115 N. 23rd St. was built in 1941 and is located in Boise’s beautiful North End. It has four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and is on .14 acres of land. The original architect is thought to be Dick Child, a man known for designing many other buildings in the area. Its corner windows, flat roof, and time of construction suggest that the house was designed in the Art Moderne architectural style. This differs from other architectural styles in the area seeing as the majority of other homes were built in a more Victorian or bungalow style, and sometimes even a mashup of the two. Its strange appearance may be the reason that the house is so easily recognizable, even by those who do not necessarily know its inhabitants or its address. Throughout its time, 1115 N. 23rd St. has been the home to many families, including the Oppenheimers who moved in in 1946 shortly after the end of WWII in 1946. The Oppenheimers enjoyed the house for a number of years before moving out in the early 1950s. The house is currently occupied by Ms. O’Toole and her daughter.
Early on the house “had a big open family room upstairs,” (Oppenheimer) and “a door that let you go out onto the roof,” (Oppenheimer). The roof provides plenty of extra outdoor space, and could be perfect for hosting outdoor parties. The house’s garage, besides being used as just a housing place for a car, has in the past been used as a spare bedroom, actually having its own small bathroom at one point, and also for storage. Originally, the kitchen was comprised of linoleum floors and countertops, and was relatively small and simple. Now, after being remodeled in 1991, it has wooden cabinets and granite countertops with black-and-white checkered floors that spread across much of the lower level. There is an old, wooden trap door that leads to the simple concrete basement of the house that is today used for basic storage, but has been used to store canned goods in the past.
The house contains many archways leading into different rooms, and has somewhat rounded window-ledges and entry-frames. There is also a beautiful white and black staircase with a modern looking metal handrail that leads to the upper level. Typically a strange color for a home, the house was first painted pink over the stucco and remains pink to this day. It is located in a very family-friendly neighborhood.
When Dough Oppenheimer was a child, he remembers sharing a room with his brother, Skip. There is a bathroom in the house next to the room that they shared., and when the two of them were young, they would sometimes try to make wooden arrows and bows in the tub. Though they thought that it would be cool to soak their “weapons” like Native Americans did in order to make them more bendable (something that they had read in a book), it didn’t really work for them. Besides making “weapons” in the bathtub, Dough also remembers learning to ride his bike in the driveway, and going across the street to watch TV as his family did not yet have one (it was not common to have a TV at the time). When his family did get a TV right before moving out, they would all gather in the family room in the upstairs of the house and watch it,spending quality family time together. Dough spent the first eight years of his life in this house, and his parents had spent a total of fourteen years there.
To its previous inhabitants, the house seems to take on the “personalities” of whoever is living in it, making it important to take good care of the house. It is a great family house, and should be looked after as such so that future generations may enjoy it as well. The house welcomes anyone who lives there, and is a wonderful place for a child to grow up in.
Sources:
Interview with previous inhabitant, Dough Oppenheimer
www.adacountyassesor.org