BY KAREN BOSSICK
Did you know that the building that houses the new Barkin’ on Main and Croy streets was once the site of the Hailey Lumber Company in the days when lumberyards carried groceries, as well?
Or that the site that now houses the Hailey Public Library and Hailey City Hall was once Hailey’s Opera House with a movie theater, tobacconist, bank, dance hall and bowling alley?
You can learn these facts and more while enjoying a stroll around town, thanks to the city’s just-completed Historical Interpretive Plaques project.
The Hailey Arts & Historic Preservation Commission has installed historical plaques on 20 historical buildings in Hailey’s downtown. And the City of Hailey will hold a ceremony to commemorate its completion at 4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 26, at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church on the corner of First Avenue and Bullion streets.
That intersection is a crossroads upon which four historical buildings are located—one on each corner, said Hailey City Administrator Heather Dawson.
Local resident historians Joan Davies and Robert Lonning will offer a guided walking tour of a few of the plaques after the ceremony.
“Honoring and celebrating our history is an important aspect of our community,” said Daniel Hansen, chair of the Hailey Arts & Historic Preservation Commission. “The Commission spent months of volunteer work on this project, and we are excited to add another unique asset to the city that can be enjoyed by residents and visitors alike.”
The Historical Interpretive Plaques are located on the following buildings, some of which are on the National Register of Historic Places*:
1. Bullion Block Site/Werthheimer Building (Luke’s Pharmacy) – 101 S. Main
2. J.J. Tracy Building (Lone Star) – 111 S. Main
3. Golden Rule Building (El Toro Mexican Restaurant and Café Della) - 103 S. Main
4. Commercial Building (Valley Carpet & Tile/Taste of Thai) – 108 N. Main
5. Liberty Theatre - 110 N. Main
6. J.C. Fox Building (Hailey City Hall) – 115 S. Main
7. *W.H. Watt Bank (Christopher & Company) – 120 N. Main
8. Harris Building (Windermere Real Estate) – 100 N. Main
9. Assay Office (Emmanuel Episcopal Church Thrift Store) – 19 E. Bullion
10. *Fox-Worswick Home (Wood River Land Trust) – 119. E. Bullion
11. *Emmanuel Episcopal Church – 101 S. 2nd Ave.
12. *Riley Corner & Hailey Masonic Lodge – Bullion Street and S. 2nd Ave.
13. *Hailey Community Baptist Church – 202 S. 2nd Ave.
14. Alturas Courthouse (Blaine County Courthouse) – 206 S. 1st Ave.
15. *Ezra Pound Home (Sun Valley Center for the Arts) – 314 S. 2nd Ave.
16. *St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church – 315 S. 1st Ave.
17. US Forest Service Buildings/Hailey Ranger Station – 308 S. River
18. Rialto Hotel (Barkin’ Basement) – 201 S. Main
19. Inchausti Home/Basque Boarding House (Cornerstone Realty) – 19 W. Bullion
20. Alturas (Hiawatha) Hotel site (Atkinsons’ Market) – 93 E. Croy.
The mission of the Hailey Arts & Historic Preservation Commission is “to ensure the arts and history are valued as an integral part of Hailey and to enhance the culture of Hailey by providing leadership, advocacy and support for the arts and history.”