the 1830s. It was abandoned in the 1850s, but massacres along the
Oregon Trail prompted the
U.S. Army to re-establish a fort in the area in 1863,
during the
U.S. Civil War. The new location was selected because it was near the intersection of the Oregon Trail and a major road connecting the Boise Basin and the Owyhee mining areas, both booming at the time. Idaho City was the largest city in the area, but the new Fort Boise grew rapidly and Boise was incorporated as a city in 1864. The first capital of Idaho was Lewiston, but Boise replaced it in 1865. As of the 2000 census, Boise's population was 185,787. According to the 2005 Census estimates, the city proper had an estimated population of 193,161. Downtown Boise is at an
elevation of 2,704 feet above sea level.
Boise is the headquarters for several major companies, such as Washington Group International, Inc. , Micron Technology, Albertsons , and the J.R. Simplot Company. Other major industries are headquartered in Boise or have large manufacturing facilities there. High Tech industries are becoming increasingly vital to Boise's economy. State government is one of the city's main employers, as it is the capital city for Idaho and home of
Boise State University.
Boise is the county seat of Ada County and the principal city of the Boise metropolitan area, the Treasure Valley.
Boise has grown considerably in recent years and is now comparable in size to other major cities in the United States such as
Tacoma,
Des Moines,
Tulsa, and
Providence.
Geography
To distinguish the city from neighboring Boise County, government publications, maps and some other media may refer to the city as "Boise City". The official city name, however, is "Boise".
Boise is located at .
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 165.7 km² . 165.2 km² of it is land and 0.5 km² of it is water.
Demographics
Recent figures
Boise and its surrounding metropolitan area have seen dramatic growth through the 1990s and 2000s. The Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho puts Boise's population as of 2005 at just more than 208,000 people . That is up 11 percent from the 2000 Census figures below.
As of 2004 the city of Boise estimated the metropolitan area had a population of 526,656 .
2000 Census
As of the
census of 2000, there were 185,787 people, 74,438 households, and 46,523 families residing in the city. The
population density was 1,124.7/km² . There were 77,850 housing units at an average density of 471.3/km² . The racial makeup of the city was 92.15%
White, 0.77%
Black or
African American, 0.70% Native American, 2.08% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 1.74% from
other races, and 2.39% from two or more races. 4.53% of the population were
Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 74,438 households out of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.5% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 11.7% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $42,432, and the median income for a family was $52,014. Males had a median income of $36,893 versus $26,173 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,696. About 5.9% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 9.7% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Boise is the headquarters of
Albertsons LLC, Idaho Power,
Micron Technology,
Simplot,
Washington Group International, and
WinCo Foods.
Hewlett-Packard has a large complex in Boise which specializes in scanners and printers and is one of the largest private employers in the area, second only to Micron. Other high-tech employers include
Sybase and
Microsoft, which recently purchased locally-owned ProClarity. Technology investment has become increasingly important to the city. For example, Keynetics Inc., a Boise-based technology incubator, operates a portfolio of companies including the Internet retailer ClickBank, and PayTrack, a provider of payment processing and fraud control solutions to merchants. Boise also has thriving in-bound technical call centers like Teleperformance USA which boasts clients such as Apple and Cingular. Qwest, T-Mobile, and DirecTV also are major layers in the call-center industry in Boise.
Varney Airlines, founded by Walter Varney, was formed in Boise. The company is the root of present day
United Airlines, which still serves the city.
Education
The city is home to the Boise School District, which includes 34 elementary schools, 8 junior highs, 5 high schools and 2 specialty schools. Part of the Meridian School District overlaps into Boise city limits.
The city is home to six public high schools: Boise High School,
Borah High School, Capital High School, Timberline High School as well as the Meridian district's Centennial High School and the alternative Mountain Cove High School. Boise has one Catholic high school, Bishop Kelly High School.
Post-secondary educational options in Boise include
Boise State University,
Idaho State University,
University of Phoenix as well as a wide range of technical schools. Boise is home to
Boise Bible College, an undergraduate degree-granting college that exists to train leaders for churches as well as missionaries for the world.
