After the April 23 fire in the historic landmark in Julia Davis Park, officials told us they suspected the damage was so bad, that they would have to completely scrap the 90-year-old structure and build a new one.
“Their first report out was that it does look like it’s going to be a total loss," said Doug Holloway, Boise Parks and Recreation Director.
But now, we’re learning that’s not the case.
"We actually, we were able to save the entire structure for the most part.”
Meaning with a little tender love and care we’ll soon see a comeback from the popular event venue.
“There’s some damage we need to get done and get repaired, and we’ll be working on that over the next several months.”
And as an exclusive tip to 6 On Your Side, Holloway estimates when the iconic venue will reopen: “We’ll have it back open for event use hopefully at some point maybe middle-to-late next summer."
The Parks and Recreation Director says they brought in a structural engineer to assess how to properly restore it.
“[They've] basically sealed off the building so that there’s no more damage to occur. They’ve stabilized the building.”
And now, he says they are looking for a local architect to assist with the redesign, which will bring the building up to Fire Code and ADA standards.
Additionally, he says eventually the restoration may include a few upgrades, like a new green room in the downstairs, a shaded structure on the lawn in front of the bandshell, and a new in-house AV system.
“Because of the age of the building, that wasn’t really a presence here.”
And while those add-ons are not yet set in stone, Holloway said the city's first priority is this: “to get it back to a usable, historical, very popular, iconic event space for our citizens.”
Holloways says the fire is still under investigation, but that Boise Fire officials are still considering it human-caused.
