The city of Idaho Falls is richly ornamented with historic homes and dedicated homeowners. But arguably none are as passionate for historic preservation as Stephanie Rose and William Bauer. Having cut their teeth on the restoration of their own home, they looked for a new project and found it in 2010 at 250 12th Street in the 11thStreet National Historic District.
The house, constructed by Richard VanBlaricom in 1914, is a Craftsman Bungalow. Like many of its contemporaries, later alterations had taken their toll including conversion to apartments in the 1940s and a later conversion back to a single-family home. However, looking past the problems, Stephanie and Bill began the task of returning the home to its former glory while adhering to the highest standards of historic preservation. While reversing decades of inappropriate alterations ? including changes to the kitchen and bathrooms ? they uncovered historic rafter tails and went as far as Iowa to locate appropriate fixtures and hardware.
While many homeowners are quick to replace their historic wood windows, Stephanie and Bill not only kept and repaired their windows but hosted a community workshop to teach their neighbors of the value of wood window preservation and carefully documented their project on Facebook. Upon completion, they rented the home, allowing them to take advantage of historic preservation tax credits.
The 12th Street Bungalow and its owners are an example not just to Idaho Falls, but to the state.
Preservation Idaho is proud to honor this project with a 2013 Orchid Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation.