[2] (The National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination Form lists Tourtellotte and Hummel as building designers, but "Tourtellotte may have been only a supervising architect...[3]) Constructed for Boise City real estate developer Walter E. Pierce in 1910–11, the building represented local aspirations that Boise City would become another Chicago.

[5] The Chicago firm of H. Ellenberger was responsible for construction,[6] and the Idaho Statesman said of the building in 1911, "The architectural scheme is one of extreme simplicity, and the builder has given his work the appearance of massive solidity.

"[7] The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places December 8, 1978.

[4] Early tenants of the building included W. E. Pierce & Co.,[8] Pierce-Hopper Insurance Agency,[9] Boise Title & Trust Co.,[10] Senator William Borah,[11] United States Forest Service,[12] Joy Drug Store,[13] Ada County Attorney,[14] Wayland & Fennell,[15] Margaret Giles beauty parlor,[16] and the chairman of the local Republican Party.

[18] In 1969 the Idaho Building was considered for demolition along with other buildings in a 60-block area of Boise's historic core when a developer designed a large, outdoor shopping mall as part of a plan for urban renewal.