The Grove Hotel and Qwest Arena are located in downtown Boise at the intersection of Front Street and Capitol Boulevard. The Grove Hotel and Qwest Arena, originally the Bank of America Center, were built for function and has very little form except for the River Sculpture on the front. Behind the square windows and grayish brown exterior of the Grove Hotel is an elegant, European entry to the hotel. The walls of the entry are cherry panels. Brass accents accentuate the detailed lobby. Neoclassical chandeliers illuminate the room with their domed shape. Most people, however, never see the elegance hidden behind the cheap-looking exterior. The grove Hotel includes 36,000 square feet of meeting and convention space in addition to the hotel rooms.
Qwest Arena houses our local sports teams such as the Idaho Stampede, Idaho Steelheads, and the new arena football team in 2007. It was built for $50 million. This arena also holds events like concerts, trade shows, conventions, ice shows, boxing matches, and WWE Raw wrestling events. One of the most unique, interesting features of this building is the River Sculpture right at the intersection of Front and Capitol. The sculpture is viewable by every passerby, and is the central focus of the building. The sculpture was made by Allison Sky in 1999. The erected sculpture is fifty feet high and seventeen feet wide, and stands as a representation of the Boise River and the importance of its resources to the people of Boise.