Vital steps in early Boise: Sidewalks ditch dirt, turn to stone, settle on concrete

“This city might boast of having the worst sidewalks of any city in what is called the civilized part of the globe,” observed the Idaho Statesman on May 11, 1875.

The paper had commented on the need for better sidewalks a year earlier when it state: “Really the sidewalks ought to be uniform and on a regular grade with the street without steps of any kind. The practice of sweeping into Main Street, throwing out rubbish, leaving old wagons and carts, and piling up boxes on the sidewalks ought to be dispensed with.

“Board and brick sidewalks are of very little account; they soon wear out, warp up, and are neither profitable nor fit to be put down. They should all be torn up and replaced with two inch narrow plank or cut stone. It will always pay for a business place to have a good sidewalk in front.

“W. H. Nye & Co. are determined to have everything tidy about them, hence they have laid a plank walk on Eighth Street by their drug store.” (Their walk on Main Street was made of sandstone.)

“The most wretched sidewalks on earth are to be found in this lovely little town, and if some places are not repaired before next week, when the city will be full of strangers, someone will get badly hurt traveling round at night.”

By 1881 the Statesman could report very little improvement in the city’s sidewalks. “There is no sense in having a dozen steps or stairs to go up and down in passing three or four, or even one block on streets that are so near level as ours are.”

In June 1886, hardware merchant Peter Sonna replaced the wooden sidewalks around his building with stone ones, “not only an improvement in the appearance of his property but stone walks will last for years.”

Concrete sidewalks are first mentioned in the Statesman on Aug. 4, 1889: “The new cement pavement in front of Ridenbaugh’s drug store at Eighth and Main will be extended so as to include the sidewalk in front of Epstein & Logan’s. This cement pavement is a great improvement over that made of stone and should replace it everywhere… The existing stone ones have worn to become a succession of depressions and ridges.”

By December 1889: “The condition of the sidewalks just now calls for attention. After the series of heavy showers we have been having during the past week, the sidewalks present chains of ponds and puddles, making them almost impassable for pedestrians. This is probably a matter which concerns property owners. A load or two of sand thrown in front of each block would suffice to fill up the depressions which cause the ponds and greatly improve the sidewalks … unless something be done to improve the streets and sidewalks, ladies and children will be compelled to keep within doors.”

Due in part to the Statesman’s constant nagging, in April 1890, “The Capitol Walks: Eighteen men were engaged yesterday in laying the cement sidewalks around Capitol Square.”

The rest of the 1890s saw concrete sidewalks put down on all downtown streets, and on other streets reaching into the suburbs.

This story was originally published December 13, 2019 at 3:49 PM with the headline "Vital steps in early Boise: Sidewalks ditch dirt, turn to stone, settle on concrete."