Hey, newcomer: Here are 5 Idaho icons to learn about. You’ll sound like a local
Moving to the Treasure Valley can leave some folks puzzled about the things that make up the area’s sometimes quirky character. Here are five icons to know and love.
No. 1: Vista Washerwoman
Heading from the airport to Downtown Boise you’ll pass one of the city’s most known and kookiest features — Betty, The Vista Washerwoman. Originally built in the 1950s for the Maytag Laundry, Betty now surveys the length of Vista Avenue from her perch atop Cucina di Paolo, an Italian restaurant at 1504 S. Vista Ave., on the Boise Bench.
Betty stopped working in the late 1990s and was pretty ragged by the time new owners took over the building in 2006. Fortunately, she got a reboot with new mechanics and support from a community of followers who help keep her looking good, as a group of fans freshens up her look occasionally.
“We wanted Betty to be more than a historic icon,” Cucina di Paolo owner Paul Wegner told the Statesman in 2019.
No. 2: Shafer Butte
The saying goes, “Don’t plant your tender perennials until the snow melts off Shafer Butte.” This quaint rule of thumb is a real thing for Treasure Valley gardeners. When the snow is gone, that’s when the danger of frost and freeze is officially past.
It usually happens around the middle of May, and though climate change makes things a bit shifty at times — it’s still a good saw. If you plant before then, you’ll have to work to protect your tomatoes.
But Shafer Butte is more than a cliche. At about 7,600 feet in elevation, Shafer is part of the Boise National Forest, and is located just above the Bogus Basin Mountain Ski Area. The butte and Shafer Creek, which runs down to Horseshoe Bend, both were named for Jacob K. Shafer, an explorer and Idaho territorial delegate to Congress in the late 1860s. It was made an official part of Boise National Forest in the 1920s. It’s a great place for camping, mountain biking, hiking, bird watching and more.
No. 3: Egyptian Theatre
A show at the iconic Egyptian Theatre is a must for visitors, newbies and locals. Egyptian-style theaters were all the rage in the early 20th century, and Boise’s is one of the few left in the Northwest. It opened in 1927 as a movie house, showing silent-era films. It still has the original pipe organ that rises from under the floor. It gets played on special occasions, such as Boise Music Week.
Architect Frederick “Fritz” Hummel of Tourtelotte & Hummel Architects, who also designed the Idaho Statehouse, styled it in Egyptian Revival. The interior is decorated with images of the Egyptian god Osiris and goddess Isis, and statues reminiscent of King Tut. Passages from the Book of the Dead, with scantily clad maidens, are strewn across the top of the proscenium, and it’s all gilt with gold leaf.
The building narrowly escaped razing in a flurry of 1970s redevelopment. After a vibrant grass-roots campaign, developer and preservationist Earl Hardy bought and restored it. Today it’s owned by the Hardy Foundation and run as a nonprofit. It’s had several renovations over its 95-year history, and the last one made great improvements to the sound, lighting, and stage so it can be used as a live venue for touring bands, comedians, readings by nationally known authors, and performances by Opera Idaho.
Boise Classic Movies screens holiday films, like “Elf” and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” that are voted on by the community each year. You’ll also see some local movies and the occasional film festival.
No. 4: The shape of Idaho
It’s no secret that Idahoans love Idaho and the complicated twists of fate and backdoor political maneuverings that shaped the panhandle.
Artists have turned its unusual shape into iconic images on hats, T-shirts, jewelry and more. So wear those Idaho-shaped earrings and pendants, and IdaHome T-shirts, while eating Idaho-made Ballard Family Cheese on your Idaho-shaped cutting board.
No 5: The Record Exchange
If you’re new to the area and enjoy music at all, you need to visit The Record Exchange. Affectionately called the RX by its regulars, it is one of the Treasure Valley’s longest-lasting and most iconic businesses. This throwback to the classic record stores of the 1960s and ‘70s is known as one of the best in the country.
Michael Bunnell and his wife, Jil Sevy, opened the first iteration of the RX as a used-record store in 1977.
You’ll find new and gently used vinyl and CDs, a wall of posters and music-inspired art, and the newest sounds from folk to EDM. The Edge gift and coffee shop anchors the east side of the building with an array of irreverent knickknacks, T-shirts, colorful socks, jewelry and more.
You never know who you’ll see shopping. Frances McDormand and Ethan Coen have stopped in. Musicians such as Flatbush Zombies, James McMurtry, Henry Rollins, Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne all have shopped in the Hitchcock Building on the corner of 11th and Idaho streets.
Bunnell is a founder of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores and has been instrumental in pressing record labels to bring back vinyl and support indie artists.
But what elevates the RX locally is the occasional in-store concert it produces, along with 94.7 FM The River. The store has held free performances from artists such as Ed Sheeran, Josh Ritter, Smashing Pumpkins, Ben Harper, John Mayer and Vance Joy.
Bunnell and Sevy recently retired in 2021 and sold the business to a group of longtime employees who have 43 combined years of experience working in the store.
This story was originally published May 24, 2019 at 4:56 PM.