City honored for old neighborhoods
SANDPOINT — Chalk up another round of winning publicity for the lakeside town.
Popular magazine This Old House recently included Sandpoint in its list of best historic neighborhoods in small towns. Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce associates are celebrating the inclusion as another positive development for the town’s national reputation. The article joins another national mention by Travel and Leisure in a list of America’s prettiest winter towns.
“I think it’s fabulous,” Chamber of Commerce President Kate McAlister said. “Everyone seems to be taking notice of us.”
In the article, magazine writers praise Sandpoint’s natural beauty, it’s close proximity to Lake Pend Oreille and Schweitzer and the availability of fun annual activities like Lost in the ’50s. As for the historic homes themselves, the article highlights the Queen Annes and Craftsman-style bungalows built in the early 1900s while also mentioning less prominent styles like Dutch Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival.
The price tags on these homes — usually around $200,000 and sometimes up to $300,000 — were one attractive feature for individuals contemplating a move, but that wasn’t the only one the contributing writers listed.
“Clothing chain Coldwater Creek started here, as did Quest Aircraft,” they wrote. “Perhaps it’s the fresh air or the easy access to Schweitzer Mountain Resort, which had boasting rights to some of the most skiable conditions in the United States this winter, but entrepreneurs have found a happy home in Sandpoint.”
City officials have long known that the city’s historic homes were a local treasure. In late spring, they welcomed historical preservationist Ann Doyon to the city in a project to catalogue historic resources. Doyon spent her time in town photographing the particularly historic neighborhoods, especially those between Superior Street and Lake Pend Oreille and Third Avenue over to First Avenue. After taking photos, she went back to the office to write up short reports about each house.
“I feel like overall, Sandpoint is an interesting town from a historical perspective,” she said during her visit. “It still has a downtown with a charming main street and some really nice, old houses. I feel like its historic roots are still visible.”
With one more of Sandpoint’s good qualities on national display, McAlister is hoping the good press will translate to more tourism and home purchases in town.
“Ever since Rand McNally and USA Today chose Sandpoint as the most beautiful small town in America, we’ve been getting a lot more attention,” she said, later adding, “Hopefully, it will bring more business and more people who want to move here.”
Either way, any positive mention of Sandpoint in the national press helps spread the word that there’s something in North Idaho worth seeing.
“It’s all very encouraging,” McAlister said. “I really think this town is approaching a tipping point.”