Tours explore historic Sandpoint

SANDPOINT — The building at 419 N. Second Ave. was home to the Sandpoint library for 33 years, until a one-mile book brigade transferred the thousands of books to the new library location on Division Avenue in 2000.

"Before that, what's amazing, is it was built in 1928 and housed the Sandpoint post office, the Forest Service, IRS and military recruitment offices," said Steve Garvan, chairman of the Sandpoint Historic Preservation Commission.

The Sandpoint Federal Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and was home to the library from 1967 to 2000. It is currently known as the First American Title building and Garvan said it is "sadly" for sale.

There are many such buildings that tell the historical tale of Sandpoint. The former federal building is one of the many sites included in the upcoming Sandpoint historical walking tour, hosted by the city's Historic Preservation Commission. The free, guided tour will take participants through the historic downtown area, encompassing the area of First and Second Avenues, from just north of Cedar to Church and Bridge streets.

"We meet at the Panida, which is a great starting point since it's on the National Historic Register as part of the downtown district," Garvan said.

Self-guided walking tours can also be taken at any time, as they are laid out in the latest edition of "Sandpoint — A Walk Through History." This booklet was produced by the Historic Preservation Commission in collaboration with the Bonner County History Museum. It features more than 50 different sites throughout Sandpoint with a short description and photos of each property. The booklet identifies two walking tours including the downtown tour and a south Sandpoint tour. It also identifies other sites of interest, such as a 1906 boarding house on Fourth Avenue.

The tours feature a mix of commercial, residential and community buildings — some of which are on the National Register of Historic Places and/or recipients of the Orchids and Onions Award. A fold-out map accompanies the property descriptions.

"We really have quite a treasure trove here in Sandpoint — not a large number — but some very meaningful civic and residential buildings as part of our historic district," Garvan said.

Other sites on the tour include the Northern Mercantile building built in 1905, the Cedar Street Bridge, which started out as a footbridge in the late 1800s, and the old Sandpoint City Hall at 110 Main St., among others.

The commission hosted the first tour last year after the first edition of the booklet was compiled. One building had to be replaced in the booklet, because the exterior of the Second Avenue brothel has since been remodeled. It was replaced with the Farmin School, located at Second Avenue and Main Street. The commission also made some other revisions and updates to the booklet.

Garvan said the tour last year was "very" popular. About 20 people are typically in each tour group, and Garvan said they encourage people to ask questions.

"And we encourage people to give us information that they might have when we are walking around, because that is one of the things that led to some revisions," Garvan said. "So it is a very community-minded project."

The booklet is "high-quality" and 32-pages, Garvan said, which cost the commission between $3,000-$4,000. As a city commission, Garvan said, the group does not have a budget, so they applied for and received a grant from the Idaho State Historical Society, which covered about half the cost of the booklet. It is also sponsored by 12 local businesses, which are listed on the back page. The commission encourages the public to visit the sponsors and "thank them for their generous support of this community project."

Copies of "Sandpoint – A Walk Through History" are available at City Hall, Bonner County History Museum, Sandpoint Visitor’s Center and select downtown businesses. It may also be accessed online at sandpointidaho.gov/hpcbooklet.

The free tour will be held from 10 a.m.-noon on Saturday, Aug. 4, beginning at the Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave.

"You'll learn some things that you don't know, and you'll have fun seeing some existing buildings with different eyes once you go on the tour," Garvan said.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.