34 Crazy Photos Show How Much the Boise Mall Area Has Changed

Google Maps first sent their “Street View” cars into Boise in 2007. Since then, Boise has seen a huge population boom!

In the past 10 years alone, World Population review estimates that more than 170,000 new residents have moved to the Boise Metro area. With that type of growth, comes change and evolution. That evolution in Boise City limits is probably most evident in Downtown Boise. Just think of all the buildings that weren’t there a decade ago: JUMP, the Simplot Headquarters, Zion’s Bank Building, the Boise Center Expansion, a handful of hotels…

Earlier this spring, we grabbed some pretty dramatic now-and-then photos of Downtown Boise off Google Maps to show just how much things have changed. You can see them here or keep scrolling to the bottom of the article.

Image via Google Maps

That project had us wondering, which other places inside Boise city limits have seen dramatic changes since Google first visited? Naturally, our minds went to Boise Towne Square Mall. We know the inside has changed immensely from when this video was captured on opening day in 1988.

But what about the exterior? What about the neighboring businesses on Franklin or Milwaukee? We fired up the Google Maps time machine and went back to see what things looked like 11-15 years ago compared to today and the results were pretty wild.

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(For the record, we don't have any recollection of that Jack in the Box at all. None.)

34 Crazy Photos Show How Much the Area Around Boise's Mall Has Changed in 15 Years

Sure, superhero movies have perfected the art of time travel and multiverses...but until we manage to do it in real life, there's Google Maps!

KEEP READING: 52 Unbelievable Photos of How Much Downtown Boise Has Changed Over 10 Years

You do it with Facebook profile pictures. Downtown Boise does it with Google Maps. Here's a look at just how much Boise has changed since 2011.

25 Stores That Are No Longer at Boise Towne Square Mall

In April 2022, we counted 20 vacant storefronts at the Boise Towne Square Mall. Since it opened in 1988, a lot of stores have come and gone. While this is in no way a complete list of the stores that have moved on from the mall or closed completely, these are 25 that are no longer there.