Boise is one of the largest cities in the United States that does not have a community college. The issue has received a fair amount of attention from city and state officials in recent years.
Culture
Numbering about 15,000, Boise's Basque community is the largest
Basque community in the United States and the third largest in the world outside
Argentina and the Basque Country in
Spain and
France . A large Basque festival known as Jaialdi is held once every five years . Downtown Boise features a vibrant section known as the "Basque Block". Boise's mayor, David H. Bieter is of Basque descent.
Boise is also a regional hub for
jazz and
theater. The Gene Harris Jazz Festival is hosted in Boise each spring. The city is also home to a number of museums, including the Boise Art Museum, Idaho Historical Museum, the Basque Museum and Cultural Center, Idaho Black History Museum and the Discovery Center of Idaho. Several theater groups operate in the city, including the Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Boise Little Theatre and the Boise Contemporary Theater among others. On the first Thursday of each month, a gallery stroll is hosted in the city's core business district by the Downtown Boise Association. The city also holds an Egyptian Theatre.
The Morrison-Knudsen Nature Center offers a refreshing stroll with water features and wildlife experiences just east of downtown. It is located adjacent to . It features live fish and wildlife exhibits. There are bridges, viewing areas into the water, bird and butterfly gardens, waterfalls, and a visitor's center .
In 1984 the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints built the scenic Boise Idaho Temple here because of the large number of members in the region.
Boise will host the Winter 2009 Special Olympics World Games. More than 2,500 athletes from over 85 countries will participate.
Major attractions
A number of recreational opportunities are available, including extensive hiking and biking in the foothills to the immediate north of downtown and an extensive urban trail system called the Boise River Greenbelt that runs along the river. The
Boise River itself is a common destination for fishing, swimming and rafting.
Bogus Basin
Mountain Resort hosts several winter activities, including
cross-country and downhill skiing,
snowboarding and snow tubing. “Bogus” is just 16 miles outside city limits .
Minor professional sports teams in Boise include the short-season Class A Boise Hawks , the
Idaho Steelheads of the
ECHL, and the Idaho Stampede of the
NBA Development League. An
arenafootball2 franchise will begin play in 2007.
The
Boise State University campus is home to , home to local and national fine arts performances;
Bronco Stadium, the 30,000 seat
football stadium known for its blue AstroPlay field; and Taco Bell Arena, a 12,000 seat basketball and entertainment venue which opened in 1982 as the BSU Pavillion.
The
MPC Computers Bowl football game is held in late December of each year, and pairs a team from the
Western Athletic Conference with an Atlantic Coast Conference team.
The World Center for Birds of Prey is located just outside city limits, and is a key part of the re-establishment of the
Peregrine falcon and the subsequent removal from the
Endangered Species list. The center is currently breeding the very rare California condor, among many other rare and endangered species.
The city has been cited by publications like
Forbes, Fortune and Sunset for quality of life.
Media
The greater-Boise area is served by two weekly newspapers, two daily newspapers, five commercial television stations, and a variety of other media.
Transportation
The major Interstate serving Boise is I-84, with
I-184 branching toward the northeast. There is also a network of
bike paths throughout the city and surrounding region.
Commercial air service is provided at the
Boise Airport, recently renovated to accommodate the growing number of passengers flying in and out of Boise. Public bus transportation is provided by ValleyRide and the Boise Urban Stages .
Parts of the city
Despite Boise's small population, it occupies a large area, 165.7 km² according to the
United States Census Bureau. Like most major metropolitan areas it is divided into several named parts. These include the
Bench, the
North End "Wests Boise" and
Downtown among others.
Downtown Boise
Downtown Boise is Boise's cultural center and home to many small businesses and a few sky scrapers. Downtown Boise has a wide array of shopping and dining opportunities. Centrally, 8th street contains a fairly large pedestrian zone which with its street side cafes and restaurants lends Boise a slightly European feel.
A new development, called BODO was developed to revamp the 8th Street Marketplace, with new residental and business buildings, and a more central shopping area. It is slated to be complete around 2006, but with a new theater complex, popular restaurant chains such as P. F. Changs, and new high end boutiques and retail stores already in place, this area of downtown is becoming the newest hotspot in Boise.
