The White Church, located at 1723 W. Eastman St., embodies its name with its white exterior. It is nestled in the architecturally-diverse North End, with the illuminating whiteness contrasting against the dark wood of the surrounding trees. The White Church was built in 1911, and cost the United Presbyterian Church a little over $3,000 to build. After the United Presbyterian Church moved to their current church on the corner of State St. and 10th, the White Church was acquired by the Church of Christ in 1922 and used by them through 1970. Since then, the church has been rented out to various congregations.
A plain wooden door welcomes worshippers to the church, and the pointed, stained glass window above it resembles a Romanesque entrance. One interesting aspect of the White Church is the fact that the architectural style could also be identified as Gothic Revival, due to the pointed arch glass windows.
The church has one story, with a basement. On the first story, there is a loft area for church members to look over the service room. Along the walls of the first floor, Gothic/ Romanesque stained-glass windows bask the room in a warm, yellow light. The stained-glass windows are supposedly from Europe, though this theory has not been confirmed. The basement windows are normal and rectangular.
The basement of the church is especially significant, since it was the first location of the Boise Bible College, founded in the 1940s by Orin Hardenbrook. Classes were originally held in the basement until the relocation of the college to its current campus in Garden City in 1970. In 1967, an arsonist tossed a torch into the coal chute door and a fire started, causing significant damage to the walls and floor joists and extensive smoke damage. Thankfully, firefighters were able to get the fire under control, saving the church and the precious stained-glass windows. Nowadays, one of the only indicators of the 1967 fire is the different color of some of the stained glass window panes. Fire insurance provided the church with $13,000 to do repairs, and they saved money by fixing the damage themselves. In the end it only cost $2,000 to repair the damage and the rest of the money was used to build the new Boise Bible College campus.
There are a couple different styles that make up the exterior of the church. The two different gables resemble a Shotgun-styled building, if it not for the fact that the gables are vertical to each other. The side-gabled roof, moreover, would classify the church as a National style. The church can be classified as a Saltbox styled building because of the sharply sloping gable roofs. Each side of the church has symmetry, with a window or door being placed in the center and surrounded by windows. An interesting feature is the quarry rock foundation with the tiled body of the church above it; a style that is similar to that of the Boise Synagogue. Interestingly, the church also has Craftsman style; under the sloping gable roofs are eaves that, unlike many other styles, are exposed. The arched stained glass windows also give the church a Gothic feel.
Alongside the church is the parish, which was built in 1925, and was remodeled in 2003. Similar to the church, it also resembles a Shotgun style home, with a few side gables. Although remolded, the parish still shares the same style as the church, with its quarry rock foundation and even the same tile design. These two historic buildings make up the corner of 18th St. and Eastman in the North End.
Reference:
“2010 Property Details for Parcel R5299000076.” Ada County Assessor Land Records/
GIS. Ada County Assessor, Web. 24 May 2011.