Website Combines Google Maps With Vintage Boise Photos

If you've been in downtown Boise and admired the old buildings, many thoughts have gone through your mind. You've wondered what that building was initially used for, or has this always been a bar? You've asked what it looked like when it was new before it had a giant neon sign attached to it. You no longer have to wonder.

An excellent website called "What Was There" combines Google Maps with vintage pictures that are user-submitted. They overlay those pictures onto Google Maps to let you see what places in Boise looked like then and now. I've included some of my favorite images from What Was There of Boise.

The Boise Depot opened in 1925 and was the train station in Boise until 1997. This photo showed the depot when it was operational and with "Union Pacific Railroad" on the side, instead of "Boise Depot" like we see today.

It's hard to imagine the Boise River Dam looking anything like the way it does now. The dam was under construction for several years before it was operational. This picture showed the dam in its early stages in 1940. Where's the water?

Today, it's the heart of the downtown scene at night, but in the '70s, 805 Idaho was the home to Boise City National Bank.

Much like today, the Union Block was home to several businesses. In 1980, it even served as the Boise headquarters for the Ted Kennedy Presidential Campaign when he attempted to get the Democratic nomination from the sitting President, Jimmy Carter.