Photo: House, ca. 1910, located at 661 2nd Avenue North, Twin Falls. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. Photographed by User:Ian Poellett (own work), 2013, [cc‑4.0], via Wikimedia Commons, accessed August, 2025.
Photo: House, ca. 1910, located at 661 2nd Avenue North, Twin Falls. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. Photographed by User:Ian Poellett (own work), 2013, [cc‑4.0], via Wikimedia Commons, accessed August, 2025.
The Twin Falls Original Townsite Residential Historic District [†] is located in central Twin Falls, Idaho, and is roughly bounded by Blue Lakes Avenue, Addison Avenue, Second Avenue East, and Second Avenue West. The district covers approximately 264 acres across about 82 blocks. Within the district there are 929 buildings, 634 of which contribute to the historic character and 295 of which are non-contributing. The period of significance for the district is 1904 through 1950. The district is eligible under National Register Criteria A for its association with community planning and development and C for its architectural significance. It represents the city’s earliest residential development and is closely tied to the successful irrigation and reclamation efforts that made the region agriculturally productive.
Historical Background
The city of Twin Falls grew out of the Twin Falls Southside Irrigation Tract, a reclamation effort carried out under the Carey Act of 1894. Ira B. Perrine is credited with conceiving the project and organizing local support. The Twin Falls Land and Water Company financed and built Milner Dam and a canal network that opened in 1905 and provided irrigation to more than 200,000 acres. These water works made large-scale agricultural settlement possible and established Twin Falls as a regional commercial center. The Twin Falls Investment Company managed townsite lot sales and development.
The original townsite was platted in 1904 by Paul Bickel and engineer John E. Hays. Hays devised a distinctive street layout oriented 45 degrees to the cardinal directions, an arrangement intended to improve drainage, sewer design, and the distribution of sunlight. Early plats set aside parcels for schools, a city park, civic buildings, churches, and the railroad and industrial zones. Promotional campaigns, photographs, and national coverage helped draw settlers from across the United States, and the town grew rapidly during the first two decades of the twentieth century.
Early Development, 1904–1920
Residential development accelerated quickly. By 1911 about 30 percent of the district’s buildings were already in place. The townsite supported a socioeconomically mixed population with both larger, architect-designed houses and modest cottages built side by side. Boarding houses, residence hotels, and a small number of apartment buildings provided rental housing alternatives. Prominent early residents included businessmen, attorneys, engineers, and contractors. The architectural fabric of this period established the district’s strong bungalow character while also including examples of Colonial Revival and Shingle Style houses.
Architectural Character
The district is dominated by Craftsman bungalows executed in many variants including front-gabled, side-gabled, and hipped-roof forms. Early hipped-roof “pyramidal cube” cottages are common and reflect the rapid, economical construction of the earliest years. Other stylistic types present include Shingle Style and Colonial Revival examples dating from the earliest period, and later Tudor Revival, Cape Cod cottages, and Minimal Traditional houses from the 1920s and 1930s. Unique examples such as a Pueblo Revival residence built in 1938 add stylistic variety.
Construction materials are primarily wood frame with clapboard siding and wood-shingle roofs. Pressed concrete block and stucco appear in a handful of residences. Basalt (lava rock), while regionally available, is mostly used as ornamental trim or foundation material rather than as a primary wall material. Plans for many houses were taken from builders’ pattern books or provided by local contractors and lumber companies rather than from architects.
Architects and Notable Designers
Although most homes were built from stock plans, several architects and firms contributed high-quality designs to the district. Burton Morse was a locally significant architect responsible for numerous public and private buildings, including the Twin Falls Public Library and his own Colonial Revival house. C. Harvey Smith designed notable classical buildings including the county courthouse and his own classically detailed residence. The partnership Houghtaling and Visser produced several noteworthy dwellings. Edward Gates and other short-term practitioners also left discernible marks on the townsite.
Institutional and Civic Buildings
The district includes important civic anchors that contribute to its historic identity. Bickel and Lincoln elementary schools, completed in 1938 and designed by Andrew McQuaker, are prominent Colonial and Classical Revival brick school buildings. The Twin Falls Public Library, built in 1939 and designed by Burton Morse, is a Classical Revival building with round-arched windows and decorative terra cotta panels. Religious architecture in the district ranges from modest early chapels and a Craftsman-tabernacle to larger Neoclassical and Gothic Revival churches erected later in the period.
Commercial and Mixed-Use Properties
Commercial development is concentrated on primary thoroughfares such as Shoshone Street, Addison Avenue, and Blue Lakes Boulevard. Within the district there are 45 commercial buildings, many of which are former residences adapted for professional offices or small retail uses. A small number of purpose-built commercial structures date to the period of significance, including a modest 1940 brick building on Second Avenue. Later commercial construction—especially larger office buildings and financial institutions along Shoshone—has introduced elements that contrast with the residential scale and materials of the surrounding neighborhood.
