9 Downtown Boise Buildings With Fascinating Pasts

Raise your hand if you've spent a night or two club hopping around 6th and Main in Downtown Boise. Seeing your personal history in Facebook memories from those nights may make you laugh (or cringe,) but how much do you know about the history of the buildings themselves?

We're suckers for old buildings and went down a rabbit hole looking at the Idaho State Historical Society's map of Idaho buildings that are recognized as part of the National Register of Historic Places. It was sad to see how many cool buildings on the map have been demolished. At the same time, it was absolutely fascinating reading through the nomination form for some of the buildings that we've spent a lot of time in.

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It's easy to go down a rabbit hole after clicking on your first nomination form. The rabbit hole we fell down was looking at some of the buildings that are home to the nightclubs we spent where way too many evenings that we don't remember with people we'll never forget. (Ok, we're never going to forget that one New Year's Eve at China Blue where we couldn't get a cab home and walked home barefoot even though it was 27º.)

We were absolutely fascinated by what some of these places used to be. Some of them will really surprise you. Others of them might make you go "oh, well that explains the outside of the building!" Step into our time machine and see if you have the same reaction that we did!

A Historic Look at 9 Nightclubs, Restaurants and Stores At Boise's 6th and Main

Have you ever spent time reading some of the nomination forms for the historic buildings in Downtown Boise? The one submitted in for "Old Boise" included a lot of your favorite party spots and restaurants near 6th and Main. Do you know what these buildings used to be? Scroll through and check it out!

Vintage Postcards Show Off 10 Mesmerizing Places That Vanished From Boise

8 Vintage Scenes of Boise From the 1900-1950s and What They Look Like Today

When it was incorporated in 1864, Boise was a mining town of just over 1600. Today, it's one of the fastest growing cities in the country. Check out these vintage photos to see how much things have changed since the early 1900s.