This Unique Boise Home Has a Hidden Full Size Indoor Basketball Court
While the basketball court is very cool, it's not the most unique part of this quirky home!
Over the past few years, we've seen our fair share of quirky homes in the Treasure Valley like this one with a speakeasy hidden in the basement or this one with its own '50s style diner. That said, we haven't found anything quite as quirky as what we saw in this home on Five Mile in Boise.
What type of home do you picture when you hear that the home has a full-size indoor basketball court. Probably some multi-million property, right? That's why you might be surprised to find out that this particular home is on the market for $689,900 and that the basketball court is actually older than most of the home itself!
Located at 2160 S Five Mile Road, the listing for this unique home reveals that a portion of the 4,740 square foot home was once the Five Mile School House which was built in 1903. The home has three separate living areas and it's relatively easy to decipher which of those three is set up inside the old school house. It's no doubt the one where the bedroom is perched on a stage. Looking through the photos it looks like one backstage area has been converted into a closet.
There's not a ton of information about the old school house on the interwebs, but thanks to some great Boise history groups on Facebook, we were to find bits and pieces about it! Just a few days ago, Facebook user Anita Jo Jahner shared a class picture from Five Mile School that she believes was taken in the 1920s when her grandmother went there. Another user wrote back with another class photo from 1922 of kids in front of a brick building that seems to match the brick on the back of this home.
Per the current listing, the main part of the home and one of the separate living areas were added on in 1960. Last year someone posted in the "Idaho History 1805 to 1950's" group on Facebook after the home came up as a topic of discussion in a NextDoor Group. Several users revealed that at one time it was owned by the Hazzard family and had been nicknamed the "Studebaker Ranch." Hazzard family patriarch, Tom Hazzard, was a Studebaker enthusiast who had a collection of more than 60 when the New York Times wrote about his cars in 1976.
Tom and his wife Barbara, were founding members of the committee that started the very well-known FUNDSY auction and gala in Boise and were the founders of the Sun Valley Jazz Jamboree which has now evolved into the Sun Valley Jazz Fest.
Several people mentioned that there was a fire at the residence sometime in the 80s. Two of the firefighters who responded to the blaze posted about it, but didn't reveal what caused the fire.
Ready to look around this extremely unique property? Keep scrolling to take the tour!