Top right: The oldest portion of Cole School rests beneath a reconstructed bell tower. Bottom right: The Assyrian arch of the front doors is a defining feature of the building.
Cole Elementary, the oldest facility in the Boise School District, was built in 1904. Designed by the Boise architectural firm of Campbell and Wayland, the original building was almost identical to Whitney School built the same year. A later addition in 1908 and the construction of the Tourtellotte and Hummel designed gymnasium in 1934 completed the historic components of the school. It was built on land gifted by Orie Cole and operated independently until annexed by the Boise District in 1948 when it became an elementary school.
Under the District’s current proposal, this site will be abandoned and sold. Preservationists have suggested it as a site for one of the Boise City Library’s satellite branches, but without intervention the site faces demolition and commercial redevelopment.