The City of Boise, Idaho, is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its depot this year. The milestone will be marked with a series of celebrations from April 13 to 16, coinciding with the anniversary of the first Union Pacific passenger train arriving in the city in 1925. 

While UP’s Oregon Short Line was constructed through southern Idaho in the early 1880s, it missed the state capital by 20 or so miles. One of the reasons for avoiding the capital was that it was located in a valley. Rail service finally arrived in Boise in 1887, when a branch line from Nampa was constructed. Civic leaders continued to lobby the UP to relocate its main line through the city so that it would no longer suffer the “frustration and embarrassment of being an ‘isolated capital.’” Finally, in 1922, the Boise Chamber of Commerce secured a deal with UP to build a bypass into the city. Construction began in 1923 and was completed the following year. In 1924, UP broke ground on a new Boise depot built on “the bench” above downtown. The station was designed by the New York firm Carrere, Hastings, Shreve & Lamb, and replicated the Spanish style that was popular in the city at the time. The station was completed on April 1, 1925, and the first passenger train arrived just over two weeks later. 

On March 2, a visitor walks through the main hall of the Boise Depot during a weekend tour. Photo by Justin Franz. 

UP passenger trains called upon the station until 1971, when the final Portland Rose pulled out of town. Six years later, in 1977, passenger service returned in the form of Amtrak’s Pioneer between Salt Lake City and Seattle. The Pioneer continued to run until 1997, when it was canceled. By then, the station had been refurbished and sold to the city. Today, it is maintained by the Boise Parks & Recreation Department and is available for special events. 

After the last Pioneer, service on the east end of the Boise Cutoff was suspended. In 2009, the line between Nampa and Boise was sold to Watco, which operates it as the Boise Valley Railroad. While UP no longer directly serves Boise, it still brought 4-8-4 844 to the city back in 2017. 

The four-day celebration will feature tours of the depot, musical performances and food vendors. More information can be found online. —Justin Franz