Postwar Period and Later Changes
Little new residential construction occurred in the district after World War II because supply of vacant lots was limited. A modest amount of 1950 infill and ranch-style housing appears at the very end of the period of significance. Rezoning of parts of the townsite for commercial use in the decades following the war, along with roadway widening projects in the 1970s, affected edges of the district and contributed to some decline in parts of the southwest quadrant. Nonetheless, the majority of the core neighborhood retains its historic character and streetscape integrity.
Streetscape, Landscape, and Lot Patterns
The townsite retains a coherent streetscape defined by uniform setbacks, similar building heights and scale, and alleys that provide access to rear garages. Blocks were typically laid out as 16 lots measuring 50 by 125 feet, bisected by 20-foot alleys. Mature deciduous street trees, grass lawns, and modest yard plantings characterize the landscape, while fencing is commonly chain link or wood picket. Concrete curbs and sidewalks are present throughout the district and contribute to its unified appearance.
Integrity and Preservation
Despite commercial intrusions and some siding changes, especially on secondary elevations, the district retains a high degree of integrity in location, design, materials, workmanship, and setting. The concentration of intact Craftsman bungalows and other early twentieth-century house types makes the original townsite the most architecturally diverse and historically representative residential area in Twin Falls. Local interest in preservation and efforts to resist incompatible commercial expansion have been increasing and suggest growing community support for maintaining the district’s character.
Street-by-Street Historic and Architectural Profile
Addison Avenue
Addison Avenue serves as the northern boundary of the district and was part of the original 1904 plat. It was originally lined with large, architecturally distinctive houses, many of which displayed Craftsman bungalow, Colonial Revival, and Tudor Revival features. Over time, commercial encroachment has occurred, with several houses converted to offices and some modern commercial infill replacing original residences.
Blue Lakes Boulevard
Blue Lakes Boulevard forms the eastern edge of the district and is a major north-south corridor. Once primarily residential, with Craftsman bungalows and Minimal Traditional homes, the area has been significantly altered by postwar commercial redevelopment, although a few historic houses remain among 1950s–1970s commercial buildings.
Shoshone Street
Shoshone Street runs diagonally through the district and contains a mix of intact early residences and later commercial structures. Larger homes here often reflect Colonial Revival, Shingle Style, and Tudor Revival influences, while smaller Craftsman cottages appear closer to intersections. Commercial construction in the late twentieth century introduced scale and massing inconsistent with the surrounding residential character.
Idaho Street
Idaho Street functions as a residential spine within the district’s core. It maintains consistent setbacks, mature tree cover, and strong residential integrity. The street is dominated by Craftsman bungalows, with occasional hipped-roof “pyramidal cube” houses and several Cape Cod and Minimal Traditional examples that add variety to the streetscape.
Maury Street
Maury Street is a smaller residential side street characterized by narrower lots and smaller homes. It is defined by hipped-roof cottages and small front-gabled bungalows, many of which retain original siding and design elements.
Hansen Street
Hansen Street contains a mix of residential and institutional properties, including the Classical Revival Lincoln Elementary School built in 1938. Surrounding the school are Craftsman-style residences, creating a blend of civic and domestic architecture.
Monroe Street
Monroe Street retains a high degree of cohesion in its residential character. The houses maintain original scale and materials, with front-gabled Craftsman bungalows, Tudor Revival cottages, and a few Colonial Revival homes defining its appearance.
Second Avenue East
Second Avenue East is a central residential corridor with a largely intact historic streetscape. The avenue is lined with Craftsman bungalows of various roof forms, many of which still display their original wood siding and porches. Garages are generally accessed via rear alleys, preserving the street-facing integrity.
Third Avenue East
Third Avenue East is a modest residential street featuring a mix of hipped-roof cottages, Minimal Traditional houses, and side-gabled bungalows. While simpler in design than some other avenues, it reflects the variety of early to mid-twentieth century domestic architecture in the district.
Fourth Avenue East
Fourth Avenue East combines residential and civic functions. It contains Craftsman bungalows and Colonial Revival houses as well as the Twin Falls Public Library, a Classical Revival structure built in 1939 by architect Burton Morse. This avenue represents the blend of domestic architecture with important civic landmarks.
Commercial Clusters
Commercial clusters appear along Addison Avenue, Blue Lakes Boulevard, and Shoshone Street intersections. These areas are dominated by postwar brick commercial blocks and office conversions, which often replaced earlier residences. While some conversions were done sensitively, many altered the original residential scale and detailing.
Conclusion
The Twin Falls Original Townsite Residential Historic District is significant for its association with early twentieth-century reclamation-driven settlement and for its architecture, which collectively tell the story of a rapidly created and highly cohesive community. Its diagonal plat, rapid build-out between 1904 and 1920, and predominance of bungalow forms document the social, economic, and aesthetic patterns that shaped Twin Falls during its formative decades.
† Adapted from: Elizabeth Egleston Giraud, Giraud Associates, Inc., Twin Falls Original Townsite Residential Historic District, nomination document, 2003, National Register of Historic Places, Washington, D.C., accessed August 2025.
Street Names
2nd Avenue East • 3rd Avenue East • 4th Avenue East • Addison Avenue • Blue Lakes Boulevard • Hansen Street • Idaho Street • Maury Street • Monroe Street • Shoshone Street