Downtown Boise's economy has been threatened by extensive growth around the and an increasing number of shopping centers which have sprung up around new housing developments. Events such as and have been created to combat this trend.
The North End
The North End contains many of Boise's older homes and is known for its tree-lined drives such as Harrison Boulevard. Here you can find many quiet neighborhoods right in the center of Boise. From one can afford a view of Downtown Boise and the sea of trees that is the North End. On 13th Street is home to many small restaurants and businesses and is a favorite place among natives for an evening outing.
The North End is also known for its artistic community. Politically it is considerably more liberal than the rest of Boise, and as such is noted as a Democratic Party enclave in otherwise very Republican Idaho.
Southwest Boise
Southwest Boise has traditionally been known for its more country-like aesthetics. It contains sparsely populated neighborhoods built anywhere from the 1960's to the early 1980's. Many of these sport larger acre sized plots and even pastures. You will find the occasional farmhouse and agricultural fields in the area of Boise as well. Since the 1980's much of this area did not have much growth due to a moratorium on new construction to prevent urban sprawl. However, since this has been lifted there has been enormous growth of new homes and neighborhoods in the area with fields being cleared almost overnight to accommodate the new construction. Nevertheless, a short drive brings you to plenty of shopping and it fairly close to Interstate 84, theatres, shopping, the airport, and the Boise Bench area. Also close by on country roads are Kuna, Meridian, and Nampa.
Northwest Boise
Much of Northwest Boise lies blanketed against the Boise Foothills to the north, the major throughfare State Street to the South, the City of Eagle to the West, and Downtown Boise to the East. It contains an eccentric mix of old and new neighborhoods the farther West one travels. One of these neighborhoods, Lakeharbor, features the private Silver Lake, a reclaimed quarry. Northwest Boise still strives to contain much of the 'North-End' charm and community feeling, yet is more affordable. Downtown is just minutes away, while affords an escape from the hustle and bustle of daily city life as well as easy access to the Boise Greenbelt. Across the river sits the Boise Bench and to the west is fast access to the blanket communities of Eagle, Star, and Middleton.
Warm Springs
Warm Springs is centered around the tree-lined drive Warm Springs Avenue and contains many of Boise's largest and most expensive homes . The area gets its name from the natural hot springs that flow from Boise's fault line and warm many of the homes in this area.
East End
The far east end of Warm Springs is home to residents of Harris Ranch, a turn of the century ranch and lumber mill driven by river water power. Dallas and Alta Harris purchased the large acreage of land spanning from the Mesa to Lucky Peak. The original development in this area was called Barber Town, featuring a hotel with hot springs nestled into the foothills. The new development, Harris Ranch is the largest development in Idaho, featuring craftsman style homes for families and seniors seeking the active lifestyle that riverside convenience offers.
The Boise Bench
The Boise Bench is south of Downtown Boise and is raised in elevation approximately 60 feet. The bench is named such because the sudden rise in elevation gives the prominent appearance of a step, or bench. The Bench is home to the old Boise Train Depot, Vista Village shopping center, and extensive residential neighborhoods. The is on the bench to the southwest of downtown. Due south of the Boise Bench is the , raised up on another "bench".
About the name
Origin of Name
The name
Boise comes from the French word
boisé, which means "wooded". Many people assume that it means "tree", but the French word for "tree" is
, whereas the word
means "wood". One legend claims that French-Canadian fur trappers of the early 1800s came over the mountains looked down upon the Boise River Valley and exclaimed "Le Bois!" . This is also how Boise gained its nickname 'The City of Trees'. In actuality, the name was apparently a translation of an earlier English name for the
Boise River, the Wood River.
Pronunciation
Locals from Boise area pronounce the city's name with a "hard s" sound , not as the commonly heard "soft s" sound, which would rhyme with "noisy". Those who do pronounce the city as "Boy-Z" are quickly picked up by natives as new or as recent transplants to the city.
Photo gallery
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