The Bench used to be as treeless as the desert to its south. In the Central Bench, you’ll find streets named after the people who brought water to the area and made it irrigatable: Morris, Ridenbaugh, Scott, and others.
The Central Bench neighborhood is bordered by Alpine Street to the north, Overland Road to the south, Curtis Road to the west, and Roosevelt Street to the east. (City of Boise)
This ebook from the Boise City Department of Arts and History paints a clear picture of the Central Bench’s rather short history as settled land. Here are a few key takeaways:
- In its first decades, this farming community actually identified as being outside of Boise, calling itself “Franklin.”
- World War II sped the gradual increase of residences on the Bench when the city’s airport moved from the river to its current location. Orchard Avenue, running right through today’s Central Bench area, became a key corridor to the airport, and houses followed.
- The neighborhood was rocked in 2008 by the demolition of the former one-room school house, called the Franklin School.
Though almost all its farmland has been cleared, it’s my personal opinion that the Bench in general has a more blue collar feel than some of Boise’s other mostly single-family residential areas.
Bench residents seem to be more likely to roll up their sleeves than write a big check and call it a day. It’s one of the Bench’s many charms, and the Central Bench is right in the center of it.
Libraries in strip malls — a reminder that books and libraries will persevere. (Blake Hunter / City Cast Boise)
Things To Do and Places to Visit
The Library! at Hillcrest exemplifies a charming resourcefulness and passion mostly because, well, it’s in a strip mall. But it’s one of the best branches to do remote work in, and they have a robust events program.
The Hillcrest Shopping Center (which has an interesting history of its own, page 30) is also home to Nerfed, an indoor nerf arena. Just down the road on Orchard, are the well-reviewed Escape This Boise! escape room.
Finding a vintage pink Carhartt jacket at the Antique World Mall moved the massive store up my list of favorite vintage shops in Boise. Every time you visit you’ll find something that shocks you, whether you’re willing to bite the bullet on it or not. And right now, it’s Christmas to the max in there.
Andrade’s never goes wrong. (Blake Hunter / City Cast Boise)
The Central Bench’s Outsized Restaurant Scene
The next time you gripe that Boise doesn’t have enough sandwiches, familiarize yourself with the sandwich game on the Central Bench. It punches way above its weight, especially in three local spots: CasaBlanca (the Cubano never fails), MB Sandwich House, and Baguette Deli, one of my favorite and cheapest sandwich spots in town.
Along with sandwiches, a shining star of the Central Bench’s restaurant scene is Andrade’s, one of the best Mexican restaurants in the Boise city limits.
Two more bright spots amid the prolific chain restaurants are Granny C’s Bakery, which serves everything from individual cinnamon rolls to three-tier cakes; and Ishtar Market, where you can go for the shawarma and stay for the baklava.
