 |
 |
|
|
PLANNING BOISE MSS 244
Forty-Five Years of Studies, Plans,
and Reports Addressing the Growth Collected by Charles F. Hummel
The bulk of this collection consists of 49 published studies, plans, and reports documenting the City of Boise’s efforts to plan for growth and development in the latter half of the twentieth century. They were donated to Boise State University in 2005 by Charles F. Hummel, now retired, who has had a long and distinguished career as an architect in Idaho’s capital city. Most of the publications were issued by local governmental and quasi-governmental bodies, and address the usual planning concerns of a growing metropolitan area: zoning, commercial development, transportation, etc., with a particular emphasis on the issues of downtown redevelopment and revitalization, proposals to build a regional mall outside of the city center, and residential expansion into the Boise Foothills. The collection also contains several folders of papers relating to Hummel’s work as a consultant for the Mayor’s Select Committee on Downtown Redevelopment in 1982. That committee attempted to reformulate a strategy that would save the downtown commercial center from eclipse by suburban shopping opportunities. Charles Frederick Hummel was born in Boise in 1925 to a family of distinguished architects. His grandfather’s firm designed the Idaho State Capitol; his father designed Boise’s Egyptian Theatre. Hummel attended Boise Junior College, received a bachelors degree from Catholic University and a masters from Columbia University, and spent his career in Boise in partnership with his father and uncle Frank and then with Chet Shawver in the firm now known as Hummel Architects. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving with the U.S. Army in France during World War II and with the Army Corps of Engineers during the Korean conflict. The many buildings he has designed include the federal courthouse in Boise and the original library building for Boise Junior College (1964). In addition to his work as an architect, Hummel has been an active participant in the civic affairs of his home town. He was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Governor’s Awards in the Arts program in 2006. This finding aid is divided into two sections: a list of the titles of the studies, plans, and reports donated by Mr. Hummel, followed by a listing of the papers relating to his work with the Mayor’s Select Committee on Downtown Development. A closely related collection is MSS 250 (Boise Redevelopment Agency documents), containing documents issued by both the BRA and the private companies proposing development projects. Together with the governmental reports in this collection, they offer a large trove of primary source material about planning and development in Boise from the 1950s to the turn of the century. In 2005, Boise historian J.M. Neil conducted several hours of interviews with Charles F. Hummel. Mr. Neil presented copies of his tape recordings (7 recordings) to Boise State University. They are kept in Special Collections as oral history collection OH-59.
Collection Number: MSS 244 This is a listing of the titles donated to the Special Collections Department by Charles F. Hummel in 2005. They are listed chronologically in three categories: General plans, Downtown Boise, and the Foothills. The titles of the works are in italics, following the name of the corporate author or issuing authority. The location within Special Collections is denoted in smaller type, and will refer to either a Box number within the Hummel collection or a call number in the book collections; or both if the Library holds multiple copies.
Boise Chamber of
Commerce, Metropolitan Planning Committee. Boise City Park
Department. City of Boise,
Department of Public Works. State of Idaho,
Department of Highways. Boise
Metropolitan Transportation Study. Ada County
Zoning Commission. Atkinson
Associates and Boise City Planning Commission. Ada Council of
Governments. Ada Council of
Governments. Ada Council of
Governments, Citizens Advisory Committee. Ada Council of
Governments. Ada Council of
Governments. City of Boise. Boise City
Planning & Zoning Department. Boise City
Historic Preservation Commission. City of Boise. Boise Future
Foundation. Boise Future
Foundation. Ada County
Highway District. City of Boise. Treasure Valley
Futures Project. Treasure Valley
Futures Project. Treasure Valley
Future Project. Wilbur Smith and
Associates for Boise Redevelopment Agency. Ada Planning
Association, City Center Steering Committee. Boise
Redevelopment Agency. Skidmore, Owings
& Merrill for Boise City Urban Design Committee. Boise
Redevelopment Agency. Boise Mayor’s
Select Committee on Downtown Development. American
Institute of Architects, Idaho Chapter, Central Section. Barton-Aschman
Associates for Boise Redevelopment Agency. Boise
Redevelopment Agency. American
Institute of Architects, Idaho Chapter, for City of Boise. Boise City
Community Planning and Development Department. Capitol City
Development Corporation.
Hollenbaugh,
Kenneth M., for Ada Council of Governments Ada Council of
Governments. Ada Planning
Association. Foothills
Steering Committee and Boise Planning and Development Department. Ada Planning
Association. Foothills
Steering Committee and Boise Planning and Development Department. Foothills
Steering Committee and Boise Planning and Development Department. Ada Planning
Association. Boise City
Planning and Development Department. City of Boise. Mayor’s Select Committee for Downtown Development
Charles Hummel was hired to be consultant, or technical advisor to the committee, performing much of the staff work that an executive director would do for a citizens’ commission. This collection contains his papers relating to that service, including meeting minutes, memoranda, his work diaries, and the committee’s final report, which reiterated the city’s previous policy. “No suburban regional center should go forward until substantial retailing is established in the downtown” was one of the committee’s major conclusions. Within a year, however, both economic and political pressures, as well as the fear that a mall would be built outside of Boise, caused the city to change course. The city’s metropolitan plan was amended, zoning changes were approved, and construction of a mall near the Interstate, several miles from the city center but still within the city limits, was begun.
Folder 1 Charge
to committee, 1982 Folder 14-17 Plans (See General plans, items 1,2,3, and 6)
Folder 18 Retail Space in Boise Metro Area (13 Sept 1982) This page created: 11 October 2006; last changed 31 July 2007 Special Collections home / Rare Books / Idaho Collection / Manuscripts / Idaho Writers Archive / Maps / Photos / University Archives / Online exhibits / Email us / Search our site / Bibliographies / Publications |
|
General Library
Information and Assistance: 208-426-1204 |