Constructed in 1941, this Monterey style two-story home is somewhat unique to this area. The Monterey style became popular between 1925 and 1955, combining Spanish colonial traditions with the restrained symmetry of New England’s early architecture. Named for Monterey, California, where the style first appeared, it is defined by a full-width cantilevered balcony supported by simple wooden brackets. This distinctive feature drew inspiration from Caribbean and southeastern American precedents that favored shaded outdoor living spaces. The earliest example in the United States, the 1834 Larkin House by Thomas Oliver Larkin, established the type’s hybrid character. Revived in the 1920s by architect Roland E. Coate,
Sr., whose award-winning designs popularized it nationwide, the style came to embody an informal yet refined vision of domestic architecture.
The first owner was John Cornell, a Public Utilities Commissioner, who was noted in the Idaho Statesman in September 1941 as having filed a permit to install a fuel oil tank. By August of 1944, the Statesman reported that John had suffered a shoulder injury and was recovering rapidly at his home. Despite most of the North End being distant from the Boise River and at little risk of flooding, this home lies within a flood plain – and is
required to have flood insurance that most neighborhood homes are not, thanks to its proximity to an old canal which is now mostly buried under the streets. Take note of the oak tree in the back yard, which is reported to have been planted at the same time the house was built. Keen eyes familiar with the North End will notice that this house has an identical twin located at 909 N 20th Street, and also built in 1941.
This house was on PI’s 2025 Heritage Homes Tour