Richard Adelmann, a German Civil War veteran and miner, built his namesake structure in 1902, say Boise Architecture Project researchers.

The Adelmann, at the corner of Capitol Boulevard and Idaho Street, has housed many tenants - even a basement brothel, according to one legend. On the more respectable side, the building housed a laundry and Stearn's Motor Car Co.

Many older Boiseans can't think of the Adelmann without thinking of its longtime resident, Fong's Tea Garden. The Chinese restaurant opened in 1937. Restaurateurs added the pagoda turret and Chinese character ornamentation on the building's corner.

Fong's, known for its dark, bamboo-filled interior, operated for four decades. (For this reporter, walking to Fong's after the school day ended at East Junior High was a favorite trip. Waiters were old-school, no-nonsense. There was a small grotto near the restrooms. No one minded when a teenager was the sole afternoon customer and ordered only tea and an egg roll).

Property owners removed the Chinese characters on the celebrated turret in the 1990s.

Anna Webb: 377-6431