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.
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