Eighth & Main is an 18-story building in the western

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, located in

Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area's ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. The tallest building in the state at , it houses the Idaho headquarters of

Zions Bank Zions Bancorporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. Zions Bancorporation originated as Keystone Insurance and Investment Co., a Utah Corporation, in April 1955. In April 1960, Keystone, together with several in ...

, as well as Holland & Hart and other companies. Construction was completed in early 2014, and a grand opening celebration was held on February 15. The location, formerly known as "the pit" and the "Boise Hole", had sat vacant since 1987. Besides Zions Bank, other tenants include Holland & Hart LLP,

Ruth's Chris Steak House Ruth's Chris Steak House is a chain of over 100 steakhouses across the United States, Canada and Mexico. On May 22, 2008, the company underwent rebranding and became part of Ruth's Hospitality Group after its acquisition of Mitchell's Fish Mark ...

, CTA Architects Engineers, First American Title Company, Clenera, LLC, and the Idaho Technology Council. Half of the top floor (17th Floor), known as the Idaho & Snake River Rooms, is available for limited public rental focused on non-profit and community-oriented events.

Design

The building's spire was changed several times after complaints that it resembled similar spires used by

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church).

Former structures

The Overland Hotel occupied the site from 1864 to 1904, and a noteworthy guest in 1870 was General

William T. Sherman William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. The hotel was purchased by Hosea B. Eastman in 1877, and was the site of Boise's first

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

exchange in 1883. With the intent of building a new hotel it was demolished in 1904, but after estimates were deemed too expensive, Eastman decided on a retail and office building instead. Until 1987, the site was occupied by the Eastman Building, designed by Tourtellotte and Company. Originally four stories when it opened in 1905 as the Overland Building, two more were added in 1910. It was renamed the Eastman Building in 1926 following the owner's death and was filled with legal, dental, and medical offices. It gradually fell from favor and it was acquired in 1972 by the Boise Redevelopment Agency for a proposed downtown mall. Slated for demolition in 1978, preservationist interests intervened and it stood idle for nearly another decade. An offer was made in 1981 to move it several blocks south to the 8th Street Marketplace. With plans finally set for its refurbishment, the Eastman Building was destroyed two days later by fire in January 1987, fought by more than one hundred firefighters for over a day and a half, and was demolished soon after.

References

External links

*
Idaho Historical Society
– photo of Eastman Building, circa 1950 *
Idaho Historical Society
– photo of Eastman Building fire aftermath – January 1987
Boise Architecture Project
– Boise Hole

– video – Foggy future for Boise's 8th and Main 'pit' – May 26, 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Eighth and Main Bank buildings in Idaho Commercial buildings in Idaho Office buildings completed in 2014 2014 establishments in Idaho Skyscraper office buildings in Boise, Idaho

Design

Former structures

See also

References

External links