6 IDAHO FALLS MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2019
"This building stands as a
worthy monument to the enterprise and
industry of this community." So wrote The
Times-Register newspaper on May 31, 1927,
speaking of the Hotel Bonneville the day
before it opened. The history of this monu-
ment shows that the construction of the Hotel
Bonneville was a uniquely community effort
on the part of the Idaho Falls community.
Construction of Hotel
Bonneville
The idea for a top tier hotel in the City of
Idaho Falls was "the result of the pride of a
number of people who wished to advance
the community in the best way possible."
The community wanted "the use of a strictly
first class hotel, with adequate accommoda-
tions and quality of service which would
enable Idaho Falls, as a community, to invite
public gatherings and conventions and to be
prepared to take care of them in a way and
manner, which would reflect credit on the
community."
The Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce
went to work on this unlikely dream.
Achieving the goal involved the use of a sys-
tem of subscribing financial investment from
community members. It also relied on the
expertise of an investment brokerage firm,
an architectural firm from San Francisco,
and a manager with a background in run-
ning the Hotel Utah in Salt Lake City.
But most importantly, achieving this
dream meant uniting of over 500 individuals
and businesses in making financial invest-
ments for the dream. Today the list of those
500 stockholders reads like the who's who in
the history of the progress of Idaho Falls. But
Historic gem
finds new life
in the heart of
downtown
BY LEE RADFORD
Rebuilding
the Bonneville
STEVE SMEDE PHOTOS
