Scott Building - Wallace Historic District - Wallace, ID
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member T0SHEA
N 47° 28.350 W 115° 55.575
11T E 580909 N 5258233
A small brick building with a somewhat unusual facade, the Scott Building stands on the north side of the 400 block of Cedar Street, immediately east of the 1935 post office, a project of the WPA.
Waymark Code: WMXA6K
Location: Idaho, United States
Date Posted: 12/15/2017
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member Math Teacher
Views: 1

Sporting a date plaque reading 1939, this little one storey brick building is probably one of the newest to be found in the predominantly turn-of-the-century downtown of Wallace. It was included in the Wallace Historic District Boundary Increase of 1983, meaning that, at the time, it was still six years short of the mandatory 50 years generally adhered to when evaluating contributing buildings. In any event, it is on the list of contributors for that boundary increase. A bit Art Deco in its design, its front elevation has a large area of glass blocks in place of more standard windows. The building's front is divided into two bays, making it symmetrical save for the entry, which is centred in the right hand bay and surrounded by glass blocks which curve around into the recessed entry. Above the glass blocks in each bay is a wide window which could be described as more of a transom.

The self proclaimed "Silver Capital of the World", Wallace today is much smaller than its peak, in the thousands prior to 1910, with a present population 784. It was in 1910 that the Great Fire of 1910, which burned about 3,000,000 acres (12,141 km2; 4,688 sq mi) in Washington, Idaho, and Montana, took with it a third of the town. To a town intent on mining precious metal, this was looked upon as simply a slight and temporary setback. Over one billion ounces of silver, and counting, have been wrested from the ground in Shoshone county since 1884. Silver continues to be mined in the area.

An interesting factoid about Wallace is that "every downtown building is on the National Register of Historic Places". As a result, the government was forced to build I-90, around Wallace, instead of through it. Another one is that this area is "the only place on earth where more than a billion ounces of silver were mined in 100 years." The town, incidentally, was named for its founder, Colonel William R. Wallace, who, in 1883, bought 80 acres of swamp land which eventually became Wallace.
Scott Building 400 block Cedar Street east of Post Office
Contributory Scott Building
1939

A one-story multi-colored brick building with flat roof and two bays. West bay has different multi-colored brick below large window of glass blocks while east bay has center door and similar windows Concrete block addition at rear.
From the NRHP Nomination Form
Historic Wallace Idaho

The historic mining town of Wallace (population 784) is nestled beneath Interstate 90, halfway between two ski and recreation areas in northern Idaho's beautiful Silver Valley. The town has long been famous as the "Silver Capital of the World" with 1.2 billion ounces of silver produced in Shoshone county since 1884. Silver mining is still a big part of our economy, but today it is carried out in total harmony with a pristine mountain environment that attracts outdoor recreation enthusiasts from around the world. Some folks come for the deep powder at the two ski areas, or the variety of bicycle trails, or the solitude of alpine lakes, but all agree, this is the place to play. And for us lucky ones, this is a great place to live.

Wallace is also known for the fact that every downtown building is on the National Register of Historic Places... which is why the government finally had to go over us instead of through us in order to complete the Interstate Highway system in 1991. Now the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes paved bike path is directly under Interstate 90 as it passes above Wallace, following the famous South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River through the narrow Silver Valley: the only place on earth where more than a billion ounces of silver were mined in 100 years.
From the Town of Wallace
Name of Historic District (as listed on the NRHP): Wallace Historic District

Link to nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com page with the Historic District: [Web Link]

Address:
400 Block Cedar Street Wallace, Idaho 83873


How did you determine the building to be a contributing structure?: Narrative found on the internet (Link provided below)

Optional link to narrative or database: [Web Link]

NRHP Historic District Waymark (Optional): Not listed

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